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First, let me make my philosophical leanings known: I hate capitalism. I hate inequality. I hate money. I hate greed. I hate that people limit others without their consent. Politically, I come pretty close to being able to call myself an anarcho-communist. I will not change these viewpoints, and I will not compromise them.
That being said, the society around us uses money. I have to pay for hosting this site. The land for the monastery will most likely need to be paid for (unless it's donated, of course). The government will want its property taxes every year. And the food that isn't grown at the monasteries will most likely have to be bought (unless it can be bartered). So, I'm going to create an online store here at chaosmonks.org.
I hate money. It's purely a control mechanism used by the rich. I honestly believe that. But, since I can't picture it going away in my lifetime, I'm trying to learn to work with it a bit. But I still hate it. And I hate the attitudes around it. And I hate the fact that people get so defensive when it is mentioned ("UH! Don't tell me how to spend my money, Mr. Self-Righteous! HRMPH!").
I just don't know what to do besides what I'm doing. I want to see a monastery or two pop up. Actual buildings, "clergy", activities, publishing, service, opportunity. You know...spiritual things. And society won't let us do it without money. So, how do we please society enough so that we can do what's really important?
Let me talk from my own experience. First, I was raised basically agnostic bordering on atheist. But, in my late teens, I started going to church with my girlfriend, thought it was interesting, and became a non-denominational Christian. I gave, even from the little I earned from a part-time job. Later, I was progressive Mennonite. They had a strict tithing policy: 10% of your after-tax income, I think it was. I don't remember if I kept up with that or not (I don't think I did due to my bad management of funds at the time).
Then, I was an Orthodox Christian for a few years. This is where things get interesting. The Orthodox Church is the second-largest Christian denomination(-ish thing) on the planet. In many countries before the 20th century, the Church was supported by the government (Russia, the Byzantine Empire, and others); in some places, like Greece, it still is. Those parishes have money, can outfit themselves, pay their clergy a bit, and provide a service. But, in the US, the Church is supported by the adherents/parishoners. The larger Orthodox jurisdictions have rich folk in their midsts, and have some dough. The smaller jurisdictions don't. Some clergy are paid in the richer groups, but hardly any are paid in the others. Some parishes of the latter groups can't afford to even rent a space full-time, and have rituals in places wherever they can get them (including parishoners' homes).
I belonged to a couple of different Orthodox parishes, both small. One parish was a little bigger. It was in a very large metropolitan area (5 million+ people). Lots of us (including the priest) worked in the IT field and made decent money. Yet, we never had enough. Were any of us "tithing" (10% of gross income going straight to the parish)? I seriously doubt it. I know I wasn't. I gave about 1/30th of my income. Maybe. Unless I had eaten out too much on that paycheck or bought some things instead. At the other parish (a smaller rural parish), the only reason we had a nice church building was because the priest was a carpenter (that is a good profession for a Christian priest Smile ) and owned the land. I don't think the parish had any money to speak of, but I'm pretty sure no one tithed, either.
Earlier today, I read on another web-based forum that someone was interested in becoming a Freemason. Someone else said that his lodge was nice, they had 5 big services a year (which included a nice dinner afterwards), and $100/year dues. The wanna-be Freemason said there was no way he could afford that.
$100/year?!?!?!? That's $8/month! Someone on minimum wage could work 2 hours per month, pay their lodge dues, and have enough left over for a drink. That's not "I can't afford it."; that's "I won't pay it. It's not worth it to me, even for that paltry sum."
The OTO (probably the largest magickal organization on the planet) has 2 sets of dues: local lodge/oasis/camp dues (usually about $20-$30/month), and OTO Grand Lodge dues. As you ascend in rank, your Grand Lodge dues increase, but they're always reasonable (the highest is $100 one-time for the initiation to IV degree, and $144/year). This just isn't a lot of money. But, in an org with a few hundred folks or more, it really adds up and allows that org to do some things.
I've also seen other non-profit orgs who sit on their money. I recently heard of one group that has basically been "saving their pennies" for decades and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank. The other side of the story? The cause which this group promotes isn't being helped by it; the organization is almost completely "hands off" and doesn't help with promotion, paid staff, publishing, news releases, etc. The money was donated in good faith (via donations, membership dues, etc.), but instead of being productive, it is stagnating.
I don't know. I just don't understand. I'm by no means rich. Hell, right now, I'm almost dead broke. But if I had money, I'd have no problem helping others, tithing to a church, or paying lodge dues. Is it because Americans get so tied up in "keeping up with the Jones", buying that shiny new computer, or putting gas in their SUV to drive 20 miles to work every day? Or do they not care enough? Or is there something I'm missing? And, if a group does happen to get a decent, usable income, what's to prevent the "group itself" from just absorbing it ("Oh, our high muckety-muck bought himself a new gown for ritual today. Cost $2300. Nice, eh?" or "Oh! But we can't spend $200 on fliers for this city, because we may need that money someday for something important!") as opposed to the money being used for the cause (wow, what a novel idea!)?
Another issue is that many people have a resistance towards donating money towards "invisible" things like deities, enlightenment, and philosophy. Some will do so, but it's a minority. They think that religion/spirituality/philosophy should be free (and I agree with them!). The rest won't donate unless they either receive something tangible in return, or if they see that it has been used on a tangible item. And they almost always want the money to go to "the group" as opposed to individuals.
