Filling the Pond Together: Year End Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Precious Sangha,

Ponds are known for their abundant life and the nutrients they provide for a wide variety of species. Karmê Chöling’s pond is all of that, plus a contemplative space that greets visitors as they approach The Main House and refreshes participants when they take breaks from sitting practice. But in the last few years, accumulating sediment and encroaching vegetation have greatly diminished the beauty, energy, and life of our precious pond.

This fall we began to restore the pond to a healthier state by having it dredged. The project was overseen by the thoughtful and careful Karmê Chöling Land Use Committee, who prioritized minimal impact on the pond’s inhabitants. The newly dredged pond has already been refilled by groundwater and the stream that runs by the Main Shrine Room. By spring, our renewed pond will be teeming with life, offering nutrients and habitat to many creatures.

It occurs to me that the pond is a metaphor for Karmê Chöling. Our retreat center is also teeming with life, and offers its own form of “nutrients” to those who are drawn to come here. Visitors leave our “dharma pond” nourished, and like the deer, birds, and insects many of them return year after year.

In this annual appeal, I invite you to help us fill the metaphorical Karmê Chöling pond with a generous year-end gift so that we can offer the healthiest, most nourishing environment to the individuals who come here seeking deeper understanding. Please help us raise a total of $45,000 in year-end gifts to close the gap in our operating budget for 2017.

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Walking by the pond every day, the refilling process was heart wrenchingly slow. But, somehow, the accumulation of many drops of water reached the top of what is sure to become a vibrant pond this spring. Thank you for adding your contribution to ensure a vibrant Karmê Chöling.

With appreciation for our abundance,

Myra Woodruff
Executive Director
Karmê Chöling Shambhala Meditation Center

Myra Woodruff has been the Executive Director of Karmê Chöling since February 2014. While originally hailing from England and then Canada, she lived in Burlington Vermont for 21 years prior to taking up her post.