Triple Gem of the North was
incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2003. With enthusiastic
minded people who later became the congregation having enormous capacity
of courage and will power and guidance from a well knowledgeable and
experienced reverend the inception of the Triple Gem of North was highly
admired by other Buddhist institutes all around the world.
As future proposed plans, a proposed retreat center would be open
to people of all Buddhist traditions, and to people of other religions
who want to practice mindfulness and develop spirituality through
meditation under the guidance of Buddhist teachers would take place.
The events and functions performed by the Triple Gem of North during
the passing year can be briefly noted as below in a rough chronological
order.
The Triple Gem of North organized a retreat at Phat-An Temple in
Roseville, MN on November 28-29, 2003. Over twenty people
participated in the retreat, and more than eighty attended the public
talk on karma and rebirth. It was considered to be a successful
retreat.
In December, 2003, we held a retreat at Yoga Center in Minneapolis,
MN. which also was another great pillar of satisfaction.
There was a very successful Valentine Retreat on February 13-15,
2004. The retreat began with a public sermon (talk) on loving
kindness. The retreat was hosted by Phat-An Temple, and food
donations were made by Joanne and David’s family and Chi and Tho
family.
In March, we offered a meditation program at the Zen Meditation
Center in Northfield, MN.
April 2nd was the first meeting of an ongoing weekly meditation
class at Phat-An Temple. Meditation Instruction and Practice and
Abhidhamma (Buddhist philosophy) were held Fridays from 7:30-9 p.m.
since that inaugural date.
On April 4th, Bhante Sathi (incumbent of TGN) led a meditation
program to students at Carlton College in Northfield, MN.
On May 22, 2004, we held a one-day retreat at Phat-An Temple.
It was a successful retreat because the participants seemed to benefit
from the teaching.
June 19th, a meditation program was held in Waseca, MN, at
Courthouse Park. June 26th and 27th, Saint Cloud Yoga Center
hosted a retreat. The retreat was attended by several high-school
students.
The weekend retreat sponsored by Augsburg College July 17-18 was
held at Christensen Hall. The retreat was advertised in over
twenty publications, and there were many newcomers to TGN due to that
retreat.
August brought the end of Abhidhamma studies and the beginning of
Sutra Studies following meditation class at Phat-An on Friday evenings.
On August 16th, Bhante gave a talk at Common ground Meditation
Center in Minneapolis. He talked about how mindfulness and
tranquility benefit insight meditation.
Starting in June, 2004, Bhante started leading a meditation class in
Mankato, MN, at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Center. Classes
met every Monday evening.
The Mankato Free Press published an article prior to the first
meeting of the class hosted by UUC in Mankato. The article
included interviews with Bhante Sathi and several members of the group.
It served as a useful promotional tool for TGN.
Retreats in Mankato this past year were held on August 7th at
Williams Nature Center,
We organized a moonlight retreat September 28th at 302 River park
dive ,Amys house. We held the retreat in the back yard close to the
river. A retreat October 2nd was held at the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship Center, and October 27th we organized a second
moonlight retreat at 1220 Highlands avenue. Some of our members observed
the five precepts participated in refuge-taking ceremonies at each
moonlight retreat.
The organizations website, www.triplegem.org, (by David Lampert)
does a tremendous service all around the web world which is maintained
by Lee Weston. Our official e-mail address is info@triplegem.org.
Today over 100 people are listed in the TGN mailing list.
Bhante Sathi leads weekly classes in Mankato and Roseville, MN and TGN
congregation is expanding on daily basis.
May all beings in the universe have eternal peace, health and
happiness!
View Annual Report 2005