Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our annual appeal! We had 90 generous donors, some of whom gave more than once which allowed us to reach our $20,000 goal! We are so grateful for all of you who support us with monetary gifts, volunteering in the space, and offering your presence at our programs. Thank you for your practice!
We want to update you all on our annual appeal progress and to thank the 84 donors who’ve given so generously! We are up to $18,979. We’re about $1000 shy of our ambitious goal of $20,000. If you haven’t already and are able, can you support us today?
Thank you so much to the 53 people who have donated to our annual appeal so far! We have an ambitious goal of $20,000 and at $10,718, we are a little over half of the way there. Sixteen of you donated during Giving Tuesday, taking full advantage of the $2000 board match! We so appreciate all of you who support us financially and those who also give their time and efforts to keep us running. We wouldn’t be here without you!
This Dharma Thought on Nurturing Gratitude is from an August newsletter written by Steve Allison-Bunnell of the Joining Rivers Sangha which meets Mondays at 7pm
[One] Friday night [in August], our car suddenly needed a new alternator and battery, and I was supposed to drive to Missoula in the morning. A recipe for suffering, or dissatisfaction with the world as it was, if there ever was one. But I was rescued at the auto parts store, where not only were the parts in stock, but they also called a friend who ran a mobile repair service. Barely an hour later I was headed home, our old Subaru purring along. Thich Nhat Hahn taught, “If you aren’t experiencing gratitude, you are suffering.” Indeed, thanks to the practice, that hour was filled with gratitude instead of anxiety. Through the Eyes of Interbeing, I experienced the auto parts store as a sangha: a DIY community of people helping each other keep their cars running. I was delighted to partake in its casual, mundane generosity. Where do you find Sangha in unlikely places? How do you nurture gratitude when it’s easy to suffer?
Please note these holiday schedule changes for the week of November 20th. The Tergar Bozeman Joy of Living Practice Group will not meet on Wednesday, November 22nd. The BDC will be closed on Thursday, November 23. There will not be a noon sit or meeting of the Bozeman Insight Community that day. May you all be well and find ease in your circumstances.
This Dharma Thought is brought to you from Steve Allison-Bunnell of the Joining Rivers Sangha.
“Fake it ’til you make it” is how we are often encouraged to keep trying even when we lack confidence. But as reassuring as it might sound that no one is perfectly competent, it is ultimately exhausting to hide our authentic selves. For neurodiverse people, it can be devastating. Happily, one of the greatest fruits of mindfulness practice is genuine ease with the present, no matter what is going on around us. This week, a boy who had been in our camp program all day at the Science Center reflected on the exuberant chaos of kids working on a project and all clamoring for help. He told me, “You are my new favorite person! You are so chill even when all this stuff is going on around here.” It was a touching gift to hear that I had managed to hold the container all day, and that he had felt and noticed the calm I had been practicing to project. I don’t think I could have faked that if I had tried! When do you feel the ease of your inside and outside matching up? What helps you do that?
For this Dharma Thought, we share Steve Allison-Bunnell’s September writing on the Five Remembrances.
“I am of a nature to grow old. I cannot escape old age…” It might seem like a big downer to recite the Five Remembrances on your birthday, but that is what I did this week. And I am old enough now that I indeed cannot escape the experience of an aging body. If the practice were only the Four Remembrances, and ended with “I will lose all that I love,” it would indeed be difficult to contemplate on any day, much less one’s birthday. But it is the fifth that never fails to both bring me back into the present moment and to renew the joy of living: “My actions are my only true possessions. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. They are the ground on which I stand.” Instead of scaring me more, this line always reminds me that my life ripples out and crosses yours. I—you—we—can’t not make a difference! Those ripples continue even as we change and age. And with each passing year, there are more ripples sent into the universe. What intersections in the ripples of your life can you see? How does that refresh your experience of Interbeing?
Steve Allison-Bunnell with the Joining Rivers Sangha writes:
Land acknowledgements at the start of various events often provoke some reactivity in me, and not out of disagreement with their sentiment or the reality they shine light on. The fact of Interbeing, as Thay calls it, and our undeniable location in the stream of life does compel us to look deeply at our relationship to this land and its longtime human stewards. That discomfort is something of the point, but it also can feel like there isn’t actually the container to fully reflect on how our presence in this place now is enabled by past injustice. So I am glad for the opportunity in our practice this week to offer that container to honor Indigenous People’s Day with our full concentration and diligence. How do you experience land acknowledgements? What do you do to find a place for what it brings up?
Please join us Monday, October 9, from 7-8:30 pm, for sitting and walking meditation. We will have a special practice of Touching the Earth to honor Indigenous People’s Day, and support one another in the Practice through Dharma Sharing.
Additional Note from the BDC: Bozeman Dharma Center sits on unceded land that was shared grounds of the Apsáalooke (Crow), Salish, Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Niitsítpiis-stahkoii ᖹᐟᒧᐧᐨᑯᐧ ᓴᐦᖾᐟ (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ), Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples. Settlers of European descent claimed ownership of the land, displacing those who lived here. Please take a moment to acknowledge and honor the people of these nations, as well as all of those displaced, present and past. We lament this injustice in our history as well as ongoing systemic anti-black racism that prevents the full participation of people of color in our society. To this end we strive to contribute to the dismantling of racism where we can.
In honor of the Bozeman Dharma Center’s 10 year anniversary, this month we would like to introduce and highlight the compassionate and hardworking Board of Directors. We have had several boards in the past 10 years, all endeavoring to bring forth the dharma with eyes and hearts on excellent governance, financial oversight and helpful, relevant policy work. We are indebted to all our past and present Board members for their dedicated practice.
