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Instructions for Managing Communal Supplies
From ancient times in communities practicing the Buddha’s Way there have been offices established to serve the sangha. In our community that for the maintenance of communal supplies is one such office. For the proper operation and functioning of the Zen Center, it is important that there are proper and adequate communal supplies on hand. Without appropriate supplies and equipment it is not possible for members of the sangha to perform the various tasks necessary to maintain a harmonious community and a pure environment; nor is it possible for them to perform such everyday activities as preparing food, changing a light bulb, or washing their hands.
The communal supplies consist of an inventory of supplies and equipment, and are purchased with communal resources. Engo describes how “Master Tozan dwelt all of his life in the temple, but the earth spirit could not find any trace of him. One day someone spilled rice flour in the kitchen; Tozan aroused his mind and said, “How can you treat the communal supplies with such contempt?” So the earth spirit finally got to see him; thereupon he bowed.” Similarly, we should treat our communal supplies and resources with great respect, so as to not disturb the mind of the sangha and to enable the harmonious community to function properly.
Accordingly, the Zen Center should contain at all times sufficient quantities of all household goods needed for regular and routine chores, as well as some more specialist items that may be needed on occasion, for example a replacement flap for the cistern. In order to accomplish this, the person responsible for maintaining inventory will need to purchase supplies on a regular basis and tools for the performance of samu less frequently. Diligence should be exercised when acquiring the inventory to ensure that it does not cost too much; supplies of the appropriate quality should be purchased in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of the sangha, but an excess should not be purchased. You should consult with the task coordinator to understand the budget available for this responsibility, and should manage that budget carefully. Remember the words of Dogen, and “use the property and possessions of the community as carefully as if they were your own eyes.”
For all purchases an advance or reimbursement is available from the task coordinator, and you should personally coordinate this funding and ensure that sufficient information is provided to the task coordinator to permit maintenance of the financial records of the sangha. In purchasing the communal supplies, you should remember the saying of Seigen:
A monk asked Seigen, “What is the great meaning of the Buddhadharma?”
Qingyuan said, “What is the price of rice in Luling?”
The everyday activity of commerce is one that is itself the dharma, and should be treated with the same reverence and mindfulness as performing prostrations.
The person responsible for maintaining the inventory should both coordinate with those people responsible for performing daily functions within the sangha to determine their needs and ensure they are met, as well as review the available inventory on a frequent basis to make their own independent determination. The coordination can conveniently be performed by email or telephone using the list of contact information available both on the task board in the kitchen, and through the task coordinator. Review of the inventory levels should be conducted on a weekly or biweekly basis for the most frequently used items, monthly for items used less frequently, but still on a regular basis, and quarterly for all other items.
The essential categories of day to day activities and samu for which communal supplies are necessary, and the basic nature of supplies include: cleaning tasks in the kitchen, the bathroom, and general Zen Center space for which a selection of cleaning chemicals and soaps, as well as cloths, brushes, and trash bags, and so on are required; food preparation, for which paper and plastic plates, cups and cutlery, napkins, and so on are necessary; matters of personal hygiene and cleanliness requiring soaps and towels; and miscellaneous day to day activities requiring, for example, light bulbs and tissues. In addition to the supplies, it is obviously necessary to have appropriate equipment such as screwdrivers and screws, mops, plungers, and so forth on hand.
In addition to the coordination activity described earlier, the person responsible for maintenance of communal supplies should attend services and sesshin on a regular basis during which time they should both monitor usage of provided supplies and equipment, and should identify other supplies and equipment that are not presently at the Zen Center, but which it is necessary or appropriate to procure. This observation should be performed as a meditation in mindfulness, and as an act of compassion for the community at large.
Ungan asked Dogo, “What does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use so many hands and eyes for?”
Dogo said, “It is like someone reaching back groping for a pillow in the middle of the night.”
Ungan said, “I understand.”
Dogo said, “How do you understand it?”
Ungan said, “All over the body are hands and eyes.”
Dogo said, “You have said quite a bit there, but you’ve only said eighty percent of it.”
Ungan said, “What do you say, elder brother?”
Dogo said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.”
It is in this samadhi and with boundless compassion that the task of maintenance of inventory should be performed.
A detailed list of the supplies and equipment required is provided to help the person responsible for this task to identify the necessary communal supplies. You are responsible for maintaining and enhancing this list, and for maintaining a detailed record of supplies purchased in order that the sangha can monitor consumption to better manage communal supplies prospectively. You can use the list attached as a beginning to this process, if that is convenient.
Dogen said, “Put those things that naturally go on a high place onto a high place, and those that would be most stable on a low place onto a low place; things that naturally belong on a high place settle best in a high place, while those which belong on a low place find their greatest stability there.” We should likewise follow the natural order of things, and keep the communal supplies in a tidy and orderly manner, each in its own place.
ASZC housekeeping inventory:
Kitchen
| Inventory Item | Required quantity to keep on hand | Monthly consumption |
| Dish Washing liquid | ||
| Paper towels | ||
| Hand Soap | ||
| Trash bags | ||
| Wash cloth/sponge |
Bathroom
| Item description | Required quantity to keep on hand | Monthly consumption |
| Toilet paper | ||
| Soap | ||
| Paper Towels | ||
| Cleaning liquids (toilet, floor, tiles, mirror) | ||
| Toilet bowl brush | ||
| Brushes & cleaning cloths | ||
| Plunger |
Cleaning utensils/materials
| Item description | Required quantity to keep on hand | Monthly consumption |
| Toilet chemicals | ||
| Light bulbs | ||
| Wash cloths | ||
| Mop | ||
| Broom | ||
| Window cleaner | ||
| Kitchen and bathroom counter/tile cleaners | ||
| Paper towels | ||
| Tissues | ||
| Trash bags | ||
| Buckets |