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A LETTER FROM PEMA KHANDRO – SILENCE AS A BATTLEGROUND

Dear Friends,

In our current ngondro group, the Water Tigers, we are meditating on the purification of speech and part of the power of speech is also the power of silence, right silence. It reminds me of the debates I have had over the last few years about the proper role of silence in times of war, injustice and oppression. There are my friends who say, “if you aren’t mad then you are enabling,” (but what about grief!! Anger is not the only right response!) and that stunning saying “silence is violence.” That last one really strikes me because silence can be so many things.

For the brave voices of the #metoo movement, breaking the silence healed, transformed and protected. There are times when silence is understandable and necessary.  It can be a trauma response – and in that case, it is ok to be silent and care for your mental health. Silence can also reinforce trauma too, prolonging that sense of being haunted by unprocessed material. Something I learned as a person of color is that silence can also be a way of getting to safety.  There are times when silence is necessary in order to pick one’s battles and, once again, take care of one’s mental health or the safety of one’s friends.

Silence can be a posture of the deep listening that is needed for genuine transformation. Without that silence there may only be aggression and escalation. Silence can be the silent meditation that we so desperately need in order to be sane and clear through tough times.

And, indeed, silence can enable violence as well. It can be a matter of privilege and denial that allows oppression and violence to continue to take place. Thus, it seems that silence arises in so many ways.

One of the most powerful things I have seen about silence is when someone is healing from past trauma and learns, for the first time, that they can be safe in a group. There is some somatic knowing that awakens or is restored, the realization that it is safe to be calm together with others. Psychologically speaking,  it is a profound experience that involves attachment and attunement, where one can get in sync with one’s environment and people around them, self-regulating but at the same time, co-regulating together. This is one thing that is so powerful about group meditation practice. Healing happens so quietly, in simple silence, with no one naming it or orchestrating it. I often think about that before teaching meditation, this may be the only time someone here has ever been peaceful and safe in a group.

So for this reason, and so many others, I still believe in the power of silence. And, of course, I know that my friends do too. It is just hard to make a one-size fits all slogan that works as a response to dangerous times, hard to find a slogan that covers it all, is fair to the situation and accommodates the range of possible appropriate responses to difficult situations. They were talking about one kind of silence, a silence that enables violence and oppression to continue. I am also talking about other kinds, trauma, meditation, healing, transmission. It is hard to say in a short slogan that we need silence and talking, all at the right times. Maybe we could say something more rigorous, like “Learn how to use silence properly,”  or “Silence, can be dangerous or liberating, healing or harming.” And here we see that in these statements about silence, we all are agreeing to an implicit acknowledgement that silence, in its vast openness, and dare I say, emptiness, is also interwoven with ethics, morality, identity, individual and society.

Silence is a serious thing indeed, one that, from the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, takes serious training to learn how to skillfully engage with.

My very best to you always,

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Join Us In Changing How Meditation Is Taught

As people all over the world turn to Buddhist meditation as a source of wisdom, we recognize the need for  meditation teachers that are trained to meet the challenges of the future while remaining deeply connected to the robust philosophy, ethics, and culture of Tibetan Buddhism.  The world needs meditation teachers that are trained in understanding how traditional practice intersects with issues of power, sexuality, race, trauma and technology.  Deepen into the equanimity, calm, peace, inner strength, and resilience found in meditation through the generous act of learning to be a meditation teacher.

Learn More About The Training

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Dakini Day Chod

Learn More about Dakini Day Chod

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EXCELLENT PATH

Excellent Path

With Pema Khandro

Wednesday Feb 23

6pm PT | 9pm ET

Buddhist Philosophy Online ~ Open Teaching Webcast

30 minute teaching and short meditation with Pema Khandro

Free and open to the public.

This is a monthly class to support your study of Buddhist philosophy and meet the challenge of integrating Buddhism into a full, dynamic life. This class includes meditation instruction, Buddhist teachings, and remedies for navigating through challenges to practice.

Learn More

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Losar Celebration for Members!