Our current board consists of
Marilyn: Working with a group of people towards a mission that supports the well-being of all sentient beings and who share the same desire to live the dharma in their everyday lives supports my path. As the Buddha said, “When [one] has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.” Upaḍḍhasutta (SN 45.2)
Kerry: Serving on the board helps me live my Buddhist practice by intentionally working with others to support and serve the BDC. Each of us offers different perspectives and strengths and all are committed to work together guided by our Buddhist practice for the benefit of all who come to the BDC.
Steve: One of the primary commitments we make in the Plum Village tradition when we are ordained as Core Community members of the Order of Interbeing is to support sangha building. In general, service to others is central to Thich Nhat Hahn’s interpretation of Mahayana Buddhism. More personally, my practice has been about seeing beyond my own needs and desires, and being more able to account for the perspectives of others more fully. So working on the board gives me an opportunity to consider the needs of the entire community.
Nick: In the vision of Thich Nhat Hanh’s engaged Buddhism, serving on the board is my connection to advancing Dharma locally, regionally and beyond. I believe that mindfulness is a practice every person can benefit from and that understanding even the basic tenants of the Dharma enhances this practice substantially. Serving on the board gives me an opportunity to support every Sangha and to help make Bozeman a hub of Buddhism in America.
Marilyn: I am inspired by the vast and consistent programming over the years, which has given me so many opportunities to grow my practice. Also, surviving the pandemic, thanks to the dedication and generosity of so many (with a little help from technology). We were able to reopen our new dharma center location in the spring of 2022 and hire our first Executive Director.
Kerry: Starting up Mindspace in 2016 and then restarting it in 2022 post-COVID has been so meaningful for me. While it felt very daunting at first, I am so glad that the BDC encouraged and supported this group. I feel so fortunate that we are able to offer this group in the Bozeman community.
Nick: In the past 10 years, the BCD has been an important place of connection for me both to my family and to the community. I have benefited greatly from the wide array of programming, the mentorship, and the friendships that have all been a part of my experience and my practice.
Steve: It is so joyful and healthy for our sanghas representing various traditions to come together and mutually support one another in sharing the Dharma with our community. It always feels a little strange when Buddhist groups end up competing, whether explicitly or inadvertently. Being able to offer our region a harmonious and diverse range of programs seems very special. Also, the pooling of resources has wonderfully supported smaller, newer groups, such as Mindspace and Joining Rivers, to become a presence that they otherwise would struggle to do on their own.
Marilyn: I look forward to building our programs, staff, and leaders to be able to fulfill the needs of the community, now and into the next 10 years.
Kerry: I started meditating when the BDC opened 10 years ago, which both feels like not much time at all and also a lot of time! Reflecting on 10 years I appreciate that the BDC has always been consistently a peaceful refuge even when the BDC transitioned to online and back into a new physical space. I hope that continues to be the case in the next 10 years and that we continue to serve and reach to all who are interested in Buddhist practice in our growing community.
Steve: Who doesn’t hope for a dedicated, larger practice center?! In addition to that, I hope we will continue to be a voice for Engaged Buddhism, carrying our practice out into the wider community, both individually and perhaps as an organization.
Nick: I would love to continue to see the BDC expand its programming and its community. I think there is great potential for the center to benefit all demographics in the Gallatin valley and to be a thriving hub for the community at large. I would like to be a part of finding the BCD a (more) permanent home, laying the groundwork for a residential program, and to continue growing the weekly offerings and retreats.
In Buddhist practice, concentration is highly prized as a way to train our minds and hearts. It is a vehicle for presence, for remembrance. This life gives many opportunities for joy and beauty, and it also is rife with conflict and disagreement, lack, endless entertainment and thus distraction. What are we running from when we scroll through our phones, watch multiple episodes of a show, shop, eat too much and rage against those who appear different from our comfort?
Ways of concentration include being absorbed, employing awareness along with focus. Attention. Isn’t our life really determined by attention? Where we place our attention really colors and defines the quality of our life. If we wish to develop kindness or patience, we must concentrate. If we wish to free ourselves from so much distraction, opinion and noise, we must collect ourselves. We bring strength to our effort, to our spiritual orientation to life. Like juice concentrate. We extract the essence, the heart of the matter. Concentration is not some tedious exercise. It can provide a deep connection to life. We bring our attention to life, to our own good hearts, with strength and purpose.
To sit still with our experience, to be present with our prayer. To breathe. We practice placing our attention on the divine, on God, on the interrelationship of all things. To concentrate is to bring together — our attention, our intention, and our purpose. It is to take the time for reflection seriously. It is to be whole. Wholly available.
In my own meditation practice, concentration has been difficult. My mind races, my heart wants, and I am easily distracted. I know I am not alone, but it can be frustrating to give myself the gift of time and silence, and then be bombarded by all manner of desires and resistances. Even though we live in an environment full of juicy ways to ignore our hearts and be entertained, my experience is — even in beautiful silent settings, the mind pulls away from the present moment into habits of longing. Where is that intention of communion and service? I just want to watch TV.
The Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi said, True concentration does not mean to be concentrated on only one thing…Without trying to concentrate our mind on anything, we are ready to concentrate on something…
Concentration is the readiness of the heart and mind — to face what is right before me, to stay present in conflict, to help and serve.
This Dharma Thought is brought by Karen DeCotis. This excerpt was originally published on bozemandailychronicle.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
