News

When Susan Orr was the Sacramento Dharma Center’s Board President, she signed-off her emails with the single word: Onward! – expressing her cheerful optimism that we would succeed in our quest to buy a building. And it is onward that we continue to go, though without our beloved Susan, who died in 2018. And as of this year, without Linda Dekker, who served SDC so selflessly from its inception through 2021.

Our founders thought of the Dharma Center as a legacy project, something precious they could leave to future generations – a home for Buddhist practice. Our current Board is committed to preserving and extending their legacy. One goal is to leave the property debt-free by paying down the mortgage. A second is to nurture younger leaders who will carry on managing, improving, and defining what the Dharma Center will be.

To accommodate the needs of younger leaders, the Dharma Center will need more paid staff and services. This is already happening and stretching our budget, and these needs and costs will undoubtedly increase. This is the reason why paying off the mortgage – our biggest single expense – remains a top priority.

Asking for Your Help

Two years ago, we began a five-year fundraising campaign to pay down the balance of our mortgage, which now stands at just under $300,000. We’ve had two tremendously successful campaigns, raising over $70,000 each year, all of which went to pay-down the mortgage to its current level.

The goal is to keep replicating this success. This year two donors have together offered $1 to $1 matching funds, up to $25,000. This sets our campaign goal at $50,000. We humbly ask for your support to meet or go beyond this goal.

‘The Way is to Volunteer’

The Sacramento Dharma Center (SDC) thrives due to the effort of volunteers and committed donors. Among the people who check those boxes, Barbara Colton stands out. Barbara, stepped into the role of SDC Board President in early 2019. She will finally “term-out” of her Board position early next year, so we asked her to look back at her spiritual path and her motivation for such long service.

SDC: Please tell us about your personal path of practice.

Barbara Colton: I came to the Dharma late in life, beginning with yoga practice in the 1990’s. My first meditation retreat was at Chochmat HaLev, a Jewish spiritual center in Berkeley. Though my spiritual bones were not very strong, I persisted and began to attend retreats at Spirit Rock, the Insight Meditation Center in
Massachusetts, and started going to Sacramento Insight  Meditation (SIM). I completed the two-year Dedicated Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock, which included five long retreats, as well as the Heavenly Messengers Program with Frank Ostaseski, which provided support for my work then as a hospice volunteer.

SDC: What motivates your spirit of service?

Barbara Colton: I’ve learned that if you want to get involved in something, the way is to volunteer. Shortly after I joined SIM, I volunteered to set up the meditation hall; eventually I was on the SIM board. I wanted to experience how a board could work based on Dharma principles. When the SDC Board President position
became vacant, I told the Board that “president skills” were not my strong suit, but I would do it. I hoped to improve my leadership skills and to contribute to the ongoing health of the Board according to the Dharma.

SDC: What are your hopes for the future of SDC?

Barbara Colton: The Dharma Center needs to have a sense of identity that new people can understand. We are working on that. We produced a poster explaining the role of SDC and we are working on another one as the run-up to this fundraising campaign. All our efforts are so that SDC can to continue to exist and be a Dharma home for people who come here.

SDC: You have been a consistent donor to SDC. Would you talk about that?

Barbara Colton: One of the important teachings for me is Dana (generosity, giving). I’ve learned that it is important to support those things that one believes in. SDC is an expression of that. For me the Dharma started out as a conceptual scaffolding. Through my practice I’ve come to experience the truth of the teachings. The Buddha’s insights are profound. For me the Dharma works, and I would like there to continue to be a home for people to explore how the Dharma works for them too. I think the crude expression is ‘you put your money where your mouth is;’ or more accurately for me, ‘put your money where you want to be
(silent, on a cushion.)’

SDC: Do you have a message for prospective donors?

Barbara Colton: People can see and enjoy the investments we have made in this building: the new bathrooms, the remodeled West Hall, new roofs and solar panels, the North Garden area, the fledgling trees in the ‘back forty.’ What they can’t see is the $3,000 per month mortgage payments, our biggest single expense. Donating to pay down the mortgage is the most effective way to ensure the future of the Dharma Center.

Thank you,

Kenny Bender

For the Dharma Center Board

Making a Donation

To make a contribution of any amount, please press the button below and you’ll be connected to the Dharma Center donation page. Thank you!

P.P.S. If you are 70½ or older and have a Traditional IRA, you can donate to the Sacramento Dharma Center by making a “Qualified Charitable Distribution” from your IRA, and you won’t have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw. This article explains how to do this:
https://www.investopedia.com/taxes/can-i-use-money-my-ira-donate-charity/

Or mail your donation to Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826, and indicate “Mortgage Pay Down” on your check.Thanks!

