This month’s celebration of our 10 year anniversary highlights a few of our amazing volunteers. We so appreciate all of you who help keep the Dharma Center clean, beautiful and financially viable. Our volunteer base is well more than 20 strong from Board members, Committee members, and practitioners who show up to care for the space. On average, volunteers put in about 150-200 work hours a month and save the BDC over $100,000 annually with their efforts.

We asked our volunteers to reflect on why they donate to the Bozeman Dharma Center. Here are some of the responses.

From Linda Young, Fundraising Committee Volunteer: I wanted to volunteer on a committee to learn more about the BDC, and to feel connected to the people on the committee, knowing that in itself would support my practice- and it has. I totally enjoy the people, and better understand the history, challenges and successes faced by the sangha. That connection is important to me.

From Beth Renick, longtime Wednesday noon bellringer: I have loved volunteering at the Dharma Center since we were in the building on the east end of Main Street. Being part of such a wonderful group of people and meditating at the center has contributed to my personal growth and life balance. I am blessed to be part of the Bozeman Dharma Center!

From Casey Cassidy, bellringer, retreat host and many other tasks: I feel it is a privilege to offer time and financial support to the Bozeman Dharma Center, and teachers, considering how much they and the community enriches my life and practice! By offering what I can I feel I am contributing to the benefit not only to the Bozeman Dharma Center – but also the other members of our dharma community, and as a ripple effect, our Bozeman community, and our world. Thank you for being there, and all you do!!

From Marilia Librandi – Flower and Library volunteer: When I take care of BDC flowers and books I learn about transience and permanency altogether. It is a gift of kindness, calm, and self-observation.

If you missed the conversations with the founders and the board, you can find links to them below!

Conversation with the BDC Founders
Conversation with the BDC Board

There’s a schedule change for afternoon meditation hosted by the Bozeman Zen Group. These drop-in sits will now be offered on Mondays and Fridays from 5:20-6 PM. There will be a 35 minute silent sit followed by a short chant. These sits are in person only. All welcome!

Palyul Tibetan Buddhist Sangha is excited to welcome Tibetan Buddhist Master, Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche, to Bozeman! Rinpoche will give a talk on the Heart Sutra at the Bozeman Dharma Center on Friday, October 6. The talk is open to all; suggested donation of $10 (no one turned away for lack of funds).

Additional teachings will be given on October 7 & 8 at a different location.

For further information, contact:
Palyul Changchub Dargyeling Montana
Phone: 406-587-2907
Email: info@palyulmontana.org

Beginning next week on September 21 at 5:30 PM, this new weekly program will offer an opportunity to meditate using sound as a source of concentration. Experience how the union of breath and sound can anchor you in the present moment. No prior experience or registration necessary.

The BDC is 10 years old! Enjoy this conversation with the founders about their practice and how the BDC was established.

Mem Schultz

Suzanne Colón

Alice Robison

Susan Morgan

Q: First, tell us a little about your practice

Alice: A fledgling meditation practice started in 2000 while training as a somatic therapist. A decade of practice and training unfolded in Theravada Buddhism/Insight meditation,  principally at Spirit Rock in CA. I participated in four one and two year training sessions, and sat one and two month long retreats. During this time I was hired by Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA as a retreat support staffer where I sat and served over 30 retreats.

Susan: My Buddhist path started with Christian contemplation leading to Theravada practice at the Insight Meditation Society where I practiced with Joseph Goldstein and did a number of 3 /6 month retreats there and at the Forest Refuge. Then I had the good fortune to meet my Tibetan teacher, Tulku Sangngag of Ewam, when its Buddha Garden was a field of thistles. I studied, practiced, and traveled with him and our Ewam sangha on pilgrimage for many years. I met Anam Thubten Rinpoche there and became his student also. Anam Thubten Rinpoche ordained me as a Dharma Leader and asked me to teach. 

Around 2010, with a couple of friends I started the Bozeman Dharmata Sangha, which was one of the three original residential sanghas at the BDC and was a fellowship of Anam Thubten’s.  We hosted Rinpoche for weekend retreats at the BDC for 10 years. We are happy that he will return for a weekend retreat in June 2024. I hope to see many of you there! 

