- L
I ‘ve been studying vipassana meditation for years with Noah Levine. This path has opened up a number of opportunities for me, including becoming the site chaplain for the highest security penitentiary in Canada; I also visit four other federal penitentiaries as a Buddhist representative teaching meditation and guiding inmates in the discovery of the Buddha’s teachings. I am sure that those who know me have witnessed the change this practice has brought to my life.
Noah has recently asked that I take part in a year-long facilitator training, as a prelude to the four-year teacher training with some of the teachers at Against the Stream Meditation Society. I consider this to be an honor, and am grateful that he thinks enough of my practice to ask this of me.
I recently informed the people in charge of the training that i very much would like to be in the training group, but that i was concerned about the cost (3 000$ tuition, and about 2 000$ for travel and housing from Montreal to California). It was suggested that i ask my family, friends, community, and my extended community, for dana. Dana is the pali word for "generosity."
In Buddhist practice, teachers are supported by the community, so the teachers are able to spread the dharma (the teachings). This practice is known as dana, and for the past 2600 years the teachings have been freely offered to anyone without cost. in return, the community has supported the teachers, allowing them to teach. In Thailand, there is even a holiday where everyone in the country donates gifts to the monks, that they might dedicate their energies to practice and teaching. According to the historical Buddha, the practice of generosity is the most important practice one can engage in, even more so than meditation. Of course, keep in mind that the Buddha was homeless, and he certainly had a vested interest.
The course costs $3 000. About $2 000 is required to pay for my travaels from Montreal to California, the housing that will be required, books, etc. This would allow me to deepen my practice, enhance my teaching abilities for the inmates I help everyday, and, I believe, spread the dharma for the benefit of all beings everywhere. If you would be willing to donate any amount toward this course for me, I would be deeply grateful. I don't enjoy asking for money, but according to my teacher, it allows others to practice generosity. So i am setting my pride, ego, and self aside, and letting what will be, to be.
Thank you for your time, your guidance, your friendship, your generosity, and your attention.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. Please forward this campain to anyone whom you believe might be interested in making a donation and/or following my progress.
“The measure of your compassion lies not in your service to those in the margins, but more your willingness to see yourself in kinship with them.” – Pema Chodron
Noah has recently asked that I take part in a year-long facilitator training, as a prelude to the four-year teacher training with some of the teachers at Against the Stream Meditation Society. I consider this to be an honor, and am grateful that he thinks enough of my practice to ask this of me.
I recently informed the people in charge of the training that i very much would like to be in the training group, but that i was concerned about the cost (3 000$ tuition, and about 2 000$ for travel and housing from Montreal to California). It was suggested that i ask my family, friends, community, and my extended community, for dana. Dana is the pali word for "generosity."
In Buddhist practice, teachers are supported by the community, so the teachers are able to spread the dharma (the teachings). This practice is known as dana, and for the past 2600 years the teachings have been freely offered to anyone without cost. in return, the community has supported the teachers, allowing them to teach. In Thailand, there is even a holiday where everyone in the country donates gifts to the monks, that they might dedicate their energies to practice and teaching. According to the historical Buddha, the practice of generosity is the most important practice one can engage in, even more so than meditation. Of course, keep in mind that the Buddha was homeless, and he certainly had a vested interest.
The course costs $3 000. About $2 000 is required to pay for my travaels from Montreal to California, the housing that will be required, books, etc. This would allow me to deepen my practice, enhance my teaching abilities for the inmates I help everyday, and, I believe, spread the dharma for the benefit of all beings everywhere. If you would be willing to donate any amount toward this course for me, I would be deeply grateful. I don't enjoy asking for money, but according to my teacher, it allows others to practice generosity. So i am setting my pride, ego, and self aside, and letting what will be, to be.
Thank you for your time, your guidance, your friendship, your generosity, and your attention.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. Please forward this campain to anyone whom you believe might be interested in making a donation and/or following my progress.
“The measure of your compassion lies not in your service to those in the margins, but more your willingness to see yourself in kinship with them.” – Pema Chodron