October 24, 2024
Dear Portland Insight Sangha members,
Thank you again for your patience and support as we continue to navigate the enormously challenging circumstances that our community confronts.
We are pleased to announce that we have scheduled a time for meditation practice and dialogue in a hybrid format on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 10 a.m to noon.
You are invited to join us at the PIMC center in Southeast Portland or via Zoom for a council-style gathering that day. After an opening chant and a short period of silent meditation, Sangha members will be able to share their perspectives and feelings around the recent resignation of our guiding teacher and the tragic death of a longtime community member.
The event will be guided by Jan Chozen Bays, Laura Martin and Nan Whitaker-Emrich, three experienced teachers and facilitators who are leaders at Zen Community of Oregon in Portland and Great Vow Monastery in Clatskanie. We are grateful for the generous support and guidance they have offered PIMC over the last few weeks.
Sangha members joining at the center in-person can arrive as early as 9:30 a.m. The council meeting will run until noon and regular Sunday hospitality (coffee, tea and treats) will take place in the PIMC Living Room immediately following.
This will be an opportunity to re-connect with fellow practitioners and receive support as the community continues to move through this painful and traumatic period. We will send more information next week, as well as a Zoom link for those individuals planning to join online.
We are also finalizing a list of answers to frequently asked questions we’ve received in the last month, which we plan to make available before Nov. 3.
In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us at BoardPIMC@portlandinsight.org with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
The PIMC Board
(Vik Anantha, Tracy Cullen, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Dan Leif and Doug Pullin)
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October 10, 2024
To the Sangha of the Portland Insight Meditation Center,
We know that the recent resignation of our Guiding Teacher and tragic suicide of a community member are unnerving developments that have likely raised many questions and concerns for you.
We appreciate your patience and support as we continue to work through this enormously complicated situation. We’d like to offer an update on the work we have been doing to address this crisis as well as outline some next steps to bring the community back together.
On Sept. 23, we learned the details of Robert Beatty’s ethically inappropriate relationship and the death of KB Mercer.
We acted immediately to secure Robert’s resignation, reach out to KB’s family and others to fully understand the scope of what had transpired, and inform the PIMC community of the basic facts.
We then began the challenging process of disentangling PIMC from Robert, who has been at the center of the organization since its founding two decades ago, and who was tied to virtually all of the financial accounts and operational systems at the center.
We have also worked to remove Robert’s access to the PIMC building and his former office; brought on legal counsel to ensure we are taking proper steps and protecting the organization; and taken in feedback and perspective from numerous community members.
We’ve tackled each of these crucial tasks as a small, all-volunteer Board and with the hugely helpful support of one part-time staff member.
While taking these actions to stabilize and secure PIMC at a fundamental level, we needed to pause all Sangha gatherings, both in-person and online. We understand this likely added a sense of unease, confusion and frustration for many – it is in times of tragedy and uncertainty that Sangha is its most critical.
Please know this move to pause was not a decision made lightly. The events of late September have been so devastating that the wisest move from our perspective was to stop all programming. This gave us space as a Board to understand and work through all the tasks that needed to be immediately addressed while also giving us time to determine how to best bring Sangha members back together in a safe, supportive environment.
Along those lines, we are ready to inform you that opportunities for group practice are being rekindled in virtual settings.
A daily morning meditation group is gathering at 7 a.m. Pacific Monday through Saturday. This is a peer-led gathering (no teacher present) that involves a silent sit and an opportunity for personal sharing.
Additionally, Doug Pullin has restarted his Thursday evening Heart of Freedom group and Jim Dalton is offering his Guest House gathering on Monday nights. For the time being, neither are being held under the PIMC umbrella.
If you are interested in joining any of the opportunities for group practice mentioned above, please be in touch at BoardPIMC@portlandinsight.org and we can provide you with additional details and a Zoom link.
Finally, we are currently working to set a date for a community dialogue, which will be open to anyone who would like to participate and will be held online.
We are in discussions with a facilitator who has expertise in guiding Buddhist communities through episodes of grief and trauma, and our hope is that this individual will lead us in the community discussion. The gathering will serve as a venue for us to be together as a Sangha, for community members to ask questions, and for all of us to start to think collectively about where PIMC goes from here.
Information on the date and time of that community dialogue will be sent out as soon as it is finalized.
Again, we so appreciate your patience and understanding as we have tried to do our best to manage a series of events that has shaken all of us so deeply. We are working as hard and thoughtfully as possible in our role as stewards of the Dharma and to serve all of you that make up this Sangha.
Please continue to reach out with thoughts or questions at BoardPIMC@portlandinsight.org. We look forward to connecting again soon,
The PIMC Board
(Vik Anantha, Tracy Cullen, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Dan Leif and Doug Pullin)
https://www.portlandinsight.org/
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