Mem: I started in the Vipassana/Insight tradition with the intention to  learn how to meditate with a qualified teacher and was fortunate to find one at my first retreat in Bozeman 24 years ago.His direct and skillful approach to the teachings helped me to learn how to look at my mind, and where to begin exploring the vast field of Buddhism. 

I have continued to study and sit with many wonderful teachers in all of the traditions but have not really “landed” in one or the other, and don’t even consider myself a Buddhist! 🙂  However, I feel deeply connected to the Buddhist teachings and have confidence in their truth and wisdom in everyday life.

Suzanne: My practice is now a blend of time on the cushion (30-45 minutes about 4 times a week) and pausing mid-task often during the day to infuse awareness and ease into whatever I’m doing. At some point (22 years in?) the distinction between metta and insight practice dropped away, so while I might employ different tools or method in any given sit, there is a deep well of kind-hearted, warm attentiveness that pervades it all and defies categorization.

Q: What led to the creation of the BDC?

Suzanne: At least 2 of the 3 original “resident” sanghas needed a new home at the time, and there was a sense that if we banded together, we could create something greater than what we each could create on our own. Much of the credit should go to the vision that Mem Schultz and Susan Morgan had, they inspired me to jump in and once we found some funding we were off and running. One of the main goals from the beginning was to relieve the resident sanghas of the burden of huge rent payments – the BDC was created as an entity to shoulder those burdens.

Susan: I was motivated to start the Dharma Center with a desire to provide a place  of peace and refuge in our manically extroverted society. I wanted to express my gratitude for the beautiful, healing Buddhist practices through the BDC. And to make these practices available to others for the benefit of all. 

I met with energetic and like-minded women; together we focused on bringing together the Buddhist groups in Bozeman while hoping for a regional presence as well. With the connivance of a sympathetic realtor we found the space on East Main Street for our first beautiful center, risked leasing it, and set out our plans to invite resident Sanghas to join us, set up the space based on our experience of other centers, initiated the noon sits, people came, and we began to practice. 

Alice: It was an honor to envision the BDC with the many people who were, and still are, dedicated to bringing the dharma to a rural outpost in MT. Originally it was one of the only dharma centers along the northern tier of the US between Minneapolis/St. Paul and the west coast. That was part of the vision.

Q: What do you think about the BDC being 10 years old?

Alice: It is inspiring to watch the BDC grow and have the dedicated local teachers and sangha members sharing their wisdom, time, care, and the arrival of teachers from all over the US to come and offer the teachings in person or via Zoom. The BDC sanghas are the force that gives all beings the possibility to wake up. Many people have dedicated their transformation and practice to make it what it is today. What a gift in shifting people’s hearts and minds towards kindness, compassion, and acceptance of oneself and others. Long may it run! 

Susan: Congratulations to the BDC on its 10th anniversary. I am delighted to have had a role in getting it going 10 years ago and to see how it is flourishing as a refuge and inspiration in the loving hands of so many! 

Suzanne: It’s wonderful. I’ve always said that we don’t know what a successful outcome looks like. The BDC could serve as a hatchery for a Zen center, a new Tibetan temple, an Insight + wellness center – who knows? And as we turn 10 years old, I think that’s still true. We’ll enjoy this lovely vehicle for practice as long as it serves, and then let it go. It has served us well for a decade and I’m grateful to everyone who’s come to practice, lent a hand, and donated funds.

Mem: I am grateful to see the Bozeman Dharma Center in its 10th year and have a sense that it will continue to flourish in ways that we envisioned at its start, inspiring our community by its good leadership and code of inclusivity.

Step into a day of transformative wisdom led by visiting Insight teacher, Melissa McKay, on Saturday, September 30. 

This retreat is designed to develop our essential kindness, hone our mindfulness skills and guide us to an open-hearted equanimity with all experience. Join us for a nourishing journey that combines the power of Metta (loving-kindness) with the clarity of Insight Meditation. Early Bird Registration available through September 14.

Join us on the first Tuesday of each month at 5 PM for Newcomer Orientation. If you haven’t been to the Bozeman Dharma Center yet or are wondering what Dharma means or just want to say hello, stop in on September 5! Explore the space, get basic meditation instruction and get your questions answered.