Stories of Giving & Receiving
Often, experiences of giving and receiving are heart-opening and deepening. This page offers IMS community members the chance to share such important and meaningful stories. If you would like us to include an account of how generosity has affected you, please write to us at development@dharma.org.
A Safe Space to Explore the Mind:
A Donor’s Story
Bruce Lockhart, MD became interested in meditation while in India. Back in the US a few years later, he discovered IMS and began coming on retreat. Here he describes the impact of this experience, and why he recently decided to include IMS in his estate planning. Read more...
Finding a Spiritual Home:
A Donor’s Story
Constance Sable was a professional cook until 1985, when she took a degree in accounting and financial planning. For the past ten years she has worked in the trusts and estates department of a law firm and volunteers at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. Here she tells what moved her to donate to IMS. Read more...
Offering Back Unconditional Love:
A Donor’s Story of Giving
Lorna Kelly was born and bred in England. Since arriving in the US in the ‘60s, she has made New York City her home. A fine arts auctioneer by profession, she became personally fascinated with the life of Christ, which led her on many incongruous and enriching adventures. Recently, she decided to include IMS in her will. Here, she tells the story of her relationship to spiritual practice, to IMS and to giving. Read more...
Bearing Witness:
A Donor’s Story of Planned Giving
IMS has been Pamela Lear’s spiritual home since 1982. Since then, she has made a pilgrimage to Barre almost every year, finding refuge in the silence and exploring the possibility of awakening. A few years ago, she took the step to include the organization in her will.
What brought her to that point, and what did this gesture signify? Here, she tells her story. Read more...
The Practice of Generosity:
A Donor’s Story
The teachings of the Buddha become far more than philosophical or theoretical when significant events undermine the structure of our lives and seemingly deprive us of what we most cherish. When Jim Alford's life-partner of twenty-eight years, Oscar Hinojosa, died in 1997, Jim faced the challenge we must all, sooner or later, confront: how do we respond from deep within and use suffering as an opportunity to move wholeheartedly along the path of wisdom, compassion and love? Read more...
Bowing Before the Buddha:
Planned Giving as Generosity Practice
Recently, IMS received a call from Mike Edelman, asking for our tax identification number. Mike had decided to include us in his estate plan. During the conversation, he agreed to share the story of how he came to put IMS in his will. His account is a heart-warming example of the important role planned giving can play in our practice of generosity. Read more...
More Stories of Generosity
From Pascal A.
"The teachings of the Buddha came my way at a time when I most needed them. I was in a precarious financial situation when my health was suddenly threatened in a very serious way. Fear, stress, depression and confusion were starting to take over. Then a scholarship to sit at IMS was granted to me. This is where I started to develop the qualities needed to overcome this difficulty. It's a long list of qualities; are you ready? Understanding, acceptance, compassion, courage, interest, wisdom and the willingness to be present for what was happening. And an other one: gratitude. Thank you for generously giving me back my joy."
From Olivia H.
"At the end of every retreat at IMS, I wonder how I can begin to express my gratitude for all I've received, even though I offer dana. Quite simply, the gifts of the dharma are endless. [Dana] is a tangible way to acknowledge something immeasurable - the profound impact that the teachings have had on my life."
From Greg S.
"It is said that the Buddha advised his disciples to cultivate the practice of generosity before engaging in meditation and mind development. Having lived a life of Dharma service and practice for many years, I have had a great many opportunities to put this advice into practice; by giving of my time, energy, and resources, and by the many ways that my life has depended upon the generosity of others. This past Fall I once again had the great good fortune to be able to participate in the annual three-month retreat at IMS. I would not have been able to attend the retreat had I not received a generous scholarship. Having the opportunity to take part in long-term intensive meditation retreats is something that I value extremely highly, and I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the ongoing support I have received from IMS!"
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