Donations

"Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche once said: "…although our funds are tight, our vision is enormous. That is the way we behave; and that combination works very brilliantly and very beautifully.”
In my own words: Our means are limited and our heart is unlimited. And this combination of form and space is beautiful in it's daily harmonious functioning. 

The activities of the Zen Heart Sangha involve incurring expenses and I too have to pay bills and buy food. But I do not want to do what I do on a “quid pro quo” basis. As a sangha we want to ground our work in generosity and see activity, participation and donation as unconditional. The activities of the Sangha and my work as the resident teacher are a gift. And if you would like to help me do what I do then your donation is a gift also. Having little or no money to spare does not have to be an obstacle to participate in practice. Indeed, your participation and shared practice are in them selves the most important gifts to the sangha.  

We can try to see every amount of money that we give or receive as a gift. And we can try to see everything that we can create, in the form of activities, attention, presence, practice, love, in fact our entire life, ourselves, as a gift as well. We can try to give ourselves freely and unconditionally, without expecting anything in return, not even the gratitude of the receiver. It is a practice of freely giving and receiving and therefor also a practice of trusting. These are a few of the aspects of the Paramita of “Dana” the practice of generosity. Access to the Dharma is free of charge. It is as precious as the the air we breath and the sunlight that we need. It is beyond price and without value.

General donations

Everyone who wishes to participate in the activities of the Zen Heart Sangha (in The Hague or elsewhere) or feels connected in any way to the sangha, can make a donation through our bank account (see at the bottom of the page for the details). Donations allow us to organise retreats, keep the zendo and our daily practice schedule going and give the teacher a financial allowance for livelihood. A donation is not in any way mandatory!

Donations when participating in the weekly schedule

There are no specific purposes for donations, but if you feel that a donation is appropriate because you participate in the weekly schedule, then you can make a donation through the bank account. You can also donate in cash in the center. 

Donations when participating in retreats

If you participate in a retreat we usualy mention a suggested donation to cover the specific costs of the retreat (rent, food, travel expenses, etc.), as well as a donation for the teacher and some general overhead. This is a suggestion. If you can, donate the amount or possibly a little more. If you can't, donate less or not at all. There is absolutely no reason not to participate if you have little or no money to spare. Your presence, practice and participation is also a donation. 

Donations to enable others to participate

I'm very pleased that people participate regularly without donations. If you can, it is very helpful en very meaningfull to donate something extra so that we can compensate the expenses we incur for those that participate without donation.

Donations and taxes

The Zen Heart Sangha has a so called “ANBI status”, which means we have been formally recognised by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) of the Netherlands as a Charity. Because of this all your donations are tax deductible, within the legal boundaries set by the IRS. 

More information

If you have questions or need more information regarding this, please send us an email through info@zenheart.nl.
For the official ANBI information about the Zen Heart Sangha, please refer to our Dutch language site.  

 

 

Zen Heart Sangha Nederland            KVK 51811790        Triodosbank: NL50TRIO0198464339
                                                   Fiscal (RSIN) number 850182141