Do Not Disturb Pure Monastics, and Do Not Form Personal Attachments with Monks — H.E. Garchen Rinpoche

I have repeatedly emphasized to lay practitioners that you should never become personally attached to monks or lamas.

All offerings made to the monastery for the benefit of the Sangha are distributed among the monastics so that they may devote themselves wholeheartedly to their practice. No individual receives an excessive amount of wealth. The monastery provides for their medical care, daily necessities, food, clothing, and shelter. Even when the families of some monks live in extreme poverty, lay supporters often provide educational assistance for their relatives and children.

Therefore, there is no need to single out and privately support particular monks who enjoy cultivating personal connections with laypeople.

There are, of course, a few exceptions. Senior khenpos, monastery stewards, and elderly monks who have devoted thirty years or more of their lives to the Dharma are different. Whatever offerings they receive are usually shared with others rather than kept for personal benefit.

Those who frequently travel about in pursuit of worldly affairs are another matter entirely.

Whether or not you enjoy forming personal attachments with monks, you already know the answer within your own heart.

Many years ago, a group of devotees privately gave money to the driver of a respected khenpo. This became one of the earliest examples of such attachment, and the consequences were severe.

Congratulations—he eventually decided to leave the monastic life and get married.

Indeed, “congratulations” to those who encouraged this attachment, for they unintentionally destroyed the spiritual path of a monk.

Because of the private gifts and the comforts that followed, he no longer wished to remain in the monastery, continue serving his teacher, or dedicate himself to practice.

When the time comes for his wedding, perhaps those who supported him so enthusiastically should leave their names behind, so that sweets can be distributed to them in celebration.

This is not a trivial matter. It is karma.

If you were unaware before, that is understandable. Yet I have explained this many times already:

Do not disturb the purity of the Sangha.

Even so, a small number of people continue to engage in such conduct behind the scenes. Do not imagine that these actions go unnoticed.

When your actions are finally exposed, it simply means that a serious mistake has already been made, and I may have no choice but to ask you to leave.

Within the monastery, there are stewards, administrators, and those entrusted with the management of finances. I have repeatedly emphasized that the young monks studying here must not become contaminated by worldly habits and desires.

Many of you have spent so much time in the world that these habits have become second nature.

I still remember an old disciple coming to me and saying, “Master, I would like to send a gift to a certain lama.”

I asked, “Why?”

The disciple replied, “When I visited the monastery, a door was locked. He found the key and opened it for me.”

I said, “You are bringing worldly habits into the monastery. The lama opened the door because he saw your sincerity and wished to help you. He was not expecting a reward, nor was he hoping that you would offer him gifts in return. Please do not pollute the purity of these monks.”

Many of these monks entered the monastery when they were still children. For decades they have dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to study and practice. By the time they are ready to teach and benefit others, many of them are already in their thirties or forties.

We will tell you which monks are authorized to teach the Dharma and which are permitted to travel and conduct Dharma activities.

Yet some people, believing themselves to be especially devoted, secretly arrange hotels, meals, transportation, and various forms of entertainment for monks, hoping that I will not discover their actions.

As a result, some monks become reluctant to return.

“They feed us well, house us comfortably, entertain us, and place us on a pedestal. Why should we go back?”

Those whose foundations are not yet firm may easily fall prey to such thoughts.

If a monk turns away from the Dharma and becomes lost in worldly life because of these influences, the karmic consequences are profound.

These words come from the depths of my heart, and I sincerely hope you will remember them.

What we cherish most in this monastery is not the buildings themselves, but the people within them.

Our greatest treasure is not stone, timber, or gold, but the khenpos and monks who preserve and transmit the Dharma.

Since the arrival of the venerable Tulku Thubten Chokyi Drakpa Rinpoche in 1984, the education of monks has continued uninterrupted. This is the foundation upon which our spiritual home has been built.

The teachers trained here are not merely instructors of worldly knowledge; they are future guides for both humans and celestial beings.

They may one day travel throughout the world to teach the Dharma or continue transmitting the teachings within the lineage itself.

The monks of our monastic colleges have demonstrated remarkable accomplishment in both scholarship and debate. These achievements are a source of great pride, not because of fame, but because they represent the flourishing of the Dharma.

The Sangha possesses immeasurable qualities of discipline, meditation, wisdom, learning, eloquence, and realization.

As stated in the Ratnagotravibhāga (The Sublime Continuum):

“Because they possess wisdom that directly realizes reality in all its aspects, the noble Sangha, endowed with wisdom and free from regression, possesses unsurpassed qualities.”

Every additional pure monk in this world creates more opportunities for sentient beings to encounter liberation.

Therefore:

Do not disturb pure monastics.

Do not cultivate personal attachments with monks.

Do not create the negative karma of harming the Sangha.

Remember this well.

Remember this always.