The fundraising situation at the temple.
Jun. 19th, 2014 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusThe Long-term costs of all but one room (and the bathrooms) of the temple being shut
This time last year the temple had been dramatically closed by the temple. We were forced to hold events and retreats on the front lawn.
In a tent.
In the snow.
Sweltering practices were held in 94-degree weather on the front porch, with useless fans plugged in through the windows. We wafted the flies away from the food offerings as we served them.
The 24-hour prayer vigil continued but only a few people were allowed in the prayer room at time. So everything that made it a temple was on the front lawn.
Even the Venerable Yangthang Rinpoche admitted conditions were "very difficult."
A 72-acre temple complex with monastic quarters for 6-8 ordained, a house for the teacher and/or visiting Lamas, a shrine room that had been the home for a 24-hour prayer vigil for the last 28 years, the food bank, a bird sanctuary for rescued parrots, the wetlands sewage reclamation project, the TNR feral cat colony, the Peace Park with all its stupas and prayer wheels, the popular destination gift store that had helped fund a lot of this, The Mani Jewel, where the birders and cyclists would go to rest, cool off, and buy drinks.
The temple was a pilgrimage destination for groups of 300 people at a time during Chinese New Year.
Then there was the regular classes in Dharma room, Jetsunma's teachings, the Sunday class series, Friday teachings, project meetings. (And my ten-week Tibetan class, too.)
There was also space for people to sit in the solarium, drink tea and chat. A Buddhist library. A kitchen for Sunday lunches after class which was also where we prepared lunch for the homeless, meals for the Occupy protesters in DC,
And we were shut out and forced to use the front porch. The wildlife refuge was still open. The monks and nuns could still live there, but as a private residence only.
Now, thanks especially to DoMore24 ONE ROOM, the prayer room, is reopened. The temple's allowed 104 people. (We've a regular membership of around 200-300, and host events of 500+.)
What's survived?
- The prayer vigil continues, of course.
- The Sunday and Friday classes are now held in the prayer room.
- Small teaching events for 100 people at a time have happened throughout the winter. The big teachings and empowerments for 500+ are still being held in tents on the front lawn and only in warmer weather.
- The Buddhist teachings at area prisons continue -- always off-site for obvious reasons.
- The parrot sanctuary remains open, as does the 65-acre Peace Park.
What hasn't?
- The food bank is closed. (Though nuns now make bag lunches for the homeless.)
- The library was closed and moved to the former solarium.
- The Tibetan class has restarted in residential space, so it's no longer open to the public.
- Sunday lunches are sometimes available on the front porch, but generally not.
- The Mani Jewel is still closed (it looks lovely through the glass doors).
- The Chinese New Year pilgrims can't come because we're only allowed a hundred at a time.
For us? The biggest impact has been the lack of space for the community. We don't have a place where we can just sit and talk anymore, and no place for our myriad of project meetings (we've had rent outside venues or meet at people's house). You can see the results in between prayer shifts. People chat, hungry for each other's company. Other than online, or working on temple grounds, we don't get to see each other very much any more.
For the non-Buddhists? The biggest loss has been the closing of The Mani Jewel. For the cyclists and birders it was the only pit stop for fifteen miles along River Road, and there are races along this route.
For the larger Buddhist community? The closure of The Mani Jewel is a biggie, it was a destination store. But the hardest hit are the pilgrims. They've come, and they've had to be turned away.
The big plus of the renovation that went beyond restoring what we had? The repaired floor of the prayer room, of course. The new fire doors, sure. But for me, it's the BATHROOMS. No more lines at that one little bathroom off the hall, thank god.
Bathrooms or not, we need our temple back. The whole temple, not just one room, even if it is an important room. We have permits we need through the hard work of Costly Lawyers.
Now it's time to begin.
And DoMore24 is here again.
The results: $11k closer, plus we "won" the religious organization category.
This time last year the temple had been dramatically closed by the temple. We were forced to hold events and retreats on the front lawn.
In a tent.
In the snow.
Sweltering practices were held in 94-degree weather on the front porch, with useless fans plugged in through the windows. We wafted the flies away from the food offerings as we served them.
The 24-hour prayer vigil continued but only a few people were allowed in the prayer room at time. So everything that made it a temple was on the front lawn.
Even the Venerable Yangthang Rinpoche admitted conditions were "very difficult."
A 72-acre temple complex with monastic quarters for 6-8 ordained, a house for the teacher and/or visiting Lamas, a shrine room that had been the home for a 24-hour prayer vigil for the last 28 years, the food bank, a bird sanctuary for rescued parrots, the wetlands sewage reclamation project, the TNR feral cat colony, the Peace Park with all its stupas and prayer wheels, the popular destination gift store that had helped fund a lot of this, The Mani Jewel, where the birders and cyclists would go to rest, cool off, and buy drinks.
The temple was a pilgrimage destination for groups of 300 people at a time during Chinese New Year.
Then there was the regular classes in Dharma room, Jetsunma's teachings, the Sunday class series, Friday teachings, project meetings. (And my ten-week Tibetan class, too.)
There was also space for people to sit in the solarium, drink tea and chat. A Buddhist library. A kitchen for Sunday lunches after class which was also where we prepared lunch for the homeless, meals for the Occupy protesters in DC,
And we were shut out and forced to use the front porch. The wildlife refuge was still open. The monks and nuns could still live there, but as a private residence only.
Now, thanks especially to DoMore24 ONE ROOM, the prayer room, is reopened. The temple's allowed 104 people. (We've a regular membership of around 200-300, and host events of 500+.)
What's survived?
- The prayer vigil continues, of course.
- The Sunday and Friday classes are now held in the prayer room.
- Small teaching events for 100 people at a time have happened throughout the winter. The big teachings and empowerments for 500+ are still being held in tents on the front lawn and only in warmer weather.
- The Buddhist teachings at area prisons continue -- always off-site for obvious reasons.
- The parrot sanctuary remains open, as does the 65-acre Peace Park.
What hasn't?
- The food bank is closed. (Though nuns now make bag lunches for the homeless.)
- The library was closed and moved to the former solarium.
- The Tibetan class has restarted in residential space, so it's no longer open to the public.
- Sunday lunches are sometimes available on the front porch, but generally not.
- The Mani Jewel is still closed (it looks lovely through the glass doors).
- The Chinese New Year pilgrims can't come because we're only allowed a hundred at a time.
For us? The biggest impact has been the lack of space for the community. We don't have a place where we can just sit and talk anymore, and no place for our myriad of project meetings (we've had rent outside venues or meet at people's house). You can see the results in between prayer shifts. People chat, hungry for each other's company. Other than online, or working on temple grounds, we don't get to see each other very much any more.
For the non-Buddhists? The biggest loss has been the closing of The Mani Jewel. For the cyclists and birders it was the only pit stop for fifteen miles along River Road, and there are races along this route.
For the larger Buddhist community? The closure of The Mani Jewel is a biggie, it was a destination store. But the hardest hit are the pilgrims. They've come, and they've had to be turned away.
The big plus of the renovation that went beyond restoring what we had? The repaired floor of the prayer room, of course. The new fire doors, sure. But for me, it's the BATHROOMS. No more lines at that one little bathroom off the hall, thank god.
Bathrooms or not, we need our temple back. The whole temple, not just one room, even if it is an important room. We have permits we need through the hard work of Costly Lawyers.
Now it's time to begin.
And DoMore24 is here again.
The results: $11k closer, plus we "won" the religious organization category.
