Building an Advisory Council for the Future

To tap some of the vast wisdom and compassion of Buddhist leaders throughout this region, Northwest Dharma Association is planning to call together a Northwest Dharma Advisory Council.

Our vision is that this council will meet perhaps three times a year, with the purpose to offer advice and vision about where NWDA should be going in the future.

To be clear this won’t be a board, just an advisory council, with no responsibilities other than offering input. While the organization is currently doing fine, and making a real difference to the regional Buddhist community, we want to make sure we’re hearing from all of you about where  the organization should be  going, and how to get there. And of course, increasing engagement from the regional dharma community will be essential, for Northwest Dharma Association to thrive in the future.

You may be getting a call or email, to see if you’d be interested in so contributing. If you’re  interested please do contact Steve Wilhelm, at stevellen95@comcast.net.

Northwest Dharma Revenue, 2024

2024 Financial Report

NWDA has always been sustained by the generosity of its individual and group members. While a few people with professional level skills receive small stipends, the majority of the donations NWDA receives go to direct expenses such as website maintenance and financial transaction fees.

Here is a financial statement for the year (as of December 23)

As of December 23, the year’s financial statement shows revenue of $6,854 and expenses of $7,362, for a net loss of $508. NWDA assets stood at $16,821.

Teacher Gatherings Continued in 2024

On April 20 the Portland Tibetan center Kagyu Changchub Chuling hosted Northwest Dharma Association’s Regional Teachers and Leaders Gathering. There were teachers and leaders from various Kagyu and Nyingma Vajrayana groups, several practitioners of Nepali dance rituals, several lineages of Theravada and Zen, and contemporary lineages including Pannavati’s Embracing Simplicity Contemplative Order, Rebel Dharma, Buddhist 12 Step, and Ring of Moss.

Part of the day was held in the Ojai format from Abhayagiri, a sort of rotating fish bowl discussion where four people began a dialogue, and then one by one swapped out of the fish bowl with people from the larger group, everyone taking turns listening and speaking deeply and responsively.

Several of the participants were prison chaplains, and their contributions to the dialogue inspired an exploration of engaged practice not only in prisons, but also in serving people with trauma from homelessness, poverty, and all sorts of prejudice and crisis.

Another theme that emerged was nature’s role in Buddhist practice: how nature reminds us we are part of the wider world beyond our social and technological constructions, how nature reveals cycles and life and death and mystery, how nature helps us see through all sorts of the illusions.

We shared a delicious lunch and further conversation, with everyone inviting the group to participate in their upcoming events. Our host KCC also announced that their retreat center on Goldendale is now available for outside groups to rent.

NWDA has sponsored gatherings of teachers for more than 20 years. We encourage Buddhist groups in the region to host a gathering — contact info@northwestdharma.org to explore the possibilities.