Celebrate the Tibetan New Year!

The Year of the Water Tiger

Losar Celebration

with Pema Khandro and Wonderful Sangha and Friends

Friday March 4

San Francisco 5:30-7pm  

New York  8:30-10pm 

London March 5 – 1:30am 

Australia March 5 – 12:30pm

Nepal March 5 – 7:15am

Timezone Converter:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

All members are welcomed to join our annual Tibetan New Year Celebration – Online!

There is so much to look forward to:

• The Member of the year celebration. 
• Celebration of Iron Mice who finished Ngondro last year! 
• Celebration of those who finished 108 Chod!
• Conversations about what you learned from the pandemic.
• Celebration of accomplishments of the sangha members.
• Buddhist jokes!
• And so much more!!

Iron Mice, please wear black!

Water Tigers, please wear blue!

Members at large, please where maroon or red!

If you can dress festively, please do so!

If you forget and wear random clothing, no problem!

Registration for the annual Losar celebration is limited to members only, but it is open to all members, new and long time members. This is a time for the members from all the various programs to reunite and celebrate together. To find out more about member levels and benefits, or to become a member, visit Become a Member

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SELF-PACED COURSES

Monthly Programs at 6pm PT / 9pm ET

Every Monday – Ngondro Practice with Tsalgyur 

1st & 2nd Weds – Vajrayana Training with Pema Khandro

3rd Weds – Ngakpa Training

4th Weds – Excellent Path

Every Day at 12pm PT/3pm ET

 Daily Meditation with Our New Teachers! 

 

February
Feb 21 – Ngondro: Refuge & Bodhichitta Live Class w/Pema Khandro

Feb 26 – Meditation Instructor Training Final Practicum

Feb 26 – Dakini Day Chod w/Pema Khandro

 

March 

Mar 4 – Losar Celebration for Members

 

Mar 12 – Meditation Instructor Training Graduation

 

Mar 19 – Resting in Dharma Poetry – 1 Day Retreat with Pema Khandro

 

Mar 26 – Next Meditation Instructor Training Begins

Mar 28 – Dakini Day Chod w/Pema Khandro

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Slowing Down in the Midst of 100,000 things

Dear Dharma Friends,

We are just a few days away from the beginning of the next ngondro training. This morning I was remembering something I learned from Ngondro meditation- how to slow down in the midst of 100,000 things. Ngondro is not a practice that can be done in a hurry. Well, one can hurry, but it doesn’t really help one get there, because the destination is so far away. And hurrying feels horrible, it ruins the practice to go beyond a natural rhythm. Ngondro requires slowing down precisely because it is an extended experience, it is a journey, one where the goal is not just to finish. Because of this it requires a radical re-orientation, an abandonment of ambition and speed – in the midst of 100,000 things ahead. I didn’t discover this at first. I used to do ngondro with urgency. Then one day, I was sitting in the middle of a field on a warm autumn day, and I found myself just simply being there with the felt experience of the practice. I had slowed down enough to enjoy it. It’s something I often think of in the midst of the demands of my busy life, when in the midst of 100,000 things, slowing down makes it better. That is the beauty of ngondro. It is such serious training that puts us in contact with the urge to strive and simultaneously the need instead to slow down and find our stride. I forget this and remember this over and over again, which is why I love teaching ngondro so much, it is a reminder of the most profound things about being and doing.

The great Nyingma master, Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1898), said that if we give up ngondro we cut off the root of dharma and indeed he practiced ngondro repeatedly throughout his life. That practice he did was the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse – the same ngondro we are starting on Monday. Its name, Longchen Nyingthig, (klong chen snying thig) is a treasure revelation of the Nyingma lineage. It was revealed by Jigme Lingpa after he had three visions of the great yogi-philosopher, Longchenpa, from the fourteenth century. Its word “klong”  is vast expanse, “chen” is great and “snying thig” refers to the innermost essence. So in English its name is Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse. It is a guide to the practice of Dzogchen and ultimately an introduction into the expanse of being. 