Please join us on July 9th, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. to honor and celebrate the life of Kyōji Linda Dekker. The memorial service will be held at the Sacramento Dharma Center, with a reception to follow. We would appreciate those attendees who are able to bring a snack, sweet, or fruit to share.

The Sacramento Dharma Center and its sustaining sanghas offer their deepest gratitude and respect to Kyōji Linda Dekker, one of the founders of SDC and Valley Streams Zen Sangha. Linda passed from this life on April 2nd after a long illness, surrounded by her family and friends. She is survived by her son Bryn, partner Nuala, and grandchild Parlee, as well as her best friends, Gwen Roedel Green and Garry Green, her honorary grandson Nathaniel Green, many close friends, and Dharma brothers and sisters.

A devoted practitioner, Linda became a student of Tenshin Reb Anderson in the late 1990s and practiced with him in residence at Green Gulch Farm. She served as Ino (head of the meditation hall) at VSZS from 2015 to 2018. Linda’s commitment to the Sacramento Dharma Center can be traced all the way to the roots of the organization. She was a founding member of Valley Streams Zen Sangha and a strong contributor in the early days of the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group. This relationship placed her in a position to help in drawing the sanghas together and encouraging the conversations that led to the vision of sharing a permanent home and future.

Linda strongly supported the idea to seek out a shared space for inter-sangha practice and committed herself to making the venture a reality. She served on the Inter-Sangha Coordinating Committee as a representative for Valley Streams and worked to find the best path forward for securing a home for the sanghas. After a year of discussion, the group decided to form a nonprofit, the Sacramento Dharma Center, to act as the entity responsible for finding, purchasing, and maintaining a permanent home for VSZS, SBMG, and Sacramento Insight Meditation.

Linda’s contributions to the formation of the SDC were immense and began with the work of incorporating the nonprofit, creating its structure, and pursuing a tax-exempt status. She served on the SDC Board of Directors and dedicated herself to the challenging work that the board faced in securing a property for SDC. Linda and other board members took a fundraising seminar and worked together to build the network of donors that sustain SDC and our sanghas to this day. The board’s search committee diligently looked for properties that would accommodate the needs of the three sanghas. Finally, in 2016, the property on Wissemann Drive was presented as a possible site and Linda toured the location along with SDC president Susan Orr. Seeing the promise of the property, the board made the decision to purchase it. Linda’s leadership and dedication to the project were crucial through the long process of negotiating the purchase, securing the loan, and beginning renovations once the sale was finalized.

Linda would serve a total of eight years on the SDC board, while also sitting at times on the VSZS board and commanding a variety of roles and responsibilities. She served on the SDC Art and Design Committee, and worked to enrich the aesthetic and spiritual environment that makes SDC the inviting and peaceful refuge it is today. Linda also served as the first office manager for SDC, taking on the immense duties of managing the property, maintaining the financial health of the organization, and scheduling events. As Jerry Simpkins, an early SDC board member and friend, remembered, “Linda always showed up. She was there for all and provided support and ideas and presence for all whom she encountered.” In every room of the Dharma Center, in every area of its history and workings, and in the deep practice of its sanghas and members, Linda’s contributions can be found.

Even with all of her service to the Dharma, Linda will be remembered best as a friend and a fellow traveler of Buddha’s Way. “Linda was an extraordinary friend, a friend who was direct, honest and supportive in the truest sense of those virtues,” remembers John Penfield, a long-time friend and VSZS member. She shared her passions and interests with her friends, from literature and movies to gardening to cooking, and was always happy to swap a book or recipe recommendation. Decades of deep practice and intensive retreats created strong friendships with many as Linda supported the Dharma path of her fellow practitioners and encouraged their efforts.

Through her sustained practice in the Dharma and her devotion to the strength and future of the SDC mission, Linda walked the bodhisattva path. The communities that she brought together and supported recognize her selfless and compassionate work in creating a home for their sanghas and a place to offer the Buddha Way. She worked tirelessly for the benefit of all practitioners who seek out SDC for community, healing, and authentic practice. Linda will be deeply missed by our community as we move forward to honor her legacy with sustained practice and a dedication to celebrating the Dharma. We invite all to join us in honoring Linda’s memory on July 9th at the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Outdoor Events Now Permitted

Indoor events at Sacramento Dharma Center (SDC) are still on hold due to coronavirus, but we are now allowing limited outdoor meetings on the grounds of the Center. Sanghas were given the green light at the end of September and scheduling for outdoor events is underway.

