Dearest Tara Mandala Sangha,
A warm hello from a cold Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA! As I write this, winter is making herself known with the first significant snow of the season and cold temperatures (18 F / -8C.) We hope you are staying safe and comfortable in these odd times.
As the Operations Director, I see this as usually the time of year when those of us on the land start to take a breath after a long, exciting, sometimes chaotic retreat season. Things shift, hours of operations change, and the hard working staff get some well deserved down time. Normally at the end of the retreat season, on any day off, The Springs in town would look like a Tara Mandala staff meeting with all of us showing up for a relaxing soak in the hot springs.
Although we deeply missed hosting you onsite, we are grateful we were able to host so many of you virtually. Our rocket-fast shift to more online offerings this year was a testament to our awesome mission-driven staff.
While we did not get to enjoy interacting with all of you, we are still taking great care of the land, its buildings and each other. And there is still work to do. As I write, I can hear tractors moving sand and digging for our expanded septic system.
Looking back on this year, we feel blessed to have gone through the COVID summer on this special land. Here are some sentiments from our staff that we’d like to share with you:
“Living at Tara Mandala and living with sangha as a refuge is an important part of my practice. We participate in and interact with sangha in order to grow. Especially during this pandemic, knowing we can turn toward our community in times of need, when we need advice, or simply when we want to be together, feels like a safe harbor.” – Kathy Greig, Temple Manager
“Secluded from the world outside, especially in this ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, Tara Mandala has given me a chance to learn new practices and read a fair amount of Dharma books. Also, for more than a year I have been leading some of our regular practices on the land. I am happy and grateful for these valuable opportunities to deepen my practice.” – Tenzin Sangpo, Librarian/Translator
Please consider offering a gift of $350 or more to help support our ongoing EDI initiatives and cover our operational shortfall brought on by COVID-19. Your generous donation today will go a long way to help address our financial hardship and support this impactful work.
Anyone giving $350 or more will be gifted with a special three layer French Tibetan Mandala mask approved as effective by the French government against viral transmission.
There are several ways that you can give:
- Make a one-time $350 or more donation to our Annual Fund
- Give $30 a month and contribute over the next year as a Sustaining Sangha Member, which comes with various benefits, and discounts.
- Increase your current Sustaining Sangha membership by $350 per year.
We miss all of you. Please know your sangha in Pagosa Springs is holding practice in the beautiful Tara Temple every evening at 5PM, saying prayers for each of you. We are holding this place together, while we await the days when we will be sitting under the dining tent together, sharing in the brilliance of the Colorado sun. Thank you for being our Sangha and please know everyone here appreciates your support in whatever way you contribute.
With appreciation,
Clifton Carmody
Director of Operations
Tara Mandala
Photos: Header (Bodhi Stroupe)
