| |
Give someone a fish and you feed her for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. – Lao Tzu
We aspire to deliver programs that are spiritually based, transformative, and empowering from start to finish. We want to embody, not just teach, these values in all we do, beginning with how we approach the financial support for this program.
We're asking all of you to join us in making this training available. This means taking an active role in raising the money needed to support your own training, and possibly even for that of others, by engaging in what we call “Mala Practice” – a key training practice in the Peacemaker Community (the Peacemaker Institute is the education and training division of the Peacemaker Community of Colorado, an independent affiliate of Peacemaker Community International). Mala is the Tibetan name for the traditional prayer beads used by Buddhist monks and lay practitioners (as well as practitioners in other traditions), and mala practice is grounded in the traditional begging practice of Buddhist monks and other renunciates. Here is a description of the mala practice from Roshi Bernie Glassman, renowned social activist and co-founder of the Peacemaker Community and Peacemaker Circle International.
As far back as the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, it was the practice of lay congregations to support monks through donations of food and clothing. Each day's offering was received with thanks regardless of its nature or size. In this way, the Buddha encouraged a life in which generosity of both giving and receiving were a reflection of the grace of a life lived in utter simplicity.
Participants in Peacemaker Community retreats and training programs are asked to continue this practice by assembling a mala, beads strung together and worn like a necklace. Each bead represents a person's support for a peacemaker’s work or ministry.
The assembly or “raising” of malas also insures that money management and fundraising are not seen as foreign to peacemaking work. Mala practice gives our members the opportunity to share their work with their family, friends, sangha and associates. Members publicize their work, clarify their aspiration through raising money and declare their commitment to the work of making peace in the world.
The names of each donor are written on the beads or attached to the beads in some way, and we wear our malas when undertaking our practice, training, and social actions as peacemakers, bringing our mala supporters with us, working together for peace.
We encourage even those participants who can afford to pay their tuition “out of pocket” to engage in the mala practice either to cover part of their tuition or, even better, to raise funds for the Peacemaker Institute Scholarship Fund and help make this training available to others with less means and fewer resources.
We consider mala practice to be essential training for social activists and peacemakers for the following reasons:
-
In this modern era, many of us have difficulty asking for help, especially financial help. While the “rugged individualism” that is so much a part of western, and especial U.S. culture has certainly produced extraordinary material and technological development, it clearly has its limitations and often leads to a complete denial of the reality of “interdependence” (that fact that we are all dependent on each other for our very survival) and to isolationism and dangerous and ineffective “go it alone” policies. Mala practice challenges us to recognize the reality of interdependence and to go beyond our “Lone Ranger” tendencies and our reluctance to be open with others about our training and financial needs.
-
Mala practice requires us to “go public” with our vision, aspirations, and commitments. To effectively raise funds through the mala practice, we must first get clear about our vision for our work in the world and then be able to articulate that with great clarity and passion. Mala practice requires us to go deep inside and really enroll ourselves in the vision we have for bringing positive social change and peace to our communities and societies. Only by becoming thoroughly one with and enrolled in our own vision, can we effectively enroll others in that vision.
-
Whether we are already involved in progressive social change work or have aspirations to do so, fundraising will play a key role in our work. Many of us see fund raising as some kind of necessary evil and hope that someone else will do it, so we can just focus on the work itself. We recommend the book, Soul of Money, by Lynne Twist to all our participants. This renowned spiritual activist and fundraiser (Hunger Project and Pacchamama Alliance) challenges us to raise our consciousness around fund raising for social change work and to see it as a spiritual act, a spiritual practice. Her work is very powerful and has transformed the fundraising programs of numerous major nonprofit organizations. By enrolling others in our vision and asking them for financial support, we are giving them the opportunity both to practice generosity, the highest spiritual act, and to invest in a better future for everyone.
-
Mala practice does not end with asking for financial support. We communicate regularly with our mala supporters, keeping them informed of our progress and work and sharing our journey with them. Many peacemakers send out a regular newsletter to their mala supporters creating a community of donor-partners for their work. If you decide to launch a project or create a nonprofit organization as a vehicle for your progressive social change or peace work, this community will form the core of your donor-investor base for that work. By continually educating, appreciating, empowering, and including these supporters in your work, many will become life-long friends and supporters.
Here are some basic guidelines for mala practice.
Peacemaker Institute Mala Practice Guidelines
Participants in Peacemaker Institute’s trainings, workshops and retreats may pay their tuition in any fashion they choose. Participants are encouraged, however, to pay a substantial part of their tuition by “raising a mala.” Participants could work on raising an 18-bead “wrist” mala or the traditional 108-bead mala, determining an appropriate amount to be raised for the small beads and the large “counter” beads. People sometimes combine supporters in sponsoring a single bead on their mala in the case where supporters are unable to donate the full amount designated for one mala bead.
Most people, after reflecting deeply on their personal vision for their work and the role of this training in preparing and empowering them for that work, write a mala letter, which they then send out to the widest possible network of family, friend, associates, and beyond. The key is to then follow up this letter with phone calls and personal meetings. The real joy and blessings of mala practice are discovered in these phone conversations and meetings, where we have the opportunity to have intimate conversations with others about what really matters most to them and to us, whether that particular conversation leads to a mala donation or not. Remember a cardinal rule of fundraising though—don’t forget to ask for the donation, or in this case, case for the person to invest in your work and our communities, world and future by sponsoring a bead on your mala.
Any funds that participants raise with their mala practice beyond the cost of tuition for the training program can be donated to Peacemaker Institute Scholarship Fund. All donations to the Peacemaker Institute Scholarship Fund for the purpose of assisting others with their tuition are tax deductible for the original donor (USA only). In the case of any such tax-deductible contributions of $250 or more, we will send an acknowledgement letter to the donor as required by law. Participants should, however, send thank you letters to all their mala supporters regardless of the amount, small or large.
Where and How to Send Funds
Participants engaging in mala practice who want their U.S. donors to receive a tax deduction must ask their supporters to make checks out to: Peacemaker Community USA (legal name for Peacemaker Institute). Checks should be sent to the participant, so that the participant can keep track of the mala donations they are receiving. Participants can then forward the checks to:
Peacemaker Community
P.O. Box 4623
Boulder, CO 80306-4623
Peacemaker Community USA is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organization incorporated in the State of Colorado.
If donors prefer to send their check directly to the Peacemaker Community USA address above, please be sure that your donor makes a notation on the check or includes a note stating that the donation is for “your” mala. In this case, we will inform the participant by email of each mala donation we receive in their name. Peacemaker Community USA will set up a ledger account for each participant engaging in mala practice to keep a record of the funds received for each person’s mala and tuition. Participants should also keep track of their mala donations.
Please be sure to promptly send each of your donors a thank you card, as the Peacemaker Community USA office will not respond to “your” donors; unless you or they specifically ask for someone to be placed on our mailing list, or unless there is a donation of $250 or more designated for the Peacemaker Institute Scholarship Fund requiring a formal acknowledgment letter. Many peacemakers send out periodic newsletters to their mala supporters to keep them up to date on their peacemaking activities. Any efforts you make in communicating regularly with your supporters will go a long way toward developing a lifetime circle of support for you peacemaking work.
Thank you for engaging in the mala practice.
|
|
