No matter where you live, you are part of the continuous circle of Community Zen practice. Our meditation and study halls, Gather, and The Grove are all held in the same way: Welcome everyone, reject no one. Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community is a rare example of a fully integrated local and global sangha – a community of refuge that takes seriously our kinship with, and identity as, the totality of life.

Creating and maintaining this environment of contemplative social action and service depends entirely on donations, and the costs of doing seem to be going up. In the hottest months of the summer our electricity cost us nearly $900 a month; building insurance costs $8,000 a year; and things like health insurance, food, and keeping our spaces working well, in good condition, and safe for all who come here is on the rise. In total it costs about $130,000 a year to sustain our daily operations. If you’d like a further breakdown, we’re happy to share our financials with you, just send Joshin a note.

For those who have come to call Bread Loaf Mountain a place of refuge and spiritual home, the practice continues only because friends and practitioners like you make it possible. Please be generous.

We welcome all people—not only those who sit in the No Barriers Temple for meditation, or who find shelter through transitions at The Grove, or who warm up, do laundry, or share a meal at Gather—but as kin. This isn’t a one-off act of charity; it’s a daily practice that depends on the ten-thousand hands of community.

Last year, our sangha, donors, and board made a bold decision. We purchased and unified our three main practice sites: the No Barriers Temple, Gather, and The Grove—creating a single, living mandala of practice. It was a leap of faith guided by our vows, and it continues to have a powerful positive impact on the health, safety, and well-being of many individuals and the wider community.

Now it’s time to take the next step together. Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community currently carries about $500,000 in high-interest bank debt from those purchases. We’re inviting friends and supporters to make a special commitment for 2026—an additional pledge, in any multiple of $500, dedicated to paying down this debt.

Our goal is to raise enough from our growing network of practitioners and friends to free the community from this burden once and for all. We’ve already received our first $10,000 pledge—an encouraging start that shows what’s possible when many hands lift together.

Becoming debt-free will make BLMZC far more sustainable. Every future dollar of annual giving will go directly to the heart of our practice—maintaining our spaces, feeding and welcoming guests, bringing in teachers and trainers, and caring for the buildings and grounds that so many call home.

Please make your pledge now for an additional gift during 2026. Once we have your commitment, we’ll follow up to find a timeline that works for you.

Or, if after filling the first bowl you have the capacity to do more, you may give toward the second bowl this year instead of making a pledge.

Together, we can clear the table by year’s end—freeing Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community to continue deepening and extending our practice of service, hospitality, and care.

Each evening, at the close of our day of practice and service, we chant the Evening Gatha:

Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time passes swiftly, and opportunity is lost.
Let us awaken, awaken!
Do not squander your life.

This simple verse reminds us of impermanence—not as something to fear, but as a call to live and give wholeheartedly while we can.

Leaving a bequest helps ensure that this community will remain a place of refuge, learning, and service for generations to come. It allows the teachings, the buildings, and the relationships we’ve cultivated together to continue nourishing others long after we’re gone.

If you plan to remember BLMZC in your will or estate, we would be deeply grateful to know. By clicking the button below, you’ll connect directly with Joshin, who will be glad to share a cup of tea—virtually or in person—and talk about your plans.

This is the gift that keeps the circle unbroken.