Completing the Retreat Center – Blazing Mountain
The Dharma Ocean community has experienced a variety of practice containers over the last five years, each with it’s own genuine blessings and apparent obstacles. With each passing year, we have been able to make dramatic steps toward creating a practice environment that is fitting for the depth of work that we, as a community, have undertaken. In December of 2008, we were able to move from a rented space in Crestone into our new Shrine Hall, and we have seen the tremendous benefit that this space has provided for our retreats. This has been an amazing blessing for us, for the local community, and for the numerous other contemplative organizations that continue to utilize the retreat center.
To those who have attended retreats in our Shrine Hall, the union of earth and sky that the Shrine Hall embodies is evident, and the facility has provided a rich environment for discovering our deepest nature. However, because we have to house people sporadically throughout Crestone, the practice container can become porous and we loose valuable practice time due to off-site travel. The completion of the Residence Hall is our vital last step in finishing this remarkable and unmatched practice space, Blazing Mountain Retreat Center. In order for us to provide the best possible retreat situation for our community and for the greater community of practitioners, we must be able to house participants on-site, without the need to leave the retreat center during the retreat periods. Completion of the Residence Hall will also ensure the long-term sustainability of Dharma Ocean and provide a training ground for the path and practice of meditation for generations to come.
With deep gratitude to the numerous community members who have already committed funds to the construction of the Residence Hall, we are please to announce that construction has already begun – though we have a long way to go before we can occupy the new Residence Hall and complete the center. With nearly one-million dollars already pledged, and just under one-million dollars left to raise in order to complete this unmatched practice center, please consider making your tax-deductible contribution today. Your contribution helps ensure that training and practice of meditation and contemplative education will continue to flourish for many generations to come.
To learn more about the Residence Hall, please click here.
