Steady Progress - Strong Support

Dear Sangha,
We are squarely on track to our goals in order to purchase a building in 2010. That may seem very far off now, but it will be the steps we consistently make over the next 18 months that determine both our probability of achieving our goal as well as the breadth of choices we will have with respect to characteristics of our new center.

In 2008, we succeeded in raising our monthly member dues revenues in our annual appeal considerably (details to come in a subsequent post shortly) and were grateful to accept year end charitable contributions to the tune of roughly $35,000, of which approximately $25,000 is earmarked for the building campaign. This is all great news and we should celebrate our progress as well as the universal support (in ways both financial and otherwise) that we, as a community, have shown for this project.

2009 will be an interesting year for our economy. As one who works in capital markets and finance, I would be disingenuous to portray that we are almost out of the woods. Most of the smart economists and market participants I speak with believe 2009 promises to be a very hard year for the US economy in general. With this in mind, we will have to be sure to remain disciplined in the face of uncertainty and adversity if we want to achieve our goal in 2010.

For me, it is helpful to remember our mission to create enlightened society, and go beyond fear and tap into the more powerful motivator - love. If we open our hearts, and appreciate our practice and the world around us, then taking the necessary steps to create a place and space where others can experience basic goodness and spend time in practice and study is a natural extension of our personal practice. The Sakyong spoke of this eloquently in his letter on generosity (linked above right).

So, as with so many things, it will take an unyielding confidence in our ability to reach our goal, coupled with small and disciplined steps that will move us slowly towards it. I have to think of the Tibetan nationals fleeing Chinese occupation, who took turns making the path for their caravans through the Himalayas by laying down in the freezing snow. In this way, each step we can make personally to enable our community to move along the path to our goal is a bridge for those who will come behind us.

So, thank you all for the steady progress and strong support shown in 2008. Let's continue in 2009, and take care not to lose heart. We are on the path to success, and just need to stay the course.

May the good windhorse be with you throughout.
David