In Asia, the Buddhist community built the facilities and provided housing, food, clothes, medicine, transportation and educational materials for all who sincerely wished to practice Dharma, whether monastic or lay. For more than two millennia it has been considered extremely meritorious to support spiritual practitioners; many Buddhist families regularly tithed a portion of their income to the sangha members in their community. In the West, where Buddhadharma is still young, we have yet to reach this institutionalized level of development, gratitude and support.
The sublime Dharma cannot be measured in material value. There has never been a charge for the teachings. Yet there are, and always have been, costs involved in making teachings possible and teachers available. Traditionally, these have been covered by voluntary donations from those who value and participate in the teachings, and by their families and friends.
* All the activities offered by Ordinary Dharma and Manzanita Village, and the teachers are made possible because a number of dedicated people offer their services as co-teachers, organizers, cooks, managers, builders, fundraisers, etc.
* All the fees for retreats pay for the actual expenses of the retreats and the travel expenses of teachers and staff; no fee whatsoever is charged for the teachings.
The teachers give enormously of their time, energy, experience, understanding and interest , without payment--and often without material security. However, unless teachers have the material support which allows them to live adequately in the modern world, they cannot continuously provide this valuable service. This includes all the expenses incurred by them while devoting themselves full time to Dharma work, including their room and board, clothes, dependents, medical bills, tools, and whatever is necessary to further continue their own spiritual study and practice, for the benefit of one and all.
There is no central church or organization behind the scenes, sending Buddhist teachers out to share the Dharma. Buddhist teachers traditionally teach only where invited. They depend for their livelihood on your generosity alone. Our ongoing efforts to provide opportunities to further develop wisdom and compassion through Buddhist meditation depend upon the goodwill and assistance of all the members of our sangha and friends.
Ordinary Dharma requests and needs your help in order to continue to fulfill its goals and objectives, in teaching the Dharma at Manzanita Village and elsewhere, and to support Manzanita Village as a sanctuary for Dharma Practitioners, and Social Activists drawing from the Dharma to sustain their work.
It is clear that many people attending retreats are unfamiliar with the traditional practice, the very concept, of "dana" (giving). Generosity reduces self-centered greed and covetousness, and cultivates loving-kindness and compassion; conscious generosity is actually not a sacrifice, but a great gift to our culture and entire society, our planet, to all of life, and to the giver him- or her-self. Few have clearly thought through its cause-and-effect nature: how one must let go, open, and empty oneself in order to be filled. It is said that one can receive as much as one can give; this is a basic spiritual truth. Through sharing we affirm our interbeing, the common ground of both the sublime Dharma and the noble Sangha, our community of kindred spirits.
All contributions are considered as offerings to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; they are used solely for the purpose to which they are intended, and gratefully received and appreciated with the blessings, loving-kindness, and prayers.
Thank you very much.
May all being be happy,
Generosity ( Dana Paramita ) is first among the Six Paramitas (perfections) which constitute the practice of the Bodhisattva, which delivers us to the Other Shore of Enlightenment, Nirvana.