To keep everyone safe, organizers and participants must follow a set of guidelines developed by SDC’s Committee on Re-opening. For example, participants must be fully masked and must stay six feet from other participants at all times. The bathrooms will be open, but socially-distanced queues must be maintained. A sangha member who has undergone training in the SDC safety protocols must be present and ensure that the guidelines are being followed.

Scheduling at least three days in advance is crucial as only one outdoor event per day may be held on the property. Only groups that have previously met in the SDC and are sponsored by one of the sanghas or SDC may schedule an event.

The complete protocols governing outdoor use will soon be posted on our website, sacdharma.org. To have an event coordinator trained and schedule an event, please go to https://sacdharma.org/scheduling/.

Valley Streams Zen Sangha held an outdoor retreat on October 10th

Indoor Re-opening Not on the Horizon

Resumption of indoor meetings at the Center is not likely in 2020. After taking into account the sentiments of many members of the sangha community and the level of coronavirus risk in the larger community, the SDC Committee on Re-opening (made up of health professionals and members of each of the sustaining sanghas) concluded that the time was not yet right. The committee is now on stand-by and will be called back to develop policies guiding indoor use when re-opening the building seems warranted.

New signs!

Video Streaming is Here to Stay

Our three sustaining sanghas had to adapt quickly and go online at the start of the pandemic. Chances are that video streaming of events will continue and become a permanent component of in-person events even after indoor meetings resume. To prepare for this hybrid future, the Center is purchasing the equipment necessary to conduct interactive video meetings via platforms like Zoom and to transmit live-streamed events. All this technology (a video camera, a laptop, and microphones) will be placed on a portable video cart and will be available for use by trained sangha members. SDC’s Wi-Fi system has also been upgraded to provide better coverage throughout the building and our internet service has been upgraded to provide faster speed. We owe a big thanks to the members of the Audio-Visual Committee.

New signs part 2

Remaining Closed

Following government COVID-19 guidelines, our Center will remain closed through at least May 1.

Because of the changing nature of this crisis, the Sacramento Dharma Center Board (in collaboration with the resident sanghas) will continue to reassess the closure status weekly.

Whenever reopening is permitted and advisable, we will let you know how it will be implemented.

We will get through this!

Still Standing

The good news is that the Sacramento Dharma Center building is still being maintained (in accord with safety protocols) and will be ready to go when the time comes to reopen.

Our landscaping contractor is still able to cut the grass and blow off the parking lot twice a month as usual. Because we have suspended monthly volunteer workdays, we are expanding the area that he mows to now include the entire backyard.

Our Sustaining Sanghas have made a startlingly rapid transition to the virtual realm and have been able to continue to offer many of their programs and classes with the aid of technology.

For the most up-to-date info, check the SDC and sangha websites:

• Sacramento Dharma Center sacdharma.org,
• Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group sbmg.org,
• Sacramento Insight Meditation sactoinsight.org
• Valley Streams Zen Sangha valleystreamszen.org.

Yard Work Opportunities

Spring has sprung at the Center, and nature is quickly finding its way through all the cracks. Group workdays remain on hold, but we are inviting interested individuals to come by when they can and take on a few light outdoor tasks.

We ask volunteers to bring their own tools and abide by social distancing requirements if anyone else is there.

When an individual must enter the building, that individual is asked to observe the instructions for disinfection of all surfaces touched.* Also, please do not use the kitchen or breakroom.

Some ideas about the tasks you could do:

-Weeding—anywhere you see them, but especially in the landscaped beds, in the non-planted areas under the trees, and in cracks in the sidewalk and parking lot.

-Sweeping sidewalks. Picking up any trash. Putting fir bark back in the planters.

-Deadheading the camellias and other flowering plants that need it.

-Weeding the rows of compost in the far backyard. Weeding the sidewalk and area next to it by the area north of the building.

Coming Soon – A New Roof

Our Center will be sporting a new shingled roof by the end of June. The contract has been signed and we are waiting our turn in the roofer’s line. Thank you to all those who contributed to our recent fundraising campaign!

Support

If you are able, please continue to contribute to your sangha and to Sacramento Dharma Center during this very unusual time.

There is much need out there right now and many worthy causes. Please bear us in mind if you have received the government stimulus and are considering which charities to support. You can donate at sacdharma.org.

* Cleaning Guidelines:

Disinfection of all surfaces touched includes, but is not liminted to: door handles light switches, faucets, counters, tools, untensils, alarm pads, and any other shared surface such as chairs, tables, benches, bells, window covering in offices, restrooms and meeting rooms. The easiest way to avoid having to disinfect is to touch as little as possible.

Approved disinfectants will be found in a box on a table in the break room. Please use only these materials for this purpose. Discard used paper towels and take any rags or cloths home and launder in hot water with detergent.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reply here or contact us at info@sacdharma.org.

