We are pleased to an-

nounce that for the second

year, the Pagosa Sangha's

"winter home" will be the

Unitarian Universalist Fel-

lowship of Pagosa, located

at N Pagosa Blvd and Park

Ave (you can find more

detailed directions on UU's

website,

www.pagosauu.org). We

will meet there throughout

the winter months begin-

ning December 3rd at our

usual time, Saturdays from

10:30am to 12:00pm. Pe-

riodically, our Sangha

teacher, Debra Quayle

Travis, will be traveling to

teach in other locations

and those dates will be

"off" for our group. A calen-

dar with the local schedule

of teachings will be available

at our first group.

Winter Meetings—Start December 3rd

Pagosa Sangha—Governing Mandala is Formed

For the past five years, the Satel-

lite Sanghas of Tara Mandala

have been loosely organized

groups that have all operated in a

variety of ways. At this time,

due to the current maturity and

stability of the groups, Lama

Tsultrim and the Tara Mandala

Board of Trustees are introducing

a more formalized structure for

these Sanghas. The purpose of

this new system is to create clari-

ty, organization and support for

the Satellite Sanghas. In doing

so we will be better able to

share the teachings, support

practitioners and benefit all

beings.

There are two parts to this

structure. The first part re-

lates to the way in which

each individual Satellite

Sangha is governed and this

is called the Mandala. The

second is known as the Net

of Mandalas and describes

how the single mandalas

relate to one another and to

Tara Mandala.

Tara Mandala

November 1, 2011 Volume 1, Issue 1

Pagosa Sangha News

Special points of

interest:

Winter meetings will

start December 3rd at

the UU Fellowship

301 Park Ave @ N

Pagosa Blvd.

Saturday: 10:30AM to

12:00PM

Governing Mandala is

formed for the

Pagosa Sangha Tara

Mandala.

Inside this issue:

Governing Mandala 2

Individual Roles 2-3

Dharma Corner 3

Net of Tara Mandalas 4

Water Offering Bowls in Thailand—Photo by Debra Quayle Travis

leadership of the Sangha.

Schedule, lead and coor-

dinate practices. Lead

meetings and organize

meeting agendas. Submit

reports to Lama Tsultrim

and the Satellite Sangha

Coordinator at Tara Man-

dala about the activities

of the group.

Buddha Dakini: The

Teacher or Practice Co-

ordinator (A practice

coordinator may be in this

role when there is no au-

thorized Teacher in the

group).

Mandala Location: Center

Responsibilities: Overall

Qualities: The White Bud-

dha Family is the element

of space and represents

the transformation of the

poison of delusion into the

Wisdom of the Dharma-

dhatu (the expanse of

reality). This position

holds the energetic space

for the Sangha.

Pagosa Sangha—Governing Mandala

Buddha

How a Governing Mandala

Works

The Mandala in essence, is the steering committee or governing

board of the Satellite Sangha. There are five jobs in the manda-

la, each corresponding to the position and attributes of one of

the five Buddha Families.

Page 2

Pagosa Sangha News

The Mandala represents

the group structure and

division of

responsibilities within

one Satellite Sangha

Current Mandala

Buddha Dakini

Debra Travis

Padma Dakini

Position Open

Karma Dakini

Lindsay Morgan

Vajra Daka

Merlin Wheeler

Ratna Daka

Howard Renshaw

Vajra Daka: Secretary

Mandala Location: East

Responsibilities: Assist to

develop the study aspect

of the Sangha. Work

closely with the Buddha

family person to organize

study programs and pre-

pare the necessary ma-

terials needed for the

Sangha. Take meeting

minutes.

Qualities: the Blue Vajra

Family is the element of

water...It represents the

transformation of the poi-

son of anger into Mirror-

like Wisdom. This posi-

tion brings the aspect of

clarity to the Sangha.

Ratna Daka: Treasurer

Mandala Location: South

Responsibilities: Manage

the finances for the

Sangha including, monthly rec-

onciliation and reporting for

accounts. Oversees and coor-

dinate fundraising events.

Transformation of pride into the

Wisdom of Equanimity. This

position brings a grounded, en-

riching energy to the Sangha.

ing book and I will pro-

vide explanations and

examples of ways that

this material connects

with the teachings of the

Buddha. The topic of

death and dying is perti-

nent to all of us. Facing

this subject with open-

ness, courage and

awareness can add rich-

The Tibetan Book of

Living and Dying" by

Sogyal Rinpoche will be

the guiding text for our

winter dharma teach-

ings. After the opening

guided shamatha (calm

abiding) meditation, we

will talk about a portion

of this deep and inspir-

ness and depth to our

living.

(If you would like to

order this book from

the Tara Mandala

bookstore, please call

Josephine at (970)

731-3711 Ext 103.

Order by Nov 11th—

the earlier the better).

Vajra And Ratna

Dharma Corner—By Debra Quayle Travis

Padma and Karma

solve conflict when

it arises.

Qualities: The Red

Padma Family is the

element of fire. It rep-

resents the transfor-

mation of grasping into

the Wisdom of Discern-

ment. This position

brings the relationship

aspect to the Sangha.

Karma Dakini: Legal and

Administrative

Mandala Location: North

Responsibilities: All Sangha-

related legal issues including;

establishing the group as a legal

entity, rental agreements and maintenance of records.

Oversee facility use for the Sangha by managing the

procurement and set-up of venues for all events.

Qualities: The green Karma Family is the element of air.

It represents the transformation of envy into All Accom-

plishing Wisdom. This position brings balance to the

Sangha.

Padma Dakini: Marketing

and Public Relations

(this position is open)

Mandala Location: West

Responsibilities: Community

outreach, community rela-

tions, and marketing includ-

ing; updating the website,

sending mailings, and publici-

ty. Maintain a current list of

membership. Assist to re-

Page 3

Volume 1, Issue 1

Decisions are made by

consensus whenever

possible and with a

vote when consensus

cannot be reached.

Tara Mandala

Lama Tsultrim spent five years trav-

eling around the world with numer-

ous groups of practitioners and stu-

dents establishing a series of Dakini

Mandalas. The linking of these

mandalas to each other is like that

described in the Chakrasamvara

Tantra.

Tara Mandala, located in Pagosa

Springs, Colorado is represented by

the large mandala in the center of

the diagram. It is the central hub

for all communication and support

The drawing of interacting mandalas

is a holistic map which is based on a

vision that Lama Tsultrim had in

1987. During this vision, she saw a

network of Dakini Mandalas sur-

rounding the earth, creating a lumi-

nous web of protection and stimula-

tion of spiritual growth. This net-

work was formed by the linking of

countless single mandalas that came

into existence wherever the Dakini

Mandala itself was practiced. During

the late 1980s and early 1990s

within the organizational structure.

It is surrounded by other mandalas

of varying size. These are the Sat-

ellite Sanghas located throughout

the world. Each of the Satellite

Sanghas is named for the area it

represents followed by the name

Tara Mandala.

Net of Tara Mandalas

For the Benefit of all Beings

Pagosa Sangha Tara Mandala

4000 USFS Rd 649

PO Box 3040

Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

Phone: 530-205-5593

E-mail Debra@taramandala.org

www.taramandala.org

Page 4