Holiday giving and gratitude
Dhammadharini Support Foundation
Dhammadharini
Please join me in supporting the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Old Buddha in the yurt and season’s berries in the forest at our Aranya Bodhi forest hermitage
(photos by Ayyā Sobhanā and Kim, collage by Sāmanerī Thāvirā)
Season’s Greetings Dhamma Friends!
The holidays are upon us and joy is in the air! May you be well, may you be peaceful, may you be happy. It’s with full hearts that we reflect on the amazing support and generosity you all have shown throughout the year.
All of us at the Dhammadharini Support Foundation send a deep bow of gratitude. We, along with the Bhikkhuni Sangha, send the warmest of wishes for the new year.
Historic First Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha Recitation with Cambodian Bhikkhunī Sangha
In the Dhammadharini Monastery Sālā Sīmā, Asalha Full Moon Entering Vassa 2023
(photo courtesy of Ayyā Santacittā)
The holidays are a wonderful time to turn towards what we have to give, the joys of sharing, and how that can bring a feeling of abundance and happiness.
"With a confident heart, they give with wealth that is properly earned.
That householder holds a perfect hand on both counts:
welfare and benefit in this life and happiness in the next.
That is how, for a householder, merit grows by generosity."
- the Buddha (Numerical Discourses, AN 6:45)
Among other holidays, with this December full moon we also remember one of our great foremothers in Buddhism, the awakened woman, Sanghamitta Theri. Her name means "Friend of the Sangha." She was the daughter of an emperor, turned monastic. A monastic turned Awakened. An Awakened One turned international emissary. An emissary turned preceptor and key mother in the lineage of ordained Buddhist monastic women -- bhikkhunis -- that survives around the world in various branches to this day.
Sanghamitta Theri & Bodhi Tree’s Royal Welcome to Sri Lanka 3rd Century BCE
Bas relief mural, World Fellowship of Buddhists, Colombo, Sri Lanka
(photo courtesy of Udana Ratanabarathi with Ayyā Tathālokā)
It is such a profound blessing to have Bhikkhunis as part of our lives and community.
Step by step, your support has been instrumental in the revival and restoration of our Fourfold Sangha in Buddhism and the solidification of the Bhikkuni order.
“Anumodana!” for this great gift to them, to us, to our whole Sangha, near and far.
Dhammadharini’s 2023 Historic First Vassa with Cambodian Bhikkhuni Sangha
at our Aranya Bodhi forest hermitage (photos by author)
There are many ways to support this important work and the Bhikkhunis as they enter winter retreat in January.
Our year end goal is to raise $10,000 for our general fund to overcome our current gap.
Your gift of any size, large or small, will help us reach this important goal.
Opportunities to offer support:
Sign up for a monthly donation
Monthly donations of any size are an amazing way to help add stability to the lives of the monastics and planning activities of the support foundation. Monthly donations can be made to offer meals, the monastic 4 requisites, our mortgage or whatever is needed.
Offer a one time donation
Donate to a special project
The gift of space can be transformative. This project raises funds for construction to begin on a long awaited and much needed teachers office and study space at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage.
Offer your time
The gift of time is very precious. There are opportunities for volunteering your time as well. A wide variety of skills may be helpful - such as driving monastics for local appointments, help with gardening (or forestry at our hermitage), graphic design, social media, audio editing, Zoom technical support, and many others.
Additionally there may also be opportunities to join a committee which helps to care for the monastery or hermitage facilities, organizes volunteers or fundraisers; or for lay community leadership in service as an officer or director on our Dhammadharini Support Foundation Board of Directors.
Ayyā Sobhanā’s 75th Birthday & 20th Ordination Anniversary December 2023
at Dhammadharini Monastery (photo by Grace)
With a joyful heart,
Paula Snow
Dhammadharini Support Foundation
Director of Development