Offering the Dharma
You can make a gift to Sugarplum Sangha at any time to support our free public offerings, retreat scholarship fund, 10% Pledge, and staff livelihood. Gifts like yours help us sustain the sangha at low cost and in a spirit of generosity.
The Spirit of Generosity
Whenever the Buddha taught the complete outline of the path to liberation, he always began with generosity. Practicing generosity trains the mind to be content with what is available, to delight in letting go, and be satisfied with contributing to something meaningful and helpful. Generosity, then forms the foundation for the higher stages of the path - ethical action, concentration, and insight.
In the centuries since the time of the Buddha, generosity is what has sustained the sangha and made it into one of humanity's longest lasting institutions. Householders provided the monastics with food, shelter, clothing, and medicine, and monastics provided the householders with ethical guidance, meditation instruction, and dharma teachings. This model conferred many benefits. It ensured householders frequent access to the knowledge and experience of the monastics, and it kept the monastics in contact with the issues and sufferings of the world. It cultivated a class of householders that could live in society with the dharma in mind, and made it possible for renunciates to devote themselves to meditation. And, since the monastics could not charge to teach, they had no incentive to distort the dharma to the preferences of the house holders they taught to earn more money.
Sugarplum Sangha respects and sees the value in this way of sharing the dharma, and we believe it to be ideal. We also understand that we are all householders ourselves and practicing and sharing the dharma in a time and culture far removed from the Buddha's. We offer our content in a spirit of generosity and hope that it is accessible to everyone no matter how much their income. We offer free public meditations, free interpreted dharma talks, and free videos on topics related to the dharma. In gratitude to our regular supporters, we offer daily meditations, recorded guided meditations, and discounts on courses and retreats. To anyone who is interested in the resources supporters enjoy but can't afford it, we offer scholarships - no questions asked.
Since Sugarplum is a sangha of householders, we also practice generosity as a training in mindfulness, concentration, and insight. One manifestation of this practice is that we have taken the Giving What We Can 10% Pledge. Every three months, Sugarplum Sangha supporters can vote on which of a number of the most effective charities we donate 10% of our quarterly revenue too. Your generosity doesn't just support the sangha, it benefits people around the world.