Our own words “donor” or “donation”
traveled from the Sanskrit-Pali word dana, through
Indo-European, and eventually into English. Generosity
is one of the “perfections” in Buddhism—one of the ways
we train ourselves out of our narrow self-interest.
Plum Mountain has several projects which need your
generosity. Donors can help with the translation and
publication of Buddhist books which are provided free to
prisoners or to anyone who can’t afford them. Kobai’s
travel to do retreats in prisons and for low-income
people also needs support.
Kamala Masters and Steve Armstrong have written about dana: "When we practice generosity, many supportive qualities of mind are being developed that lead us to ever-deepening happiness and freedom. We are cultivating loving kindness because we are caring for the welfare of others. We are cultivating compassion because we want to alleviate any suffering. We are cultivating interconnectedness because we realize that we depend on the generosity and kindness of others. ... Most of all, we are cultivating non-attachment, the ability to let go, which is essential to understanding and experiencing freedom from suffering."
We do not accept credit card
donations because we hope to encourage a non-consuming
ethic among our members. So we accept checks, money orders and, of course, cash.
You can give in an unrestricted way to Plum Mountain
Refuge, or you can choose to underwrite certain
projects.
Here are some of the choices:
- Unrestricted
- Publications & Translations
- Prison and low-income retreats & workshops
- Work with homeless and recovering community in Grays Harbor area
Make checks or money orders payable to “Plum Mountain Refuge” and mail to: P.O. Box 1169, Aberdeen, WA 98520.
Some important tax
details for 2008:
The IRS now requires tighter record keeping for
charitable giving. If you just put cash into the dana
basket, you cannot claim the donation. You need a
receipt, a check stub or some other paper trail in case
of audit. For any property donation worth more than
$500, you must include a Form 8283 with your tax return.
If you donate a vehicle worth more than $500, your
deduction is determined by the actual amount PMR gets
upon sale, not as previously, by the fair market value.
PMR will issue donation receipts at the end of each
calendar year.