Manitou Center
Winona, MN
Compassion
It motivates us to step up and ease the physical, mental, and emotional pains of ourselves and others.
It is accessible to each of us at anytime.
Our beliefs about compassion and how to nurture and live a compassionate life begins by recognizing that inside of life, there are obstacles: loneliness, grief, sickness, suffering, inequity, and misfortune. It’s easy (and somewhat natural) to want to avoid or escape these situations. However, if we can recognize these situations as part of the human experience, and not as a failure or something that we have done wrong, then we are able to be loving and present with ourselves (and those around us) during these difficult moments. If we can begin to shift our perspective and work first to transform our suffering into love, kindness, and self-care, then we are able to heal ourselves from the inside out. This bearing witness to our own misfortune is the essential platform for being able to understand and be available for others and their own suffering. This is compassion; the realization of our own suffering which allows us to understand the suffering of others and motivates us to work to help ease their pain.
Inside of our work at Manitou Center, we hold space for the difficulties that arrive inside of individuals, families, groups, and communities, with deep compassion. We act by creating generative spaces that support the interconnectedness of life and the inherent humanity of our shared existence. It’s big work, but work we believe makes for a better, more compassionate, healthy, and engaged world.
Help Save our Manitou Center
During these past months of the COVID pandemic, our local member centers have had to close to the public while maintaining their facilities, utilities, and websites services. Our teachers continue to teach online.
This closure has put our Zen Garland Headquarters at Dharma River Temple’s Manitou Center in Winona, Minnesota at risk. We have had to continue paying rent while losing participant donations, programming fees and revenue from organizations that stopped subletting.
We need to raise $12,000 in this 2020 Zen Garland Capital Campaign and we are asking for you to pledge any amount to help. We are seeking 20 individuals, couples or families to make a Bodhisattva Pledge of $600 for one year or $50/month extra donation to support a very engaged community place of practice and the headquarters of the Zen Garland Order.
Help Save Manitou Center
Can you make a donation today to keep our Zen Garland Headquarters at Dharma River Temple’s Mantiou Center up and running?
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