Conversation with the BDC Founders

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

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.