Curriculum: The group will study texts from both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions,
The initial text will be the Sutra of Hui-Neng, Thomas Clear Translation, published by Shambala.
At the same time we will also be studying a basic text on Buddhist teaching

Registration: This study group will be ongoing, $40 month
Register for first month

Please contact us with any questions you may have.

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People of Color Sangha (Meditation Group)

with guiding teacher Michele Benzamin-Miki

Retreats, Classes and Ongoing Monthly Meditation Group.
We currently meet in several rotating locations.

Click here for more information: http://www.manzanitavillage.org/articles/people_of_color_sangha.html

Buddhist teaching and practice lead us to the recognition that there is no separation between 'self' and 'other'. How can we implement this deep wisdom in a way that truly nourishes and strengthens us? This will be an evening of sharing amongst People of Color and their journeys in the practice of Dharma. Coming together to heal and to celebrate. We will engage in silent and guided sittings, walking meditation, with Dharma talk and discussion, and Council.

Michele Benzamin-Miki is the guiding teacher. She is of Japanese, and mixed Middle-eastern and Anglo origin. She is rooted in the Buddhist traditions of Southeast Asian Vipassana as well as Vietnamese Zen. She has been leading retreats for People of Color at Spirit Rock since the first Day for People of Color took place there in 1992.

DANA: generosity and openheartedness

"The gift of Dharma exceeds all gifts." The Dhammapada

Dana means giving, generosity, letting go, sharing what we have, know and are: these are vital aspects of spiritual practice.

Generosity ( Dana Paramita ) is first among the Six Paramitas (perfections) which constitute the practice of the Bodhisattva, which delivers us to the Other Shore of Enlightenment, Nirvana.

In Asia, the Buddhist community built the facilities and provided housing, food, clothes, medicine, transportation and educational materials for all who sincerely wished to practice Dharma, whether monastic or lay. For more than two millennia it has been considered extremely meritorious to support spiritual practitioners; many Buddhist families regularly tithed a portion of their income to the sangha members in their community. In the West, where Buddhadharma is still young, we have yet to reach this institutionalized level of development, gratitude and support.

The sublime Dharma cannot be measured in material value. There has never been a charge for the teachings. Yet there are, and always have been, costs involved in making teachings possible and teachers available. Traditionally, these have been covered by voluntary donations from those who value and participate in the teachings, and by their families and friends.

All the activities offered by Ordinary Dharma, Manzanita Village, and Tender Shoots of Joy, and its teachers are made possible because a number of dedicated people offer their services as teachers, organizers, cooks, managers, builders, fund raisers, etc.

All the fees for retreats pay for the actual expenses of the retreats and the travel expenses of teachers and staff; no fee whatsoever is charged for the teachings.

The teachers give enormously of their time, energy, experience, understanding and interest , without payment--and often without material security. However, unless teachers have the material support which allows them to live adequately in the modern world, they cannot continuously provide this valuable service. This includes all the expenses incurred by them while devoting themselves full time to Dharma work, including their room and board, clothes, dependents, medical bills, tools, and whatever is necessary to further continue their own spiritual study and practice, for the benefit of one and all.

There is no central church or organization behind the scenes, sending Buddhist teachers out to share the Dharma. Buddhist teachers traditionally teach only where invited. They depend for their livelihood on your generosity alone. Our ongoing efforts to provide opportunities to further develop wisdom and compassion through Buddhist meditation depend upon the goodwill and assistance of all the members of our sangha and friends.

Ordinary Dharma requests and needs your help in order to continue to fulfill its goals and objectives, in teaching the Dharma at Manzanita Village and elsewhere, and to support Manzanita Village as a sanctuary for Dharma Practitioners, and Social Activists drawing from the Dharma to sustain their work.

It is clear that many people attending retreats are unfamiliar with the traditional practice, the very concept, of "dana" (giving). Generosity reduces self-centered greed and covetousness, and cultivates loving-kindness and compassion; conscious generosity is actually not a sacrifice, but a great gift to our culture and entire society, our planet, to all of life, and to the giver him- or her-self. Few have clearly thought through its cause-and-effect nature: how one must let go, open, and empty oneself in order to be filled. It is said that one can receive as much as one can give; this is a basic spiritual truth. Through sharing we affirm our interbeing, the common ground of both the sublime Dharma and the noble Sangha, our community of kindred spirits.

All contributions are considered as offerings to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; they are used solely for the purpose to which they are intended, and gratefully received and appreciated with the blessings, loving-kindness, and prayers.

Thank you very much.

May all being be happy,

Dana is the first of the six qualities known as The Paramitas, or The Perfections.

Dana is The Gift.
It is both giving and receiving.
It is abundance and scarcity.
It is responding effectively to what the world offers to you; as well as to what it asks of you.
It is recognizing that we start with nothing, that we knew nothing; that everything we now know, and will ever know, passes through us; through our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, mind.
It is knowing that these are not boundaries; that they are themselves gifts, continually changing and adapting to circumstance.
It is gratitude and energy, confidence and a lightness that comes from knowing you are safe.
If you were to loose everything you would still be ahead.
Your connections mean that you have it all, always, forever.
The net of life is unbroken.

Membership is a way tithing to support Manzanita Village, the teachings, and the teachers on a regular, ongoing basis.

We encourage you to give on a regular monthly basis to support the work we do, and the people who come, and will come in the future, to practice here.

Membership is $600 a year, ($50 monthly), or more if your are able.
If you cannot support us financially then six days of work (60 hours) a year also qualifies you for membership and helps us with the upkeep of the center.

Membership gives you:

• 20% reduction of registration fee for retreats and workshops,
  or if you pay full registration amount you can upgrade to a private room (if available) at no extra cost.
• Interview/spiritual counseling with teacher/s — as available.
• Reduced rates for stays at Manzanita Village during non-retreat times.
• A means for you to practice Dana Paramita, the perfection of generosity, recognizing that all things are interconnected, and that there are time-honored models of mutual support beyond those presented within the dominant culture.

A suggested guideline for how much is appropriate for you to give as membership is to tally the equivalent of what you earn in an hour each week (e.g. if you earn $15 an hour, membership would be $60 a month.)

Contact information for Ordinary Dharma, Los Angeles and San Diego

as well as Manzanita Village Retreat Center in Warner Springs

email
manzanita@ordinarydharma.org

Telephone
800-619-8416
760-782-9223

Mail
Ordinary Dharma and Manzanita Village
PO Box 67,
Warner Springs,
CA 92086

Telephone
800-619-8416
760-782-9223

Fax
760-782-0655