Community Care Agreements
A shared vision, and three agreements about how we care for ourselves, one another, and RIM. Everyone who practices here holds them.
A community we make together.
Our Shared Vision. We come together because wakefulness, wisdom, and compassion are already within each of us, and we want to live from them. We practice to be more awake and present in our lives, freer of what binds us to unhealthy patterns of heart, mind, and action, understanding with greater wisdom, caring with kindness and compassion, and acting from both, for the benefit of ourselves, those we care about, and our shared world. These agreements are how we care for that vision together. We ask everyone who takes part to hold them. They are intentions we share, and holding them is a practice. A community is a place to practice. When we fall short, we begin again, and when harm happens, we protect and repair.
Care for Yourself
We care for the conditions that help us see clearly and live well, and we take responsibility for our own path: coming to know ourselves, cultivating what is healthy and wholesome, and letting go of what harms. We come with a sincere wish to practice, as the practice is offered here. Teachers and community offer support, and the walking is ours to do.
Care for Others
We care for one another through our presence, speech, and actions. Guided by goodwill, we listen deeply, speak truthfully and kindly, and seek not to cause harm. We are diverse together: we welcome one another across our differences, and we respect each person’s way of taking part, their experience, and their privacy: what is shared in practice stays where it was shared. We help keep RIM a safe place for everyone, and when harm happens, we work to repair it.
Care for RIM
RIM is held through dana, the practice of mutual generosity. Financial support meets the center’s practical needs and keeps the teachings open to everyone. RIM could not exist without it, and we ask each member to support RIM financially as they are able. Time, care, service, and sincere presence also nourish the life of our community, traditionally called sangha, and together we co-create RIM. We trust each person to discern what is possible; no one is expected to offer in every way, and belonging is never measured by what or how much one gives.
If harm happens
If something here has caused harm, or you are worried about someone, please tell us. You can speak with a teacher after any gathering, or write to our guiding teacher privately. We will listen, keep what you share private, and work toward repair.