{"id":9153,"date":"2016-01-07T16:39:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T00:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metta.secure.retreat.guru\/?p=9153"},"modified":"2016-01-07T16:39:22","modified_gmt":"2016-01-08T00:39:22","slug":"receiving-dana-teachers-perspectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/2016\/01\/07\/receiving-dana-teachers-perspectives\/","title":{"rendered":"Receiving Dana: Teachers’ Perspectives"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October, the Insight Dialogue teaching community gathered for their annual retreat and meeting at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts. For the first time, the retreat was offered at no expense to the teachers, as a result of generous community support, organized last April via a fundraiser.<\/p>\n

During the gathering the teaching community took some time to contemplate the gift of this generosity. The tradition of dana has been passed down from the time of the Buddha, to touch our lives and our experience in this present moment. We explored quite deeply what it’s like to receive this giving, this generosity and support from others whom we may not even know. We learned that contributions had been received from 27 groups and individuals, from five different countries, totaling over $9,000! Some of the messages that came from the donors were read aloud as a part of the contemplation.<\/p>\n

We also gathered notes that each teacher wrote, encapsulating their experience of the contemplation about receiving this generous support, and expressing their gratitude to the community. Some of the sentiments collected are included below.<\/p>\n

\n
It moves me deeply that you hold an image in your\u00a0hearts of our teaching community\u2026 and more, it reflects back to me our\u00a0commitment and generosity with the Dhamma and inspires hopefulness and\u00a0joy.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
Thank you! We contemplated your generosity and\u00a0for me it became a true teaching in itself. Something sprouted and became alive\u00a0about the unconditioned value of dana.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
Your donation comes together with a sense of joy and\u00a0freedom of mind\u2026 The heart opens in receiving, and a commitment to strengthen\u00a0the purity and integrity of the teachings takes form. The learning that comes\u00a0from your act\u00a0is deep.<\/div>\n
\"IMG_2744\"<\/div>\n
Vivid gratitude felt in the chest and awareness that generosity\u00a0is mutual.\"IMG_2791\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Your generosity supports my turning towards the sense\u00a0of non-separation that is at the heart of ID, and the care, the willingness to\u00a0dedicate my life to addressing human suffering this inspires.<\/div>\n
\"IMG_2874\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Your generous offering of support provides a sense of\u00a0stability, a grounding in the larger community, that cherishes the teachings\u00a0and nurtures their capacity to travel freely across the globe. I am humbled to\u00a0receive this support.\u00a0May we be worthy of your gifts.<\/div>\n
\"IMG_3550\"<\/div>\n
Contemplating the sky, I feel aware of being under the\u00a0same sky, sharing goodwill and meditation practice. And I am deeply touched by\u00a0the generosity that helped me come all the way to the USA from Switzerland.\u00a0With a heart\u00a0full of the strength of sharing, thank yo all.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
Your gift feels to be part of a wider stream of grace\u00a0that carries me forward on this path. May the generosity you have offered\u00a0resound with a note of joy in your heart as it sounds a note of gratitude and\u00a0humility in mine.<\/div>\n
\"IMG_2831\"<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, a big heart-warming thank you to each of you who contributed to this beautiful act of generosity that moved us so deeply. Also, much gratitude to the community members who organized the fundraiser that made this happen.<\/p>\n

May the deep joy of generosity keep flowing through all of our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In October, the Insight Dialogue teaching community gathered for their annual retreat and meeting at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts. For the first time, the retreat was offered at no expense to the teachers, as a result of generous community support, organized last April via a fundraiser. During the gathering the teaching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":9155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/188"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/9155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdialogue.secure.retreat.guru\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}