Tonglen Service Grants
Photo by Edward Howell
The Asian Classics Institute and Diamond Mountain Retreat Center are launching a new quest--to raise $100,000 to help bring more people in to work on special projects to spread the teachings and the dharma around the world. In particular, Geshe Michael cooked up this idea to help support the needs and the popularity of the Asian Classics Institute's Lam Rim Retreats.
We need these grants now, because lockdowns, war, and economic troubles have made it hard for people who want to join and offer their time to help the Asian Classics Institute. Yet they are unable due to so for many reasons. At the same time, ACI has many, many needs for more work to be done. So we are creating a special fund that will give folks Tonglen Service Grants so they can offer their time and service, and get paid at the same time!
All we need are two things: your application for a Tonglen Service Grant, and the money to make it happen.
A Tonglen Service Grant gives a worthy person funding to help them with their expenses, to serve as either a full-time or part-time employee for ACI. The grant is renewable, depending on a performance review and funding availability.
How Does It Work?
A grant gives each recipient part-time or full-time support so they can work to support ACI as a staff member. Applicants for the grant will be expected to (1) maintain and keep a journal record (which will be checked!) of a serious daily practice, with at least 30 minutes of daily tonglen meditation; (2) go through training and work as a staff member in fields such as online tech, organizational support skills, graphic arts, online translator, or similar tasks; and (3) participate happily in related “dirty work”--logistical tasks that we all need to share, like kitchen or cleaning service.
Recipients of a Tonglen Service Grant can apply to work out of their homes anywhere in the world; or to work at ACI's offices in Sedona, Arizona, USA; or at Diamond Mountain Retreat Center in Bowie, Arizona.
What Does the Asian Classics Institute Need?
A better question would be, what don't we need? We need people to help with our growing online learning platform, including administrators. The online learning platform provides access in 12 languages for people to sign up and pay for ACI events; it archives and makes accessible recordings of the Lam Rim Retreat content; it sends out those essential Zoom links, reminders, and updates. We need translators, and translator coordinators, to manage simultaneous, live, multi-language broadcasts of Geshe Michael's and ACI Teachers’ precious words. We need study group and Telegram chat leaders to help students with their questions and study materials. We need Photoshop experts to make better and more beautiful banners and newsletter illustrations so more people will be attracted to our events. We need webmasters to create and update web pages and landing pages. We need organizational help for our very small ACI staff as events come closer, so they don't have to stay up all night every night with their hair on fire!
Consider Becoming a Volunteer
What are your skill sets? How do they fit in with what we need? If you want to talk to someone at ACI to discuss your wish to help, email us: info@asianclassicsinstitute.org.
Apply for a Grant
We are actively seeking applications. There are a few requirements, like those mentioned above. Would you like to apply?
Please Help Us Do This!
Tonglen, or giving & taking, is an ancient meditation practice of taking away other people's problems and giving them happiness. We have been learning about tonglen in the last two Lam Rim events at Diamond Mountain and in Guadalajara, Mexico, so here is a chance to apply what we've learned. A Tonglen Service Grant gives a person a little money to enable them to work for ACI, and it takes away a little of ACI's suffering from a lack of funds to support its activities to produce teachings.
To date, we have raised around $50,000 but we need a lot more to reach our 12-month goal of $100,000. We already have 20 requests for grant applications. The Asian Classics Institute and Diamond Mountain Retreat Center will split the funds we raise, so please keep that in mind as you search your heart for what you can give--we recommend giving twice as much 😃.
Remember, tonglen is the ancient art of taking and giving. Please donate to the Tonglen Service Grant fund, and take away some suffering while giving some much-needed joy!
