Current News
February 27th, 2009
Greetings from Milarepa Center!
We hope you are very well. All is well here at Milarepa Center
and we are now planning a nice program to begin our busier season
from late May onward. Our February Meditation Overnight
was a big success (see photo above) and many participants
xpressed their appreciation for spending this time
at a quiet retreat center.
We are looking forward to seeing you this year and just wanted
to call your attention to four items below:
1. March 6-8 Weekend Program
2. Seasonal Work Study Program
3. Opportunities to Practice Generosity
4. Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice!
Please consider joining some of these occasions to practice and help.
We greatly appreciate seeing you.
With our best wishes,
Amy Miller, Director
Jeff Garnette, Manager
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Skiing to Enlightenment
Meditation/Ski Package
(Really . . . What Could Be Better??)
Or, feel free to come for a special meditation focusing on
How to Establish a Daily Practice
While Wrestling with Your Karma
-- Friday, March 6 to Sunday, March 8 --
Introducing a unique way to enjoy the winter
at greatly reduced prices than the ski resorts
(although we are just 30 minutes from Burke Mountain;
Stowe and Killington are less than 90 minutes away).
Or, put on your snowshoes or cross-country skis and explore
the beauty of Milarepa Center's pristine 300 acres.
We offer you a less expensive -- and more beneficial --
alternative to the ski resorts.
Bring your family and friends.
Meditations and teachings will be led by Ven. Amy Miller.
Suggested donation for food and lodging:
Sliding scale of $275-$125 per person for the weekend.
NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS.
Please register in advance by calling us at (802) 633-4136
or e-mailing us at Milarepa@MilarepaCenter.org
The Schedule:
Friday, March 6
6:00pm Arrival, registration and dinner
7:15pm Welcome and orientation
7:30-9:00pm Introduction and meditation
Saturday, March 7
7:15-8:00am Meditation -- Calm Abiding
8:00-9:00am Breakfast
For those going out for winter activities, we will pack you a hearty
lunch. For those staying indoors the following sessions will be offered.
9:30-11:00am Session
11:00-11:30am Break
11:30am-12:30pm Session
12:30-2:00pm Lunch and break
2:00-2:45pm Q&A and discussion
3:00-4:00pm Session
4:00-4:30pm Break
4:30-5:30pm Session
5:30-7:00pm Break and dinner
7:00-8:30pm Short video and meditation
Sunday, March 8
7:15-8:00am Meditation -- Calm Abiding
8:00am Closing brunch and clean-up
9:30am Departure or enjoy more of our great outdoors
Meditations will be included in various sessions.
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Seasonal Work Study Program
Milarepa Center's Work Study Program is dynamically suited for people who are interested in exploring life, work and practice at a Tibetan Buddhist retreat center.
We offer simple accommodation in our dormitory (or camping with your own tent) and food, as well as access to programs and retreats in exchange for 30 hours of service per week. Work assignments are directed to a variety of areas including administrative and computer support, housekeeping, kitchen assistance and cooking, gardening, maintenance or a wide variety of other tasks depending on an applicant's particular skill or the needs of the Center.
Participants are asked for a minimum one month commitment with opportunities beginning this May and onward through the end of the year.
If you are interested in being part of our Work Study Program, please contact Jeff Garnette for an application at (802) 633-4136 or via e-mail at
milarepa@milarepacenter.org
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Opportunities to
Practice Generosity
Generosity, or dana in Sanskrit, is a fundamental Buddhist practice.
Buddha's teachings express that a life of generosity forms the ideal foundation for all other spiritual growth. We nourish this practice by offering a gentle word, an open mind, or a gift of food or money. Generosity flourishes when we are satisfied with things as they are, when we let go of what is not needed, and when we do not take what is not freely given. Generosity also helps us explore our attitude of "keeping;" a mental state that often prevents us from allowing prosperity to flow.
While these are challenging financial times for everyone, the Buddha's teachings have shown that generosity continues to be the cause not only of spiritual development, but also our own prosperity. Therefore, Milarepa Center offers you the following opportunities to be generous through these enormously worthwhile items and events:
Program Tent ($2,400). The center has spent more than $9,000
over five years to rent an event tent each season in which to host
programs. At this cost, it makes much more sense to invest in and
purchase a tent for the center that will hold approximately 80 people
for all programs, retreats and facility rentals. We have researched a
great number of tents to determine what will be best for the center's
needs. The cost above includes flooring. When a more permanent
structure is built for program purposes, this tent can easily be used for
overflow dining facilities or as a second hall for hosting multiple
programs and events.