I am overjoyed to be embarking on a journey into the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse  together with a new group beginning this Monday. You are are warmly invited to join us.

My very best to you always,

www.PemaKhandro.org

NGONDRO TRAINING STARTS JAN 24TH!

 

2022 is the year you will finally finish Ngondro!

HEART OF THE VAST EXPANSE

Ngondro Training

With Pema Khandro

 

Begins January 24th, 2022

 

Self-Paced Classes

Live Webinars

Weekly Practice Group

Register Here

Meditation is more than you think! Tibetan Buddhists engage in meditation as a dynamic system for identity transformation, healing from the past, changing karma and generating resilient compassion. Ngondro is pillar of Vajrayana meditation engaging with all the techniques that central to Buddhist Tantra. But Ngondro can be extremely difficult to complete by oneself. It is a practice best done with expert guidance and community support. In 2022, the Ngondro Training is being offered in an expanded program with extra support – weekly Monday night meetings plus live webinars and self paced material. 

Join the Ngondro Training at the first Live Webinar Class with Pema Khandro on January 24th, 2022. Then get all your questions answered in the quarterly live classes with Pema Khandro.

Live Webinars and Self-Paced Learning

with Pema Khandro

Ngondro self-paced classes and live webinars will be led by Lama Pema Khandro, scholar and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. Khandro-la’s teachings emphasize Buddhist philosophy and practice from a trauma-informed, feminist perspective that engages tradition with the great questions of our time. Classes with Pema Khandro will be given by self-paced videos and live meetings once a quarter, with practice sessions led in between by Tsalgyur.

Register Here

New for 2022:

Monday Nights
Ngondro Practice
Led by Tsalgyur

Ngondro students can enjoy support to accomplish the accumulations with a weekly online practice group. It is optional to join with your ngondro community every Monday night in Ngondro practice led by Tsalgyur. 

 

Also, foster a community through signing up for an accountability partner to support each other through the journey. 

About Tsal’gyur Dorje Tsalgyur has been studying with Pema Khandro since 2005. She is the Membership Co-ordinator and Registrar for the Buddhist Studies Institute and has been on the leadership team for Ngakpa International since 2012. Tsal’gyur is a certified Yoga Instructor, Meditation Teacher, and Teaching Assistant in the school. Having danced professionally for 10 years, she now teaches ballet, yoga, and meditation in group classes and private lessons.

Register Here

ENERGY AND POWER

Dear Dharma Friends,

VAJRAYANA TRAINING 2022 BEGINS JANUARY 12TH

Join The Community

Vajrayana Training

With Pema Khandro Online

Wed Jan 12th & Jan 19th
6pm PT

Vajrayana Training will continue on the 1st and 2nd Wednesday at 6pm PT every month. (The schedule has changed for January 2022 only and will continue on its regular schedule again in February!)

Learn More

LETTER FROM PEMA KHANDRO

Dear Dharma Friends,

Happy New Year!

In the midst of this pandemic and so many cases of coronavirus in our communities may resilience, courage, health and healing dawn.

May we remember compassion for ourselves and others in all things we do.

May this year be full of increasing kindness, wisdom, healthy boundaries, healthy bodies and all manner of good fortune.

Sending millions of White Tara mantras to everyone along with a heart-felt thank you to all who donated for our Dakini Mountain fundraiser!

Stay tuned for an update on our fundraiser from Janak below.

My very best to you always,

THIS IS THE YEAR YOU MEDITATE EVERY DAY

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THIS IS THE YEAR YOU FINISH NGONDRO

Give yourself the power of in-depth training in Tibetan Tantric Meditation.

• Find clarity
• Get free from negative karma
• Transform your body and mind
• Become a resource of altruism and compassion for your world
• Ask the big questions
• Ask the hard questions

This is the community support and the in-depth training you need to finish ngondro.

Join Pema Khandro for a year long ngondro program beginning January 24, 2022.

The training includes self-paced modules, live webinars and Monday night community ngondro sessions led by Tsal’gyur.

