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Currently, costs for Urban Refuge are $71.64 per year.
A donation of $1 by every member each year will allow Urban Refuge to be self-sustainable. If you feel inspired to give, you may click the DONATE NOW button, to the right. This donation feature from Spruz only allows funds to be applied to the website account. Therefore, funds cannot be used for anything other than maintaining this site.
To learn about other ways in which you can support Urban Refuge, please contact Erica at urbanrefugesangha [at] gmail [dot] com.
Much gratitude for your generosity.
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The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something-- usually ourselves. When we feel unhappy, when we feel inadequate, we get stingy; we hold on tight. Generosity is an activity that loosens us up. By offering whatever we can-- a dollar, a flower, a word of encouragement-- we are training in letting go. (1)
The Buddha said that no true spiritual life is possible without a generous heart. Dana is the very first of ten paramis, or qualities of the awakened mind. The path begins here, and the Buddha began his teachings here, because when we practice generosity, we begin to know a very beautiful quality of joy, a sheer, unhindered delight flowing freely. Giving brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous; we experience joy in the actual act of giving something; and we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given. (2)
(1) Pema Chödrön (2002). Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 teachings. Shambala, Boston. p 133.
(2) Sharon Salzberg (2002). Loving-Kindness: The revolutionary act of happiness. Shambala, Boston. p 155.
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