But here's the rub: I may be perfectly willing to be the Abbot of a monastery without receiving a wage. But the land wasn't free. The property taxes every year aren't free. The things we can't grow or manufacture in the monastery aren't free.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that there are multiple "levels" of expenditure. First, the people involved (Abbot, monks, etc.). Should they get paid? No, I don't think they should (maybe the Abbot, if he's served in a distinguished fashion or done something extraordinary could be given a little something as a "thank you" gift, but that's a donation, not a "bill to be paid"). So, people aren't willing to "pay the monks". Fine. And I'm OK with that. I know that, personally, I am not doing this to "collect a paycheck". There are easier ways to make money than starting a non-profit monastery, that's for sure!
The second "level" includes things directly related to everyday life: land payments, building materials, clothing, food, water, temple supplies, utility bills, books, taxes, etc. These are things that are needed for the monks to, well, be monks, and for the monastery to physically exist. No amount of, "You should be doing this for free!" will ever explain how the fellow who sold the monastery the land wanted money for it. And it will never override the fact that, if we go to the grocery store for food, they'll want money before we walk out with the rice and paper towels. Without money for this level, the monastery can't be built, the monastery can't function, the monks can't function, and the whole thing falls apart.
A third "level" can be discerned, too, I think. It includes non-essential things like publicity (printing flyers and brochures, website hosting, etc.), travel (getting monks to the monastery, sending monks to other places for classes or whatever, etc.), luxury items (special foods, really nice magickal tools, etc.), items to sell in a store or equipment and supplies to create items for sale, etc. If nothing in this level is funded at all, at least the monastery is alive and running, and the monks are fed and clothed, and the services and rituals can still go on.
So, the idea of "you should be doing this for free" has that typical dichotomy going on: make money, or be completely free. It's impossible in a capitalistic society to adhere to the latter. So, once you destroy the dichotomy, you see that you can do both: make money (via donations, stores, etc.) and do it all for free.
At first, the store will be referrals-based. Basically, say there is a link to a book on Amazon.com. You click on it (specifically the link here on chaosmonks.org; searching for the book by yourself and purchasing it results in no referral) and buy the book, and chaosmonks.org gets a couple of dollars or whatever as a referral fee.
Secondly, I'll probably take the step of creating some graphics for printing on CafePress.com items: shirts, bags, mousepads, etc., probably starting with the chaosmonks.org logo. This doesn't work off referrals; you don't have to click a link here; you just have to buy the shirt/coaster/hat/whatever with the design on it, and chaosmonks.org gets a few bucks.
And, for its culmination (once I get settled somewhere), I'm going to start creating and selling crafts and things: magickal tools, clothing, etc. I've made a couple of small things and enjoyed doing it. I'm sure others would like chaos-related tools and clothing but can't or won't make them. So, I will, and the money will go towards chaosmonks.org and the monasteries.
No. Although I run this site, I see us as a group effort (geographically disparate as we may be). For now, in the "referral" and "CafePress" stages, I'm going to funnel the money into 2 things:
1) The site's upkeep: I will funnel all monies received into the hosting bill until we are paid up for at least one year in advance. After we're paid up for a year, the money will start going towards... 2) Land for Chaos in the Desert: Having a "base of operations" will expand the possibilities for the group at large. I feel this is the second-most important project after the website.
Yes, they should. Frankly, I can't see the store in the "referral" and "CafePress.com" stages making a boatload of cash. I wish it would, but it most likely won't. But, it may help offset some costs (mainly website hosting). And if someone can convince me that the 2 priorities above aren't correct, they need to talk to me and the rest of us and we need to discuss where to funnel the funds. Yes, I made this decision unilaterally, but that doesn't mean I'm a hard-ass.
But, say another monastery wants to rake in some dough, too. That's cool by me. If a monastery has a business, or a member of a monastery has a business, then give me links, and let's figure out a way that referrals can be generated so that the monastery gets a few bucks.
For example, say Malaul (Abbess of The Chaos Cave in Rochester, NY, US) makes chocolate bars with chaostars imprinted in them and she wants to sell them online. So, I add "Chaolate Barz" to the chaosmonks.org store. A referral percentage is decided on (she needs to make $5.00 each for them, so we put them in the store at $6.00). Someone buys one, and the monastery gets the referral fee (in this case, $1.00). Malaul gets a few bucks, and The Chaos Cave makes a buck. We set up some way to transfer funds around, and the money is sent to its destinations. chaosmonks.org won't keep a penny of it (hopefully, the individual monasteries will voluntarily contribute back to chaosmonks.org to keep the site up).
No, I'm not. I'm just trying to live, really. If people would quit asking me for money, I'd be exceptionally happy.
Let's talk about this. Give me your feelings and suggestions. I've also created a forum for online store issues, questions, etc. See it just below the Site News forum.
In the meantime, I'm setting up book referrals first, since occultists seem to have a thing for dusty tomes.
Peace and long life.
Rev. Hxaosanto
chaosmonks.org Site Admin
You can e-mail Hxaosanto at hxaosanto@yahoo.com
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