Temporary Closure in Response to Covid-19 (updated 4/1/20) The three resident sanghas at the Sacramento Dharma Center—Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Insight Meditation, and Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group–have suspended all live, in-person activities at the Center through the end of April or longer. Accordingly, the Board of Directors of Sacramento Dharma Center announces that, effective immediately, the Center is closed for any in-person meetings until at least April 30, 2020. Because of the changing nature of the crisis the SDC Board (in collaboration with the resident sanghas) will review the closure status on an ongoing basis. Please visit sangha and Center websites for the most up-to-date information as well as ways to continue to access the dharma and support practice.

Challenges We in the Sacramento dharma community, as well as the larger community and world, are in the midst of almost unprecedented challenges. As dharma practitioners, we are facing these challenges within the framework of the dharma that informs both our personal and our collective responses. The SDC Board asked the sustaining sanghas to decide, based upon their particular situations, how to best contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect the public while continuing to foster community and provide a sanctuary for those who seek to end suffering. Our decisions focused on two areas: —Activities at SDC, almost all of which are live, in-person meetings, and —The ability to keep the Center as a safe space in terms of the potential spread of COVID-19.

Actions of the Sanghas to Suspend Live In person Activities Advice from the local, state, and national levels has evolved and changed rapidly over the past few days. The sanghas made their decisions in the midst of the uncertainties that still face us, and them. All three sanghas decided independently to suspend their sittings and dharma talks, one-day retreats, and other activities, including classes. These decisions were made in order to assure the most effective means of preventing the spread of the virus, social distancing.

Continuing to Provide Opportunities for Dharma and Sangha The sanghas will be providing a variety of means to support practice during the absence of activities at the Center. In addition to email communications, e-newsletters, and Facebook, sangha websites will have the latest information and instructions for alternative ways to access dharma talks, classes, and other sangha programs. Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group, sbmg.org; Sacramento Insight Meditation, sactoinsight.org, and Valley Streams Zen Sangha, valleystreamszen.org, will all provide some electronic access to many activities that will no longer meet in person. Access may be via Zoom, a video conferencing technology; via live-streamed talks; and/or via recorded talks or videoconferences. In addition to the resources provided by our sanghas, there are a wide variety of online resources available, such as dharmaseed.org, and courses and livestreaming provided by meditation centers and teachers worldwide. Each sangha website, and the SDC website, will list a small fraction of those resources, with links.

Maintaining the Center as a Safe Space According to experts in communicable disease, social distancing—avoiding contact with others—is the most effective means of preventing or slowing the transmission of disease. After that comes exercising extreme vigilance about disinfecting all surfaces that could harbor viruses. There will be some necessary traffic at the Center for maintenance and administration even during the closure. When an individual must enter the building, that individual is asked to observe the instructions for disinfection of all surfaces touched, including but not limited to: door handles, light switches, faucets, counters, tools, utensils, alarm pads, and any other shared surfaces such as chairs, tables, benches, bells, window coverings in offices, restrooms and meeting rooms. The easiest way to avoid having to disinfect is to touch as little as possible. Approved disinfectants will be found in a box on a table in the break room. Please use only these materials for this purpose. Discard used paper towels and take any rags or cloths home and launder in hot water with detergent. If there is any doubt about the efficacy of a method, or a concern, please contact us, info@sacdharma.org.

Your Support Continued support of your sangha and the Dharma Center is greatly appreciated during these difficult times. Although the doors are closed, fixed monthly operating costs are still accruing.

Refuges As we continue to face the challenges in front of us, may we all find refuge in our tradition, in the wisdom of the Buddha, the teachings and practices of the dharma, and the strength and support of sangha. May all beings be free from suffering. Warm Regards from the Dharma Center Board of Directors

https://sacdharma.org/20269-2/

The SDC Board has reviewed the current recommendations of the California Department of Health which now states that -“Smaller gatherings (under 250) held in venues that do not allow social distancing of six feet per person should be postponed or canceled. This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues… Gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people. Higher risk individuals are adults over 60, individuals with compromised immune systems, and individuals who have serious chronic medical conditions. This applies to all non-essential …community gatherings.”

After considerable discussion it was decided that, due to our concern for the well being of our Sangha and the larger community, we would comply with this recommendation. Sustaining Sangha meetings on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday evenings have been cancelled at least through the month of March. We will continue to monitor the health advisories and keep you posted.

For other small meetings please contact the individual Sanghas’ leadership. Some small groups will meet on site practicing social distancing, other groups may use video conferencing, some may be cancelled .

SBMG Website

SIM Website

Valley Streams Zen Sangha Website