Monks pay rate - www.ezboard.com

>

SRF Walrus

Mt. Washington, Ca

Open discussions about SRF

SRF Walrus > Life on the Inside > Monks pay rate
	<< Prev Topic \| Next Topic >>

Author	Comment
BigMo Unregistered User (11/3/01 6:57 am) Reply	Monks pay rate What is the deal with the monastics getting paid $40 a month? First of all, I hear that is supposed to be a secret from the outside world. Does everything have to be secret? And I also understand that they have to buy quite a bit of their own stuff with that and yet they have not had a “raise” in 30 years? I know most employees go years and years and years without raises. How is that explained and is it true?
In Recovery Unregistered User (11/3/01 3:05 pm) Reply	Allowance Not only are the monastics thrown this pittance each month, they also are not told there is a budget for clothing. This information is not volunteered to the young monastics and so they scrimp and save what pennies they have left to pay for clothing and other necessities until they come to the point where they can't make ends meet, and then someone in Personnel says something like: "Oh, did you know there's a special budget for clothing?" They won't tell you how much you can have but ask you to make a list of the things you really need. I didn't even know if I could ask for help to buy a pair of sandals because I also needed money for a decent pair of trousers and a pair of shoes and I was reminded that the budget is limited. Asking for help became a very degrading experience. Even now I can hardly believe how much I bought into the idea that my needs were not legitimate unless I was really desperate and my clothes and shoes were falling apart. Interestingly enough, I began looking around and saw that the ministers had nice clothing and running shoes and prescription glasses and palm PCs and mountain bicycles. I guess they figured out how to manage $40 a month better than I did, eh?
Raja Begum Unregistered User (11/3/01 4:56 pm) Reply	Dear In Recovery When a monastic becomes famous, people give him material gifts. The part about you buying into your own needs not being considered legitimate would make an interesting topic for discussion the section called "Core Issues." I hope you contribute.
Carbohydramoy Unregistered User (11/21/01 10:15 pm) Reply	Monastics Benefits . . When Br. Arne (Premamoy) took over the Monk's postulant ashram from the revolving group that had run it, one prospective monk called in with questions. One of the questions he asked was: "What kind of retirement benefits do you offer . . ." With a smile on his face, the answer came swiftly --- "a pine box at Forest Lawn." When young monks go out on a shopping trip, what they buy is food and stationery supplies. It's just an outlet. For the most part, anything they need they will get. There are a few "wealthy" monastics who quietly help others.
Crog Unregistered User (11/22/01 12:57 am) Reply	Retirement Note that (not with a smile) the same retirement benefit applies to employees too. The depressing life of an employee doesn't ends with sickness and the inability to work, which results in the loss of salary and medical benefits. An elderly women working at SRF was recently told they were cutting off her medical benefits because she was not working enough hours. The mother of compassion strikes again. Master said he would not recognize the place in 50 years!
Carbohydramoy Unregistered User (11/22/01 9:24 am) Reply	Retirement Actually, PY said 200 years, not 50. As for benefits, pay,etc. -- no one should ever associate themselves with SRF for pay or bene's. Not monastics, not employees. If you expect the work to "take care of you", it won't. Go elsewhere. Get a job at Microsoft and invest in their stock program. Over the years, I've known MANY who have become disgruntled because the organization rejected their thoughts and ideas. This will always be the case, as surely as "day follows night". If you want to make 6 figures and have a great PPO and 401K, do it. If you're any good, you'll have no problem. As for the elderly lady . . . do you really think that she came to SRF for the material bene's?
KS Unregistered User (11/22/01 8:50 pm) Reply	Carbo – Retirement Having a company take care of employees is thought by some to be “benefits”. In this culture it is much more the norm for a decent company. Even McDonalds gives employees retirement benefits if they serve the company through to the end of their lives or for many years. You are making excuses for SRF. They are not hiring rich old people who don’t need the money. Many of their employees are living above a garage or in some over priced SRF housing. What can SRF possibly think will happen to these poor employees when they get old? What the hell can they possibly think? They are taking advantage of these people, telling them they are “serving” and that God will reward them in heaven. A bunch of baloney. SRF is uncaring, unfeeling, and doesn’t give a whip what happens to these people. Yes, people come to serve SRF with stars in their eyes but that quickly fades. Why they stay is another question.
PostMonk Unregistered User (12/2/01 1:32 am) Reply	More on retirement Carbohydramoy, Get your head out of your self-righteous ass. KS is talking about SRF realizing that people must have a roof over their heads and food on the table and medical care --- yes even after they cease to be of use to the hypocrite matas driving their Cadillac to their million dollar home in Sierra Madre. Not to worry, the nuns will cook and clean for them and a few "chosen" monks will drive there to take out the trash, weed the yard and clean the pool. These people couldn't spell ethics if an SRF employee's (and brother disciple's) life depended on it.
In Recovery Unregistered User (12/2/01 9:23 am) Reply	Carbohydramoy Dear Carbohydramoy, Re your statement: "When young monks go out on a shopping trip, what they buy is food and stationery supplies. It's just an outlet. For the most part, anything they need they will get. There are a few "wealthy" monastics who quietly help others. " I don't know where you heard this, but it simply is not accurate. At least, it cannot be stated as the norm in the postualancy. We were expected to purchase all our needs during those shopping trips (clothing, footwear, toiletries, etc.). And this is with an allowance of $30 per month. Yes, I said $30! We don't receive the big bucks ($40 per month -- what decadence!) until we take the Novice Vow, even though we have the same expenses and needs. This is yet another way that SRF cunningly depletes what personal savings the monastics have until they are completely dependent on the system. Re: "There are a few "wealthy" monastics who quietly help others." Are you suggesting that the wealthy monastics keep quietly helping those in need, while SRF keeps neglecting their responsibility to provide for those who have given their lives to this cause? Besides, most of the wealthy ones are outside the postulant program and have no idea who needs what. I heard of a couple of very generous monks who helped applicants with money so they wouldn't have to return to their countries to earn the legal fees; and there was one case when a posulant was told he needn't worry if his savings were a little short of the lawyer's fee for processing the Green Card application, but these are few and far between. On a daily basis, the postulants are on their own.
KS Registered User (12/2/01 9:38 am) Reply	Re: Carbohydramoy Dear Readers, The comments from "In Recovery" are examples of good hearted monks who try to take care of each other in opposition to the rules and policies setup by the matas. Imagine that. And what do those monks think this means about the core spirituality and goodness of the place? Can't they see it?
Gray beard Registered User (12/7/01 6:01 pm) Reply	Re: Retirement It was 100 hundred years, that was what we were told back in the 60's, and it was bantered around as if it wouldn't happen, kinda like a joke. The accompanying story went that he would show up at and sit at the back (Mt. Washington?)unknown. Other's have him saying, 'how they will change the work after I'm gone." The 200 hundred years was/is the time he said would elapse before he would take new incarnation, with his life to be spent in meditation/bliss in the Himalayas with a few close disciples from his lifetime here. My list of those, probably, Rajasi (still spell it way we all used it back in those days) Durga, Gyana and Mr. Black. Probably others too. Didn't he have any advanced Indian devotees? If so they aren't talked of with the same reverence.

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Email This To a Friend

Email This To a Friend
Topic Control Image

Topic Control Image

Click to receive email notification of replies

Click to stop receiving email notification of replies

jump to:

- SRF Walrus - Life on the Inside -

Powered By ezboard® Ver. 7.32
Copyright ©1999-2005 ezboard, Inc.