Dear Dharma Friends,
There is a saying that the Buddha taught in all the languages of all the 84,000 different kinds of beings. It is something I have heard over and over again. That the Buddha was this compassionate to manifest even as a teacher in the underworld to teach nagas. Likewise we have the notion of the bodhisattas manifesting in samsara and even in the depths of hell to teach beings. I thought of this as I wrestled with the question of how much to bring Vajrayana teachings online. Would the Buddha teach online? This was before students finished ngondro online, before we started Longchenpa’s epic cycle of Finding Comfort and Ease online, before we trained over a hundred teachers online. It was when no one else was doing it and alot of people thought it was wrong. Facing this question by myself while already having the liability of being a woman teacher (which many made clear is outrageous) was difficult. But I was pushed by wise students to do it for years and then I finally said yes. And what put me over the edge – was this contemplation, that the Buddha taught in the language of all the beings. To the fish he taught fish dharma. To the nagas. To every single one. And I finally felt that of course Vajrayana should be online. I came into this conviction that dharma resources should be wherever people are. I believe should be easy to access dharma, especially for serious practitioners. Wherever samsara is – the dharma should be there, on the phone, in the car, on the computer, everywhere. Wherever beings are suffering, buddhism should be there as a resource, shining the light of brilliant sanity. So, with this intention, me and my dharma friends gradually built up an online school behind the scenes and in 2019 we officially launched our public online platform.
And now here we are years later and there is so much online dharma!!!! It is starting to happen, but slowly. The world of Vajrayana has been slow to embrace technology, but the pandemic helped cut through those inhibitions a lot. It’s not that polite to say we were right. But we were. There is no going back. It’s just like dharma books, people are reading them, restricted or not, so as his His Holiness said, we may as well give them expert commentators to help them make sense of it. Likewise, we can’t put the rabbit back in the hat. Online dharma is here to stay and I am committed to using our communal resources to generatively and imaginitively rise to meet this occasion. The Buddha absolutely would have done this. The Buddha taught in all the 84,000 language of beings, wherever beings are, that is where dharma should be.
As we go forward into 2024, we are stepping forward with a new vision and revamping our online platform. We want to invest in a future where our team can come to your living room, where I can continue to meet with you one on one, and where you can interact with your fascinating and brilliant dharma friends. I invite you to help me make this possible by supporting our fundraising effort with a donation this year, to celebrate the embrace of Buddhism and technology and to enable the continual unfolding of this benevolent, generative effort that we have made. Our goal this year is to revamp our online platform to fulfill this potential at the next level. We can’t do that without you. We are a grassroots organization and all of our funding is based on individual donations.
Please help us reach our goal of raising $50,000 by December 31, 2023. To make a donation, you can click the donate button below or mail your check to the address listed below. No amount is too small or too large. Every gift counts and makes a difference.
As a token of appreciation, you, a cause you hold dear, or your loved ones in need, will be included in the Dedication of Merit that will take place at the annual celebration of Losar (the Tibetan new year) which will happen in February. This is a great way to spread the blessings and to practice one of the essential Buddhist teachings – dedicating the merit of your good actions to others. You can easily include your dedication of merit request with your online donation or include a note naming those to whom you wish the dedication to be made with your mailed donation.
My very best to you always,
