KATHINA SEASON 25K CHALLENGE GRANT -- {Re: Invitation to Kathina}

[Dhammadharini]

Dear Friends,

There have been questions about the $25,000 Match Grant that has been offered for downpayment on our new in-town monastery/vihara, with request for clarification.  Thanks for asking.

Here goes:

Match Grants are also known as Challenge Grants. 

In this case, an anonymous donor has pledged to MATCH every donation you make for the new monastery during the next three months of the Kathina Season, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. This is the donor's CHALLENGE to all the friends and supporters of our Bhikkhuni Sangha in revival. In this way, every dollar you donate will be doubled --and every dollar the challenge donor donates will be doubled too! -- totaling up to $50,000.

The Kathina Season will begin for us on the day of the Kathina and will end at the end of winter holiday season.

Enormous Anumodana with great thanks to the Challenge Grant donor and to all who participate. We very much hope this will enable us to offer our women's monastic community a new in-town monastery/vihara!

If you have further questions, don't hesitate to email our Dhammadharini (Support Foundation) Board of Directors at this email address.

Great Metta to All

From the Friends of Dhammadharini

PS.  If you make a donation for the Challenge Grant, don't forget to write "Match the Challenge Grant" (or something like that :) on your envelope, in the Memo line of your check, or the Note or Dedication line of your electronic donation. 

--

On Oct 31, 2012, at 11:24 AM, Dhammadharini <dhamma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear friends in the dhamma,

The traditional holiday season is nearly upon us and many of us are planning to visit Aranya Bodhi Hermitage this weekend to celebrate Kathina. As we take this opportunity to enjoy coming together as a community, spending time with our noble monastics, and enjoying the beauty of nature, let us take some time to reflect on the meaning of the season.

This is the time of the year when we practice generosity, the first of the Ten Paramis otherwise known as the Ten Perfections. The practice of giving and what we give is referred to in Pali as dana. The Pali word for generosity is caga, which, incidentally, also means "letting go." When we give dana with true intention from the heart, we are able to let go of our greed and forget our personal concerns for the moment while we consider the needs of another. In this way, we cleanse the mind. By each act of generosity, we get closer to becoming a truly generous person. The Buddha also mentioned, that the greatness of the gift relies not on the material value but on the depth of generosity from the giver. A small gift offered from the heart of one who has little is of greater value than a more costly gift given without thought from one who has much.

As you know, Dhammadharini has made a commitment to obtain shelter for those monastics who for health or other reasons are unable to live the rigorous lifestyle demanded by a forest hermitage. It is our hope to find such a place in an area that is readily accessible to lay persons so people can easily visit with their children and other family members. This commitment has been enshrined in our Monastery Fund, to which many of you have pledged. Recently, a kind and thoughtful anonymous donor has made a generous offering to the Dhammadharini monastery fund. This donation of $25,000 designated to serve as a downpayment on a monastery in a convenient location is contingent on receiving donations of funds of the same amount within the next three months.

When you are offering gifts this season, I hope you will keep the hopes and dreams of our community alive and remember this fund. If we can all offer what we are able, our vision of a warm and welcoming monastery will manifest soon. And remember gifts of requisites to support the monastics through the winter season are welcome, also. To see the general Kathina Wishlist, go to this link:

Kathina Wish List

If you would like to donate to the Monastery Fund or other Dhammadharini project online, please follow the link below. If you would like funds to go to the Monastery Fund, be sure to specify:  Information about an address to send checks is also at this site:

Dhammadharini online dana offerings

I look forward to seeing many of you at our Kathina celebration this Saturday at Aranya Bodhi. I am attaching the schedule for the celebration for your use. May everyone experience the joy of giving with a pure heart this season.

"By giving, one unites friends." Samyutta Nikaya 1.215

Much metta,

Shari Gent, President

Dhammadharini Board of Directors

Dhammadharini

"Women Upholding the Dhamma"

PO Box 1671, Fremont, CA 94538

Aranya Bodhi Hermitage, Sonoma Coast

Email: awakeni...@gmail.com

Mailing Address: PO Box 16, Jenner, CA 95450, USA

New Message Phone: 1-707-340-4281, Skype "Aranya_Bodhi"

 

The Bodhi House, San Francisco East Bay

now closed ~ new monastery/vihara coming

<kathina 2012 announcement.pdf>