Register Now

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THIS IS THE YEAR YOU GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

Be the clarity and wisdom in chaotic times.

Do deep inner work.

Engage vigorous inquiry into reality.

Draw on the profound resources of 2,500 years of Buddhist insight.

Vajrayana Training is our core community for ongoing dharma study, a vibrant learning community, part lecture, part dialogue, part Tibetan meditation. A place to learn, grow and engage in Buddhist study with a vastly opened mind.

Taught by scholar and teacher, Pema Khandro, Vajrayana Training offers a rare opportunity of traditional study and practice in direct engagement with the pressing issues of our time.

Meets 1st and 2nd Wednesdays of every month online.

Register here

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LETTER FROM JANAK – FUNDRAISING NEWS

Dear Friends and Members,

With immense gratitude, I thank you for your generosity in supporting the 2021 Dakini Mountain Fundraising goal of $50,000.

We got very, very close, raising $48, 932!

Only $1062 short of our goal!

Dakini Mountain is the physical seat of Pema Khandro and her teachings.  And it’s your place for retreat, community, and inspiration. And yet, Dakini Mountain is more than a place, it’s a vision.

It’s a vision of fostering gender equality in Buddhism, respect for diversity, learning to put empathy into our embodiment of compassion, learning skills of non-violent communication, raising our standard of ethics in today’s world, making meditation and Buddhist teachings accessible, and keeping Buddhism vital into the 21st century and beyond.

You have helped sustain and enliven this vision and bring it to reality.

Our world so much needs this way of living.  We need it so much.

May all your good actions bring plentiful good karma and blessings to you in this new year.

If you did not get a chance to donate in 2021 but want to do so now to help us meet the

goal, you can use the button below.

Gifts can also be made by check, payable to Ngakpa International, and mailed to Dakini Mountain, P.O. Box 2396, Nevada City, California 95959, USA.

Ngakpa International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EIN 68-0529687 and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.

For more information about Dakini Mountain, visit www.DakiniMountain.org

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2022!

Janak

Director of Fundraising

Ngakpa International

Buddhist Studies Institute

Dakini Mountain Retreat Center

P.O. Box 2396

Nevada City, California 95946

USA

Dear Friends and Members,

Dakini Mountain 2021 Fundraiser

Amount Raised: $44,951

Amount Still Needed: $5,049

Today is the last day left to complete the 2021 goal.  

If you can, please help this goal to be reached.  You will be supporting the work of Pema Khandro and Buddhism to continue and flourish in 2022 and beyond. 

Dakini Mountain is a sanctuary for all the things we value most – quiet time in nature, community connections, sustainability, gender equality and diversity. The future of Dakini Mountain depends on you. Your donations will make sure Dakini Mountain continues. Every donation, small or large, makes a huge difference.

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Dakini Mountain also needs to be refinanced.  One way to help this project is to be one of the guarantors for the new loan!  It’s a way to help without even spending money. Email info@BuddhistStudiesInstitute.org for more details.

Gifts can also be made by check, payable to Ngakpa International, and mailed to Dakini Mountain, P.O. Box 2396, Nevada City, California 95959, USA.

Ngakpa International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EIN 68-0529687 and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.

For more information about Dakini Mountain, visit www.DakiniMountain.org

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2022!

Janak

Director of Fundraising

Ngakpa International

Buddhist Studies Institute

Dakini Mountain Retreat Center

P.O. Box 2396

Nevada City, California 95946

USA

Dear Friends and Members,

Do you ever wish you could help the cause of women in Buddhism? You can! There is a way! Dakini Mountain is a center founded by a rare female lama and tulku. It is run by three Buddhist women and is dedicated to the cause of gender equality in Buddhism. Dakini Mountain is a project worth supporting!!!!

Dakini Mountain 2021 Fundraiser

Amount Raised So Far: $40,000

Amount Still Needed: $10,000

Only 2 days left to complete the 2021 goal.  

