Newsletter Articles
Antevastin, the Boundary Spanner
There is, in Buddhist practice, one who is called, in Sanscrit, the antevastin. This holy one is not perfect, but on his journey of spirit leaves the ingrained and endlessly repeated rituals of the community and goes to the edge of the forest to pray. There between the village and the unknown Deep of the woods, the antevastin is the boundary spanner. From the edge of the forest, this wise and prayerful one, peers into the great Unknown of the universe, and yet prays for the people in the village.
There is an old Buddhist story about a community, pure and simple, founded on prayer. Each day, the monks would gather and meditate long hours and under the leadership of the wise old monk, the antevastin, who had gathered the community. They grew in numbers and in depth. When, one day, a beautiful, young cat wandered into the community, the monk, a man of deep love, took in the cat and gave it a home.
The problem was that the cat was disturbed by the silence, and would begin to cry out and interrupt the community at prayer. As the days passed, clearly, a solution needed to be found. So the monk, placing out a good portion of food and a bowl of milk, tied the cat to the farthest edge of the compound, away from the community as it prayed, and all was well.
As time passed, the monks, who loved both the old monk and the cat, began to help with the cat tying. In fact, it became a ritual. Two monks would carry the cat on a fine pillow. Two other monks began to ring little bells to lead the procession. Other monks, in order, carried the food, the bowl of milk, and the other treats that seemed to keep the cat happy, and the bowls were made of finely designed silver. Prayer could not happen until the processions of cat to pole occurred. Finally, after many years, and the development of fine rituals of cat-tying, the inevitable happened: the old cat died.
The community was stunned. What would they do? At first, they carried the body of the cat to the pole, since everyone knew that the cat would want that. But after some days, the odor became too strong, and something had to be done to change their rituals. But what? Factions grew among the monks. Divisions split the community. No one could agree on a common solution to their problem. Prayers were neglected. The community was soon divided and began to decline, and one day, all too soon, no monks came to pray.
It is so easy for communities to forget the reason they came to be. We can get so immersed in the rituals and patterns of community life that once had meaning, that we miss the greater things that give us life and purpose.
Transformational leaders are antevastin. They are born in the city, and know the rituals and traditions of the community, and they love the people in it, but their souls and hearts are pulled by the Other. They see the world as it could be, might be, might become, and they know that no community can sustain itself on the endless repetition of rituals alone. They know that the cat is dead.
But they also know the great heart and soul that prompted the community to find a place for a simple creature, and the great compassion that caused the community to be formed. They yearn to see the community rediscover its purpose, its calling to be more, to become a discipleship community, touching and changing lives in the name of Jesus; being in the world, but not of the world.
More like this one in | Newsletter Articles
Comments on this Entry:
Post a comment