In Japan it is traditional for monks to do Alms Rounds ("Takuhatsu") by going door-to-door in the neighborhood and offering protection chants and prayers at each house. Home owners consider this an honor and give an offering to support the Temple. In the past, this was often in the form of rice or food, but more recently financial support.
Below is the text of the Annual Alms Round letter sent in the mail.
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Shao Shan Temple
Annual Alms Round
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Dear
Friends of Shao Shan Temple,
We hope that you are well and enjoying
the lush summer. In the same way that our mountains and meadows are
flourishing, may our practice also manifest this exuberance.
Shao Shan Temple is thriving with a
variety of programs which are well attended by a growing community of
practitioners. In addition to the regular meditation, retreats and study
programs, the youth program has expanded to a year-round offering for children
and families, and we are also offering a young adult program for practitioners
in their 20s and 30s and outreach programs for high school and college students.
We support the community’s life with occasion-specific ceremonies such as home
blessings, weddings, memorial services and baby blessings. The temple has
hosted several visiting teachers and has had ceremonies inviting the larger
community of Buddhist practitioners and the general public. The number of
practitioners spending the night at the temple to participate in extended
retreats has increased significantly.
Now in its 17th year,
Shao Shan Temple continues to support its programs solely through the
generosity of those who care for and use the temple. We do not have a
membership fee and all programs are offered on a donation basis. It is
important to us to continue to offer the teachings in this manner, guided by
the Dharma and relying on your goodwill.
Last year, we held several meetings to share
the vision for the long-range sustainability of Shao Shan Temple, specifically:
to develop in its capacity to serve as a beacon of light for the
community, to support the cultivation of goodness, to provide refuge and solace
for those in need, to protect the teachings, and to contribute to the flowering
of the human spirit for hundreds of years beyond our lifetimes.
To support this vision, we
introduced the idea of a new phase in the development of the temple, which
would establish a more formal plan surrounding temple programming, building and
grounds use, financial structure, legal agreements, and priest succession. Part
of this more formal structure necessitates a more active role for the temple
community in working together to ensure the health and future of Shao Shan
Temple. These conversations have resulted in a number of positive actions,
including the establishment of a Development Committee, the initiation of a
quarterly newsletter, and increasing fundraising efforts through education of
the financial needs of the temple, rhododendron and holiday fundraisers, and an
“Annual Alms Round” (of which this is the first).
The temple community has
responded to these efforts with astounding generosity, for which we are deeply grateful.
Donations in 2016 exceeded operating expenses for the first time in the
temple’s history, allowing for much needed infrastructure improvements,
including reengineering the driveway, removing precarious trees, implementing a
new computer system, updating the LP gas lines and installing a new cooking
range.
This year we are asking for the
Shao Shan Temple community to consider donating to the temple in several ways.
First, recurring monthly donations are a crucial way to help support the
temple’s basic operating expenses by providing the temple with a steady stream
of income throughout the year. These donations can either be offered by check
or cash in the temple offering bowl, or set up as a recurring donation via
Paypal. Currently, we are halfway through the temple’s fiscal year and
approximately a third of the way towards meeting its basic operating expenses
of $16,000 (this figure excludes maintenance and infrastructure improvements).
In addition to meeting the
temple’s basic operating expenses, there are several larger infrastructure
needs that we would like to address in 2017, including expanding overnight
lodging to accommodate the
increased numbers of overnight guests. A
generous anonymous donation has been made to initiate the construction of an
additional guest cabin. And we would
like to winterize the Little Hall’s shed to house overnight guests. We will need $5,000 to begin these improvements.
Additionally, the roof over the bathroom/back
entrance needs replacing. We anticipate
this expense will be $2,000.
We estimate that if everyone who
attends programs on a regular basis were to donate about $70 a month, we would
just meet our 2017 operating and infrastructure improvement budgets.
Please consider making a monthly and/or one-time donation to continue
to support the vision of Shao Shan Temple as a place for people to come
together to study and practice the Dharma. Donations in any amount will be very
gratefully accepted and are fully tax deductible. http://www.shaoshantemple.org/donations Thank
you.
You
are always welcome to join us at the temple to take part in its many offerings.
More information about celebrations, programming, schedules, and archived
newsletters is available at our website: www.shaoshantemple.org.
With
deep appreciation for your friendship and support over the years.
In
the Great Bright Universal Truth,
Rev. Taihaku
Gretchen Priest