If 24 people are able to contribute $100 each toward this
valuable asset, it would cover the entire cost.
CPMT Meeting ($2,000). Ven. Amy Miller, Milarepa Center's
director and Jeff Garnette, the center's manager, have been invited to
join this important meeting (the Council for the Preservation of the
Mahayana Tradition). This is a time for the key staff of a center or
project to discuss all aspects of center management, program planning,
marketing, fund-raising, practice issues, facilities development and
management, and how best to benefit others through the work done at
centers. These meetings, once held annually, now only occur every few
years, so it seems a ripe opportunity to try to send both Ven. Amy and
Jeff to this meeting that will be held this spring at one of the centers in
our organization (Institut Vajrayogini) in Europe. The organization's
spiritual director, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche presides over this meeting so
it's also an opportune time to get some more specific direction for each
center. The cost above includes all air and ground transportation,
conference fees, meals and lodging for both Ven. Amy and Jeff.
Twenty donations of $100 each would fund Ven. Amy and
Jeff's meeting attendance.
Four-Wheel Drive Truck ($5,000). We would very much like to
sell or trade-in the current two-wheel drive pickup truck at the center
(offered due to the kindness of John Wolf and Norma Quesada) to
obtain a center vehicle that is able to drive into the more wooded part of
the center to haul logs for our winter wood, that we can put a snow
plough on the front to keep our driveway and parking area open during
the winter, and for all general maintenance in and around the property.
It's an essential tool for our ongoing progress at Milarepa and we are
looking for a used vehicle in good working condition.
Snow Blower ($1,200). We are hoping to find a
good sale this spring and urgently need to purchase a
good snow blower to keep the essential paths to the
center open for visitors. We have been hosting more
and more winter activities and they are well-attended,
making this an essential implement for the center to
purchase. We feel it's important to get a larger snow blower at a slightly
higher cost as it will serve the center for many years to come.
Two new couches and an
arm chair ($1,400).
Consider sponsoring a piece of
furniture to freshen-up our
library and Bakula Arhat
offering room! The couches
in our library and offering
room are extremely old and not exactly suitable for guests. We have researched some reasonably priced long-functioning items at IKEA and are very much wanting to replace the couch in the library and replace both couches in the Bakula Arhat offering room (just outside the teacher's room) with one couch and one arm chair and lamp that would be much more accommodating for guests and teachers. The couches we've been looking at cost approximately $500 each and the arm chair (we thought would also be a nice easy chair for Lamas) costs about $300. With the purchase of a nice floor lamp as well, this would be a great way to enhance these precious rooms. Think about making a gift in this way as it will be something to enjoy for years to come as you pass through the center.
How to Make a Donation
Donations for the above opportunities may be made in cash or by
sending a check payable to Milarepa Center and mailing it to Milarepa
Center, 1344 US Route 5 South, Barnet, Vermont 05821. Please
designate on your check what you would like your offering to go
toward. We are extremely careful how we use your offerings, and
all donations are tax deductible.
You may also make a donation with your credit card through PayPal
at our website: www.MilarepaCenter.org.
Our PayPal account has now been updated to include a specific tent category tab, along
with the following tabs: Guru Rinpoche statues (these two statues in the works that were
recommended for us to have made to remove obstacles to the center flourishing as a
beneficial retreat center, and to help prosperity to flow at Milarepa -- more details to follow
in upcoming e-letters), general donations and membership (when you click to join).
We have separated out the tent donations for now, but have been advised not to have too
many tabs as it can get quite complicated, so offerings for the CPMT meeting, a center
vehicle, snow blower and new couches and arm chair may be made under general
donations, and, if you'd like, just send us an e-mail to Milarepa@MilarepaCenter.org
to let us know what you more specifically would like to apply it to. Otherwise, any
offerings made in general donations will help to defer the cost of these items, etc.
We greatly appreciate your kind generosity!! Thank you.
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