The Tenzo Resource Person

The Tenzo Resource Person: History and Current Responsibilities

History of the Tenzo Resource Person Training Position:

In 2004 the office received the proposal to create a Tenzo Resource Person (TRP) position. The idea was to preserve the knowledge that was collected by the former Co-Tenzo Coordinators.

The way it was preformed did not work out and after several councils by the order of the abbot, the oversight as a resource person of that kind went back to Dokai, who had oversight of Programs and was then called TRP.

After the office reorganization in Jan 2007, the TRP was transmitted to Gemmon as the Program Steward.

When the person who was responsible for the kitchen and cleaning stock left the Center, the idea arouse to create a new kind of TRP, that is a real resource for the co-tenzos and is responsible for the background in the kitchen functioning and its supplies. The overall responsibility for the kitchen functioning in regards to programs would stay with the Program Stewards position, who also communicates the needs of the program as a whole directly with the Co-Tenzo Coordinators.

The TRP should to be a resident and the shopping of the supplies, the cleaning of its storage area and the other tasks are considered her/his resident samu.

The responsibilities of the TRP are:

• Care-taking for the kitchen by ordering and stocking all cleaning and kitchen supplies as indicated on the inventory list, taking care of any equipment replacements, and alerting Charles or the EC of any kitchen repairs that need to be made.
• Hanging a new tenzo sign up sheet on the sangha bulletin board at the beginning of each month (the Program Steward assists with this and double checks that any relevant events are noted on the calendar).
• Serve as a support and resource person for Co-Tenzo coordinators which includes:
  •  Meeting with outgoing, incoming, and continuing Co-Tenzo Coordinators every four months when one person’s term of service is up.
  • Being a resource person for the Co-Tenzo coordinators in relation to the Co-Tenzo coordinator position and the Tenzo practice sphere in general. This includes contributing to the collective wisdom of the Tenzo Circle by: working with the Tenzo Circle to find solutions to problems that arise, exploring questions, concerns, and new ideas about the Co-Tenzo coordinator position or Tenzo practice, and in general consulting on the Co-Tenzo role and the Tenzo practice sphere as part of the Shared Stewardship process
• Supporting co-tenzo coordinators in finding replacements.
• Helping to maintain and nurture the Tenzo mandala by revisiting it once or twice per year with the Tenzo Circle.
• The Tenzo Resource person should cultivate their role through the practice of shared stewardship, rather than acting as a kind of supervisor, manager, or overseer of operations. This means, in part, allowing the Co-Tenzo Coordinators to develop the practice of that position in a way that is supported by the cumulative wisdom and experience of the Tenzo Resource Person and previous Co-Tenzo Coordinators, rather than hampered or limited by it.

The Tenzo Circle consists of the Program Steward, the Tenzo Resource Person, and the Co-Tenzo Coordinators. A resource of these actively people actively involved in kitchen functioning is to call in a bigger circle consisting of all the former Co-Tenzo Coordinators.