[Diane Kramer and Fred Klarer]
The following post by new yellow Gakyil member Diane Kramer is the first of more to come introducing our new Gakyil
I was
asked to write something as a new member coming onto the Gakyil as part of
Yellow, the financial and organizational admin section of the Gakyil. Upon
reflection, I decided to interview myself about what this all means to me, so
here goes:
Why
did you join the Gakyil?
I
started coming up to Tsegyalgar with my husband, Fred, a former Buddhist monk
in the Chinese tradition, in the early nineties. We came up for a few years
from Long Island. During this time we built and hosted an early website with Ed Goldberg.Then, we were
drawn to Vajrayana Rinpoches, always Nyingma, such as Chagdud Tulku.
In
2011, we both felt the pull to return to the Dzochen path and started coming
regularly to Rinpoche’s retreats and to Jim Valby weekends.
Walking
around at the last retreat I felt comfortable and welcomed by community
members, especially by Jim Valby and Katherine, Marilyn, Harvey Kaiser, Robin
and Diane Sievers, plus others. While feeling comfortable, I also felt like a
guest. Here were at least a hundred people working to make this retreat a great
success and an experience of oneness for all of us, and I was not making a
contribution. At that moment, I went up to Al Daggitt and said: I want to join
the Gakyil. He sent me to Ed Hayes who put me to work opening wine bottles for
the Ganapuja. I applied to the Gakyil and was accepted.
Now,
here I am, happy at my good fortune and amazed at what has been accomplished.
What
has it been like to start up on the Gakyil on Yellow?
It has
been like being thrown into the deep water without being a good swimmer J I am learning and learning
fast. I am in constant contact with Al and Dominick, my fellow Yellows, and
looking forward to the first Gakyil meeting on Sunday, September14th.
We are coming up from Long Island for the event.
What
are the Challenges?
Though
money is a problem, Rinpoche says
not to make it about money. And I do not think our challenges are, at
their root, money. More I see the challenge as developing a sustainable
community that is self-sufficient, even when Rinpoche is not available. I see a
community that keeps on expanding as each person recognizes his or her role and
takes on the responsibility of helping all and each of us to self-liberate.
That to me means Opportunity.
What
are the Opportunities?
From
what I have learned so far, we have the Opportunity to further the work of past
Gakyil members and other workers for the community this year by moving forward
on a number of fronts. We need to:
· *Align
more with the IDC and take our place more fully in the global community as it
grows and develops
· *Grow
our membership through orienting new members more fully (as Merigar West is
doing – see the article in the Mirror http://melong.com/?p=2523
· *Develop
more activities for members that will also create sustainable income streams to
keep the organization going
What
is my personal part in this?
I have
had experience as a clinical, organizational, teaching and research
psychologist over a 45 year career. I have run both profit and not-for-profit
organizations. I hope I can use my resources to be helpful making good
decisions in our collaborative Gakyil. My desire is for a self-sustaining and vibrant
Dzochen community that attracts more members as we expand what we can be to and
for each other.
With
Love, Diane