If you can, please help this goal to be reached.  You will be supporting the work of Pema Khandro and Buddhism to continue and flourish in 2022 and beyond.

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Dakini Mountain also needs to be refinanced.  One way to help this project is to be one of the guarantors for the new loan!  It’s a way to help without even spending money. Email info@BuddhistStudiesInstitute.org for more details.

Gifts can also be made by check, payable to Ngakpa International, and mailed to Dakini Mountain, P.O. Box 2396, Nevada City, California 95959, USA.

Ngakpa International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EIN 68-0529687 and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.

For more information about Dakini Mountain, visit www.DakiniMountain.org

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2022!

Janak

Director of Fundraising

Ngakpa International

Buddhist Studies Institute

Dakini Mountain Retreat Center

P.O. Box 2396

Nevada City, California 95946

USA

Dear Friends and Members,

Dakini Mountain 2021 Fundraiser

Amount Raised: $40,000

Amount Still Needed: $10,000

Only 3 days left to complete the 2021 goal.  

If you can, please help this goal to be reached today. 

You will be supporting the work of Pema Khandro and Buddhism to continue and flourish in 2022 and beyond. 

We are a grass-roots organization, your donations, whatever the size, will make a direct impact on saving Dakini Mountain – to make sure Dakini Mountain survives the pandemic. In a time when we have lost so much, with your help, Dakini Mountain will be here for all of us as a place to heal, renew and reconnect with what matters most in life. 

May we meet at Dakini Mountain one day soon and make a kinder world together!

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Dakini Mountain also needs to be refinanced.  One way to help this project is to be one of the guarantors for the new loan!  It’s a way to help without even spending money. Email info@BuddhistStudiesInstitute.org for more details.

Gifts can also be made by check, payable to Ngakpa International, and mailed to Dakini Mountain, P.O. Box 2396, Nevada City, California 95959, USA.

Ngakpa International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EIN 68-0529687 and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.

For more information about Dakini Mountain, visit www.DakiniMountain.org

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2022!

Janak

Director of Fundraising

Ngakpa International

Buddhist Studies Institute

Dakini Mountain Retreat Center

P.O. Box 2396

Nevada City, California 95946

USA

A Holiday Letter from Pema Khandro

Soothing Fear Through Empathy & Compassion 

Compassion and Empathy have a role to play in dealing with fear and anxiety.

And another approach is compassion and empathy – through which we can know we are not alone. We are experiencing frightful times together; it is therefore an opportunity to practice altruism and compassion. 

 

We can connect with others’ fear as a practice of altruism, which Shantideva says is the path to fearlessness. It is possible, in a state of fear, to connect with the fearful states that others have around us through contemplation or through conversation. We may even be able to be soothing, kind, compassionate, connected presence. We can attune to how others are doing; we can ask and listen and find out again that we are not alone in our fears and anxieties. By connecting we can learn to soothe our own minds and position ourselves to care for others. 

 

This is so helpful when we are blocked in our self-soothing, by connecting and soothing others, we are unlocking the power of co-regulation, this also helps us to soothe ourselves! It helps us to soften towards our own experience, and therefore get free of that hardness and clinging that makes fear harder to bear.

 

Compassionate connections have such an important role to play in times of fear. To connect with others’ fears offers us a way to be with fear that is open hearted and authentic, yet not helpless. 

 

Here are some tips for being empathetic when our loved ones express fear this pandemic holiday season, a little reminder from the Empathy Training. 

 

1. Some cheerful self-discipline is where to begin. Resist the urge to fix them or give them advice first. Empathy first. Advice last (and only when asked or organically emerging). Resist the urge to cheer them up first, it can come off as minimizing. 

 

2. Let other people talk. Listen to other people’s feelings and ask questions about whatever they say. Make room for them to express themselves. Contemplate what their experience is like for them. Focus on understanding. Give it time and space. Just breathe and be there quietly or ask open ended questions.

 

3. Affirm that their feelings are understandable, normal and make sense. If it doesn’t make sense to you, keep asking questions until it does.

