Membership

Becoming a member of the Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center is a statement about your personal inspiration, curiosity and commitment to the path of awakening. It means participating in a community of practitioners who aspire to relate to each other with honesty, warmth and openness. We inspire one another to deepen our practice of mindfulness, awareness and compassion. We also provide each other an opportunity to practice compassion and patience.

We invite anyone interested in our Center to consider becoming a member. Becoming a member simultaneously brings membership in the greater Shambhala global community; committed to cultivating mindfulness, awareness and compassion, both personally and in society.

What Membership Involves

Membership is a way to express appreciation for what Shambhala provides and help make it available to others. This is reflected in these three areas of engagement and support:

Practicing meditation

Making a connection to mindfulness-awareness meditation or related contemplative practice and integrating this practice into daily life is considered the best way for members to support Shambhala and benefit the world and ourselves.

Volunteering

All of the work of our Center and much of the work of the Shambhala global community is done by volunteers. Giving our time and talents to the work of the community is a vital form of support and viewed as part of members’ practice.  Your volunteer efforts of program staffing, flower arranging, cleaning or helping with special events, to mention some examples, are greatly appreciated.  Your talents may be just the ones that are needed to keep our Center running smoothly.

Providing financial support

We rely on membership donations to pay our basic operating expenses and view financial giving as part of our practice as well.

We now offer a tiered approach to member giving (instead of a fixed membership level as we’ve had in the past) that allows you to select a category that best fits into your financial plan and generosity goals, as follows:

Tier One (Patron Tier): $120 or more for individuals ($190+ for families)

Tier Two (Standard Tier): $60 – $119 for individual ($100-189 for families)

Tier Three: $40 – $59 for individuals ($60-99 for families)

Tier Four: $20 – $39 for individuals ($30-59 for families)

Please see our Generosity Policy.

If you are not ready to become a member at this time, but appreciate what we have offered to you and the community of practitioners in the past, and want to contribute to the long-term financial health of our Center, you could become a “Friend of Shambhala.”  A monthly donation of as little as $10-25 from some of our friends would assist us greatly.

You may contribute your monthly membership or Friend of Shambhala donations online via PayPal using the Donate Button below or by check either mailed or dropped off in the foyer at the center.

images (1)

Click the Donate Button or the appropriate link below to sign up for Automatic Payment of your Donation!!

Single Membership              Family Membership              Friend of Shambhala

The benefits of membership

Connection with our community by becoming a member helps support your practice and strengthen your understanding of Shambhala Buddhism in many ways:

  • Members receive ongoing meditation instruction with a personal Meditation Instructor who helps them deepen their meditation practice and understanding of the Shambhala Buddhist teachings
  • Members are invited to community events, programs and classes, and receive discounts for some programs
  • Members receive the Great Eastern Sun membership pin
  • Members are given a set of keys to the Center so they can come and practice at any time; or borrow books, tapes, and videos from the library
  • Membership in Shambhala’s world-wide network
  • Access to member resources at www.shambhala.org

 

Shambhala is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by members’, program and other donations and fundraising events.  Your contributions help support all of our activities and expenses, such as rent, utilities, supplies and mailings.

If you are interested in becoming a member of our Center look for a Membership form in our Center’s foyer.  For further information please contact Director Susie Cook at [email protected]