The board of directors and working committee joyously announce the official kick-off of The Buddhist Home! Quite a bit of work has been done to get to this point. There were the formalities of incorporating a non-profit business, forming a board, filing for tax-exempt status, etc. But more important to the public is the work we have done to develop the TBH concept – the mission, type of facility, population served, programs, etc. The working committee volunteered many hours over the course of more than a year, and we also secured professional legal and website services, pro bono. A few individuals offered our first cash donations, and here we are!
TBH is an idea that has picked up steam in the past few years, but the first meeting that led up to this juncture was way back in 1995. That’s when a handful of long-time Tibetan Buddhist practitioners gathered in the San Francisco east bay to talk about how they wanted to live as they got older. They talked about wanting to live with other meditators in a calm and lovely place conducive to dharma practice, where their regular needs (food, shelter, medical etc.) could be met, but where the focus of their time could be Buddhist practice. As the years went by, people kept the idea alive in conversation, but the hard work of actually making a Buddhist eldercare home happen was never started.
Skip forward to 2009, at the consecration ceremony for the Zuni Mountain Stupa in New Mexico. That’s where, relaxing in the afterglow of that wondrous event, Lama Sonam Tsering, Michael Maretich and John Pfeiffer decided to “get serious” and finally develop a Buddhist-oriented senior residential facility. Other volunteers were enlisted from among the Tibetan Buddhist sangha in Northern California to form a Working Committee, and the TBH concept began to develop.
Along the way, we considered a wide variety of formats for TBH (even including a ranch and a trailer park!), but eventually boiled it down a few key parameters:
- Long-term residential
- Buddhist-focused, but open to all
- Accommodating of the dying process
- Variety of amenities and programs
- Located in the western US
- Range of rental fees (affordability)
Stay tuned to TBH by signing up on our email contact list. Let’s put our collective energy into it and make this dream a reality!
I would love to live here amongst Other Buddhist practitioners! Please tell me more thanks, cynthia
Hi, just what I’ve been looking forward to, a place to live quietly, meditate, be with friends and die peacefully! Tell me more please. Thank you, Cynthia Williams
I am a long way from retiring, but seeing my Father-in-law in his assisted living facility got me thinking about the kind of place that I would like to end up. I’m interested to see how and where your idea becomes reality, so I’d like to be on your mailing list for the next 20 years or so! Namaste
i am very interested. I am in the process of becoming a Buddist. There is a temple nearby I attend and really LOVE. Winters in Wisconsin are rough and I am searching for a new home .
A spiritual haven with a community that supports the Budda philosophy.
I am a member of the Occidental Laguna Sangha in Northern Ca. I am starting to
look at end of life living (I’m 69 and healthy, but future focused!)
I am exploring the community of like minded people with whom to live in community.
Please keep me informed as to the direction of your great concept.
Thank You.
Patty Keeley
As a member of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City I am most interested in exploring a Buddhist retirement community with the features outlined by TBH. Please place me on your mailing list.
Living in community with other Buddhist practioners during retirement years is so appealing to me! Please keep me informed of the development of TBH – thank you!
Please add me to your mailing list.