Daniel M. Ingram:
Vince and Emily are friends of mine and I think they provide a very valuable service and are worthy of support.
They are strong practitioners, have been teaching a while, are free of scandal, are good people, have good ethics, and give away a lot for free, having generated gobs of useful dharma content in various forms.
I think that, if someone feels the exchange is worth it, then that's fair and reasonable.
They do good in the world and must eat.
May their efforts be fruitful.
Indeed.
My interest in dhamma non-profit organizations (NPOs) began years ago on retreat when a teacher, author, founder of a religious group (also a U.S. NPO); they advertized in their retreat readiness guide the teacher's only source of income was dana. This was false. I raised it with the lead assistant and they were transparent (honest) and gave detail. That's all I wanted: present what you're doing as an NPO, do not decieve, let people choose based on fact.
Many species cannot get a job and buy bottled water or a protected ocean space. So we have worldwide and U.S. NPOs that work on their half for the well-being of present and future generation who have no source of money and must also eat and be in the world (which benefits our (human incl.) shared ecosystem).
Dhamma was given freely like a person giving their home-made warm sweater to cold person without.
Dhamma can be given freely and shared in that seed of cause-and-effect: the seed of generosity that has no strings attached.
When dhamma is bought and sold as a service or product, no problem.
Even potable water is sold and plent of people who can buy that, they do want to buy that: sold water.
So sold dhamma has an obvious place. As a biologist by training I don't ignore the species and its instincts and needs. As a practioner, compassion is logical.
By holding a high standard of transparency in U.S. NPOs I hope it benefits those awesome NPOs who are truly giving to the community a service the public has said they will provide for. People in non-profits receive the abundant gifts of taxless land/housing, free police and fire station service, deduction for cars and travel, phone, wi-fi, and so on---
So where they pay back the public in great service and community benefit: great.
So I hope by tracking dhamma NPOs that those excellent people living so freely on public good will, service the public responsibly and well, will rise to the top and that this rising tide will lift all ships, including the beings that cannot pay for their food and never did (pollinators, cetaceans, child beneficiaries of Love146 and so on).
Edit: By raising the issue and giving lead time to NPOs whose filing data is not offered online, I --- like a good (and free) debate partner -- show them their worst public perception nightmare and challenge them to be excellent and forthright, avoid the appearance of stinginess and making people work to get their publically required filings.
And I point them to a good example of rewarding the public of the public's investment in them: just post all filing documents on the site right away, easy to find. Hide nothing.
Because they exist on the generosity of every member of their host society and not just their sect and fans/friends/members.
And, yes, I'm working to find a useful way to present dhamma NPOs' filing documents, form 990s and interviews in order that the bar be raised and the public is served for their generosity and the beings who can't and never did commoditize (use money for their food and habitat) aren't deprived of support to serve a misused NPO.
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accidentally deleted the first post so this is an approximation and re-post of that one.