 

4. Offer physical affection if appropriate. If you are socially distanced, you can still take deep breaths and be an embodied presence.

 

5. Affirm your support by asking if you can do anything to help, or if you see things you can do to help, do them! Or if you can’t do anything – accept that – we can’t always help or fix things or do things. But there is wonderful, healing intimacy to be had in just sharing our feelings together.

 

6. Does none of this work or go well? Thats okay. It’s normal and understandable to have mis-attunements in relationships. We are not always going to gel or align or harmonize, that’s okay. Better luck next time. You can at least do some tonglen and connect your altruistic intent with them in a whole-hearted way through that meditation.

 

7. If you have overwhelming emotions happening and don’t have the bandwidth to care for others, then you might find it helpful to have professional support, a wonderful way to build up your spiritual resources. This link has a list of therapists that you can search. https://sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org/

 

 

Wishing you much care and compassion in the holiday season,

Link to my website

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LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY GIFTS

To request one of these Thangkas or for more information, please email Info@BuddhistStudiesInstitute.org.

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NGONDRO TRAINING

2022 is the year you will finally finish Ngondro!

 

 Find Your Ground
Ngondro Training

Module 1
The Field of Buddhas

With Pema Khandro

 

Begins January 24th, 2022

 

Self Paced Classes

Live Webinars

Weekly Practice Group

Register Here

Ngondro is a series of Vajrayana meditation practices for cleansing, training and empowering the body-mind. Also known as the ‘tantric preliminaries,’ ngondro literally means ‘before going,’ referring to the training one needs to be on the path of liberation.

Ngondro also serves as the foundation for the highest practices of Tibetan Buddhism, it is the pre-requisite to Tsa-lung and Dzogchen practices. Ngondro represents the cognitive, physical, emotional and philosophical components which are keys to the practice of liberation.

Join the Ngondro Training at the first Live Webinar Class with Pema Khandro on January 24th 2022. Then get all your questions answered in the quarterly live classes with Pema Khandro.

Self Paced Classes and Webinars

with Pema Khandro

Ngondro self-paced classes and live webinars will be led by Lama Pema Khandro, scholar and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. Khandro-la’s teachings emphasize Buddhist philosophy and practice from a trauma-informed, feminist perspective that engages tradition with the great questions of our time. Classes with Pema Khandro will be given by self-paced videos and live meetings once a quarter, with practice sessions led in between by Tsalgyur.

 Register Here

New for 2022:

Monday Nights
Ngondro Practice
Led by Tsalgyur

Ngondro students can enjoy support to accomplish the accumulations with a weekly online practice group. It is optional to join with your ngondro community every Monday night in Ngondro practice led by Tsalgyur. 

 

Also foster community through signing up for accountability partner to support each other through the journey. 

About Tsal’gyur Dorje Tsalgyur has been studying with Pema Khandro  since 2005. She is the Membership Co-ordinator and Registrar for the Buddhist Studies Institute, and has been on the leadership team for Ngakpa International since 2012. Tsal’gyur is a certified Yoga Instructor, Meditation Teacher, and Teaching Assistant in the school. Having danced professionally for 10 years, she now teaches ballet, yoga, and meditation in group classes and private lessons.

Register Here

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UPCOMING EVENTS & OTHER NEWS

Daily & Weekly Programs

• Daily Meditation, Free Every Day at 12 PT / 3pm ET Taught by many wonderful certified Meditation Instructors!
• RESUMING IN THE NEW YEAR: Vajrayana Training, Ngakpa Training, Open Teaching, and Umdze Training – Wednesday nights 6pm PT / 9pm ET

December

• Dec 26-29, 17th Sakyadhita Conference, Pema Khandro as Guest Presenter

January – Next Ngondro Training Cycle Begins in January!!!

• Jan 24, 2022, Ngondro Training – Module 1 The Field of Buddhas

March – Next MIT begins in March!

• Mar 26, 2022, Meditation Instructor Training Begins, Details TBA

As more details roll out for our Upcoming Events, please visit the Event List Here.

