Sangha
The people you walk the path with—and the friendships that grow along the way.
Our Sangha
Our sangha is a group of people with very different lives who have grown together through meditation, friendship and a lot of shared experience. We hike mountains, meditate by lakes and on beaches, take trips and retreats, cook great meals, have picnics and parties, and sometimes dance under the stars. There is a nearly constant stream of laughter. We also get real with each other about the harder parts of being human, and we have room to talk openly about the strange, beautiful and sometimes otherworldly experiences that can come through meditation.
People have their own careers, relationships, friendships and directions in life. They travel, disappear for a month, sometimes step away for years, and come back if and when it feels right. There is no expectation that everyone move through the path in the same way or at the same pace.
We work together on Dharma projects because we enjoy creating things together, but perhaps the deepest part of sangha is simpler: over time, you learn to accept people as they are. You learn to give each other space because you understand how much you value your own. And somewhere among all the meditation, road trips, difficult conversations, great food and ridiculous amounts of laughter, very deep friendships have grown.
How Costs Work
The teachings themselves are offered at no cost. When there are expenses—meeting spaces, retreats, transportation, trips, meals and other shared activities—we handle them according to what people can reasonably afford. Students who are established in their careers and have extra income often share more of the costs. Students who are still in school, beginning their careers, between jobs or simply don't have much disposable income can be supported through scholarships and what we informally call angel contributions. In practice, that can mean participating in a retreat, trip or other Dharma activity at little or no cost.
This is how the sangha has operated from the beginning. When Sunyata had a successful professional career, she funded all of the teaching and experiences herself. Selfless giving has always been part of her practice, and she has often said that she loves spending money on Dharma—creating opportunities for meditation, beauty, travel and experiences that bring people into greater light and awareness. As students have become established in their own careers, some have naturally begun doing the same for the people coming after them.
There are no dues and no required level of financial contribution. People contribute according to their circumstances and their desire to help. Someone may have very little to give at one stage of life and considerably more ten years later. The basic idea is simple: lack of money should not keep a sincere student from participating, and those who have been fortunate enough to become established can, if they choose, help keep the door open for someone else.