by Jenny Stone
My name is Jenny, and you won’t have bumped into me volunteering at events or seen me about the temple or garden. I am an “online” volunteer who lives in Sydney!
While COVID has caused much suffering, it was also an “obstacle blessing” for me. This was because so many wonderful Dharma classes became offered online, and it gave me the opportunity to re-connect with my Dharma family in Melbourne at the TBS.
I first met my kind root guru, Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden in 1996, and lived briefly at the Centre in 2002-3, before returning to Sydney. My spiritual journey has had some very bumpy patches, but over these past few precious years, the feast of online Dharma has re-invigorated my practice and enriched my life.
It is a joy to be able to volunteer and repay in a very small way the wonderful kindness of Geshe-la, whose presence I now feel more than ever.
I am also a grateful beneficiary of the decades of work by other seemingly tireless volunteers, residents, and directors, and so with the advent of Google Meet and the TBS team structure, I’m happy to be able to do my little bit.
It’s a delight to see dear friends at online meetings, and the work in the newsletter, community support and communications strategy teams is stimulating, rewarding and (mostly!), fun.
I am retired, and these days physically limited by weak lungs, so I can’t get out and participate in the world like I used to. Feeling a bit more useful has been another definite plus of volunteering.
As my head and heart increasingly see the world through Dharma eyes, the resulting calm and peace help to distil the challenges of this ordinary life. Thank you to all my precious teachers.
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