Clear Sky Background Information November 2004 Dear Friends in the Dharma, It's my pleasure to update you on the meditation property project in British Columbia. For those of you who have not heard already, I'll start with some background: Supported by some of his students in Japan, Canada and Europe, Doug Duncan Sensei has initiated a project to build a meditation center in Western Canada. The idea is to build a center that will nurture the Dharma and students of Dharma for generations to come. This property is intended to serve as a base for teaching and other Dharma activities in the Western part of North America, and as a place for practitioners to be able to do short-, medium- and long-term retreats with supportive conditions. Part of the desire for such a place arose from the Japan sangha's inability to find such a place to practice in Japan. Therefore we sought a largish property, located in an area that provides peace, beauty, and a sense of refuge. Also important was good access, from other parts of Canada, from Asia and from Europe. With environmental issues increasingly important around the globe, we also wanted to find a place in a relatively pristine state, with high water, air and soil quality. After visiting around 30 (!) properties in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, the Dakotas, Idaho and Wyoming, in June, 2004 Sensei and a small team of supporters found a property that seemed to say, "This is it." Said property consists of 310 wooded acres at the foot of Bull Mountain in the Kootenay Valley of the Canadian Rockies. Most of the property is wooded with second-growth trees, punctuated by lovely meadows. In a short drive around part of the land, we observed deer and elk. Only one neighbor is within sight (from a corner of the property), while other neighboring properties are mostly cattle pasture in a relatively natural (i.e., treed) state. From the easern border of the land up to the peak of Bull Mountain is all forested, government-owned crown land. The three-storey, 5,000 square-foot main building, though only 70% complete, is very well designed and built, and was intended as a bed and breakfast. For us, this means that it was designed to handle numbers of people moving through, and the five bedrooms and bathrooms will be a great start for accommodation. Two bedrooms on the ground floor are already complete, and these and a two-bedroom mobile home on the property can soon provide accommodation for builders working to complete the rest of the structure. On the property there is also a large open barn (with a roof, but no walls) which may be renovated into a teaching space. In addition, there is an unbelievably posh chicken coop (no kidding) and a pig pen. Not sure what will be done with these! No doubt we'll think of something. Click HERE for some photos of this new retreat venue in western Canada. Though there is no water flowing above ground on the property (such as a river or streams), the tremendous quantities of mountain water underground come out of several lines crossing the property, without any mechanical pumping, in an aqua-cornucopious fashion. Water, air and soil quality tests all showed good results. The land is located in Cranbrook, British Columbia (pop. 19,327), and the town of Fernie is also nearby. This is the very southeastern corner of the province, close to the borders with Alberta and Idaho/Montana. We're very pleased that Cranbrook boasts an airport with several daily flights arriving from/departing to both Calgary and Vancouver. We've learned that it is possible for someone to leave Japan in the morning, travel via Vancouver, and (because of the time difference) arrive at this property in Cranbrook on the same day. Please check this website if you'd like to know more about Cranbrook and vicinity: http://www.explorecranbrook.com/main_page.php And this one to see some good photos of the Kootenary Rockies: http://city.cranbrook.bc.ca/touristframe.htm After a somewhat lengthy bidding process, we were able to secure the property with a bid of C$720,000 Canadian, which we consider an outstanding value. As a reference, the property which was second-closest to what we were looking for (it consisted of just 110 acres -- about one-third the size -- but with a 10,000-ft log cabin B&B on it, in Montana) cost US$2.9 million! Naturally the Canadian properties were more reasonable over all, but after looking at so many places, please trust me, we knew a really good deal when we finally saw one. Thanks to the generosity of many beings (thank you!), in a short space of time we have raised over C$320,000 towards purchasing this property, and will be making a down payment at the end of October. Part of the reason this property was so reasonable is due to the fact that the main building is not completed. It still needs to have sinks, toilets and tubs/showers installed in most of the five bathrooms, and the kitchen needs completing; in addition, some of the flooring and baseboards need to be put in, and the wallboard mudded and painted. Edmund Jones has worked tirelessly to help us bring the project thus far, and, with his contracting experience, will coordinate the completion of the building. We're very glad that he and his wife Cheri will eventually move on site to act as property caretakers. The fact that the house is not complete, however, also means that we are not able to get conventional financing until the house is finished. This has caused us to get creative with our financing, with fundraising, private loans and all forms of dana (generosity) playing an important part in this project. A group of supporters have formed a non-profit organization, The Clear Sky Meditation and Study Foundation, with charitable status pending. If approved, all donations made after the application for non-profit status was made can receive back-dated charitable donation status -- that is, be used for tax deductions where applicable (certainly in Canada, and we are still figuring out the tax-deductibility for residents of other countries. If you'd like to be kept abreast of this, please let me know). Doug Sensei and those of us who have gotten involved in this project so far are very much thinking of this as an endeavor meant to benefit a broad community of as many Dharma pracititioners as possible. We also welcome other Dharma teachers who would like to use this property and its facilities to lead retreats. Schedules and timetables will be coordinated and shared in the future as the process ripens. Please, share your interest and lend your support in whatever way you can! And for those of us who don't have elbow grease, time, funds, or materials to contribute, good wishes are also very much appreciated. Next July and August Doug Sensei will be on the land in Cranbrook, leading a work retreat. We've already received news from many who would like to be there during this time, to practice meditation and karma yoga. All are welcome -- please let us know if you would like to attend. If you'd like to practice karma yoga at the property at another time, your generosity is gratefully accepted. Please get in touch to work out the details. If you'd like to receive more information about particular aspects of anything above, please let me know and I'll be glad to provide whatever information I can. And please feel free to spread the word! We would like everyone to share in this benefits of this project. I send my sincere apologies to anyone who would rather not be receiving emails on this subject -- let me know and I will cease and desist in the future. Many thanks for your attention. Hope to practice with you sometime in Cranbrook, and/or at one of the other fine centres established in this lineage. Yours in the Dharma, Catherine Pawasarat Kyoto, Japan « A Simple Topographical View »