For more than 20 years, the Northwest Dharma Association has sponsored regional meetings of Buddhist teachers, monastics, and group leaders from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and British Columbia.

These gatherings are an opportunity for Northwest Buddhist teachers and leaders to meet and get to know one another, to share their interests and concerns, and to plan multi-organization events together. Topics discussed are decided by those who participate in a gathering. Outcomes from past gatherings have included co-teaching events, mutual aid, and friendship.

If your temple or group is interested in hosting one of these gatherings, please contact George Draffan at george@northwestdharma.org

The host temple provides:

• space to sit and kitchen/plates/cups/etc for 15-25 teachers
• lead a brief refuge and meditation to start the day
• offer brief tour and explanation of the host group’s tradition and lineage

NWDA provides:

• Outreach to teachers thru NWDA mail list
• Registration of participating teachers
• Carpooling options
• Facilitation of discussions

The host and/or NWDA provides:

• food, food prep, etc
• clean-up at end of day

Typical schedule: 

​8:00 NWDA people arrive to set up
9:00 ​Participants arrive and mingle
9:15 ​Host temple leads Refuge & ​short meditation
9:30 ​Introductory go-round & choose ​topics ​​
11:00 Discussion # 1​
12:00 Lunch & ​tour​ of host temple
1:30 Discussion # 2​
2:30 Break
2:45 ​Discussion # 3
3:00 Maha-Sangha collaboration
3:45 Dedication ​
4:00 Clean up

Past Discussion Topics

Organizational topics

• Structure: nonprofit vs church, multiple centers vs solo teacher.
• Financial: making a living as a teacher, financing staff, facilities, etc.
• Owning and managing facilities: city centers, retreats, residential centers.
• Recruiting and sustaining teachers, students, leaders, volunteers.

Dynamics, Ethics, Diversity

• Dynamics and ethics of teachers and organizational leaders.
• Sangha group dynamics.
• Teacher / student ethics: transference, boundaries, etc.
• Supporting women as monastics, dharma teachers, and leaders.
• Sangha diversity: ethnic, gender, age.

Programs and Curriculum

• Study programs: sutras, philosophy, lineage, etc.
• Ritual training.
• Teachers’ training (yours and the next generation’s).
• Resources for children, teenagers, families, etc.
• Resources on illness, death and dying.
• Energy transformation: yoga, qigong, tsa lung, jhanas, vajrayana, etc.

Teaching Methods

• Formats and roles: study, meditation, ritual, pastoral care, etc.
• Benefits and challenges of teaching with technology: Zoom etc.
• Working with different levels of students.
• Working with student’s trauma, grief, addictions, spiritual emergencies, etc.
• Modeling and helping students integrate practice into daily life.

Maha-Sangha Cooperation

• Benefits and challenges of relating to other Buddhist traditions and communities.
• Pooling resources, sharing facilities.
• Collaborative Mahasangha programs: co-teaching classes and retreats, conference panels, festivals, etc.

Service in Society

• Sangha involvement in social services.
• Developing senior living and co-housing communities.
• Sangha involvement in social and environmental crises.
• Prison programs.
• Secular mindfulness programs in education, addiction recovery, health care, workplace, etc.
• Mixing Dharma with 12 Step, Nonviolent Communication, psychology, other religions.

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