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SELF-PACED COURSES

Buddhist Ethics

with Pema Khandro

Self-Paced Course Online

Open Teaching – No Prerequisites

The Five Buddhist Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, openness and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the uncommon, extraordinary perspective of non-duality.

Topics covered in this course include

• Buddhist theories about vegetarian lifestyle vs. meat-eating, 
• Buddhist perspectives on alcohol and drug use, 
• Conscious use of sexual energy, Buddhist philosophy about desire
• Handling resources, money and spirituality
• Honesty, and the speech that takes us beyond confusion.

Register Now

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PEMA KHANDRO ON LION’S ROAR

When We Have No Choice

By Pema Khandro Rinpoche | December 14th, 2021

 

Sometimes, says Pema Khandro, there’s no way out. It’s at those times that we can discover the depth and resilience of the mind. 

 

Read Now

Dear Friends and Members,

Due to outstanding generosity, $37,000 of the 2021 Dakini Mountain fundraising goal of $50,000 has been met. Thank you so much for supporting Dakini Mountain and the work of Pema Khandro. Only $13,000 more is needed to reach the critically needed goal and we’ve got 11 days of this year left to do it.

So, why make the effort and sacrifice to give these funds?

Dakini Mountain is the physical center of Pema Khandro’s work. And I think it’s fair to say, it’s been under duress due to the pandemic – like many other places and things in today’s world.

Dakini Mountain just opened in 2019 after years of striving to make it happen.  We had one summer’s worth of retreats there and boom, it was shut down due to the pandemic.

Lack of income and lack of being able to use Dakini Mountain for its primary purpose of teaching and fortifying the Buddhadharma have been extremely hard for everyone involved.

I think when times are hard, it’s the time for us to come together and become even more clear about what is important to us.

What vision are we holding for ourselves and our world?

Where are our points of leverage to make our vision reality?

How can we make a difference?

Pema Khandro has held the vision of Dakini Mountain for as long as I’ve known her.  Why?  Because places dedicated to the teachings are vitally important to whether or not Buddhism will flourish.

It’s been shown time and time again throughout history that when Buddhist monasteries, retreats, and teaching centers thrive, Buddhist practice increases in vitality and the number of people practicing becomes larger.

Ask yourself what is most vitally needed in today’s world?

I know my answer, without a doubt.  What is desperately needed in this world is more wisdom and, perhaps even more importantly, more compassion.

This is what Dakini Mountain is dedicated to.

This is what Pema Khandro is dedicated to.

This is what the Buddhist Studies Institute is dedicated to.

It’s a beautiful thing and it makes a huge difference, but we know it’s not easy.  It seems to take all we’ve got to become the best practitioners we can be and to help others.

So, I call you to action.  There are many ways to make a difference, like doing practice, speaking kindly to our loved ones, and doing acts of service, small and large.

But right now, I ask you to give serious thought to making your best possible financial contribution to support and help Dakini Mountain stay alive and thrive.

Only $13,000 more is needed to reach the critically needed goal and we’ve got 11 days of this year left to do it.

We need everyone to take action to make this happen.

Dakini Mountain also needs to be refinanced. One way to help this project is to be one of the guarantors for the new loan! It’s a way to help out without even spending money. Email info@BuddhistStudiesInstitute.org for more details.

Thank you so much for everything you’ve already done, all your service, your donations, your practice and your caring.

May it all come back to you as good karma enriching your life and may you have the joy of seeing others be happy through your good actions.

Gifts can also be made by check, payable to Ngakpa International, and mailed to Dakini Mountain, P.O. Box 2396, Nevada City, California 95959, USA.

Ngakpa International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EIN 68-0529687 and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.

For more information about Dakini Mountain, visit www.DakiniMountain.org

Wishing you a Happy Christmas!

Janak

Director of Fundraising

Ngakpa International

Buddhist Studies Institute

Dakini Mountain Retreat Center

P.O. Box 2396

Nevada City, California 95946

USA