Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary is a Dharma center in the Buddhist tradition offering weekly group meditation sessions and periodic retreats.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide our community and the public with a sanctuary environment offering comprehensive support for contemplative practice and Dharma study, to empower people of all backgrounds to actualize their potential for wisdom and compassionate action, to relieve the suffering of living beings, and to promote harmony in the world.
Our Culture
We value loving kindness, compassion, healthy sensitivity, and wisdom — and we recognize that these qualities are a work in progress for all of us, so we cultivate a community culture that is embracing, non-judgmental, and supportive. Our community is multi-ethnic and international. We value diversity as a treasure that enriches everyone. We are LGBTQ+ friendly and we stand against racism. Whoever you are, if you aspire to cultivate wisdom, kindness, and compassion, you will fit right in. We welcome you to come as you are, and we hope you’ll feel at home.
Our Commitments
One of the foundational values of the Dharma is non-harming (Sanskrit: ahimsa). We aspire to reduce the suffering of the world. As one expression of our commitment to “practice what we preach,” we adopt policies and procedures to minimize the harm caused by our own activities as an organization. These non-harming policies include the following.
Ecological sensitivity
- Nature: We see nature as the greatest temple, and we strive to protect and nurture the natural environment while disturbing it as little as possible with our presence.
- Buildings: We build our structures and facilities with natural materials and methods (e.g. adobe, straw bale, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.
- Food: Our gardens are organic and designed and managed in harmony with nature, cultivating closed-loop systems, employing permaculture principles, etc. The food we purchase is organic and and, as much as possible, local or regional. Our long-term goal is to be primarily self-sufficient for food (growing the majority of the food we serve) and entirely local/regional.
- Water: One of the most vital resources for life on earth, and an increasingly scarce one in the southwest US, water must be conserved, protected, and stewarded with great care. We implement solutions to minimize our use of water, to protect the water that flows through the Sanctuary, to recharge groundwater, to harvest rainwater responsibly and use it wisely, and more.
- Energy: We make use of natural energy (e.g. solar power, electric vehicles and tools, etc.), and we use it as responsibly as we can, including informed purchasing (to avoid conflict minerals, inhumane labor conditions, and other harmful or irresponsible practices in the supply chain).
- Consumption: We strive to minimize consumption of market materials (as our cofounder says, “Fewer bulbs, more light”). In particular, we avoid single-use plastics and we minimize consumption and disposal of all plastics to the greatest extent possible, as it is abundantly clear that recycling is not a viable solution for plastic waste, and it is a compassionate human’s responsibility to help reverse the trend of global plastic pollution.
- Waste: We endeavor to minimize waste, and to manage our waste responsibly, including making the best use of composting and other closed-loop systems.
Compassion for animals
- Habitat and corridors: We do our best to respect and protect the diverse wildlife present (or passing through) on the Sanctuary lands and leave them space to live undisturbed.
- A safe refuge: We ask our community to follow the Buddhist precept of not killing or harming any living being (even insects).
- Compassionate food: We serve only 100% plant-based (vegan) food and refreshments.
- Compassionate consumption: We do not purchase or use animal products (except those voluntarily left behind by an animal, such as precious dung that can be used as organic fertilizer or as natural building materials) or products made with animal testing.
Conscientious consumption
- In addition to the points above, we are committed in general to make informed and compassionate choices with regard to all consumption, including considering the entire life cycle of a product from production to disposal, to avoid products made with harmful or irresponsible production conditions (e.g. child labor or other inhumane labor conditions, polluting factories, etc.), excessive carbon cost of transportation, toxic or otherwise harmful effects when used or disposed, and so on.
Our Name
Suvarnabhumi is a Sanskrit term that translates literally as “golden land.” There are many stories in the ancient literature of Asia, including the Jataka tales, about the pure land of Suvarnabhumi, which was said to be the last place that ordinary humans could reach on their way to the exalted spirit realms. Our aspiration is that Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary will serve as this kind of pure land in the lap of nature to support many to progress in their practice.
Legalities & Formalities
Legal entity: Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary is a volunteer-managed, nonprofit organization formed in Colorado as an Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (UNA) and recognized as a church as defined by the IRS.
Tax-deductibility of contributions: Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) public charity, so your contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Non-discrimination: We do not discriminate against anyone, including on the basis of color, ethnicity, nationality, sex, gender identity, sexual preference, religion or creed.
Privacy: We respect your privacy. We do not spam in any way, and we are not in the business of harvesting data or selling personal information. You can find our full privacy policy here.
Trademarks: The Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary name and style are reserved as trademarks and service marks of Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary.
Copyright: Except where otherwise noted, all content (including text, images, video, and all other material) on this website © Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary, some rights reserved under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.”
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