"May your merit ensure that you are never parted from the wisdom teachings, so vast and profound.
May your effort ensure the flourishing of the Dharma, so meaningful and needed.
May all beings awaken to wisdom that is within.” ~Donna Mitchell-Moniak
A consistent monthly donor to 84000 for over eight years, Donna Mitchell-Moniak has been a practitioner (first of the Native tradition and Patanjali’s sūtras, then Buddhism) most of her adult life. When she discovered 84000 as one of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s initiatives, she immediately recognized the value of connecting with the Buddha’s core wisdom teachings and helping to keep them alive.
Digging Down to the Roots
“When you meditate for a very long time, it’s natural to end up at the source—the root of the practice you are doing,” says Donna. “To keep those core teachings alive and available for us to download anytime, anywhere, and at no cost—that is the heroic effort that 84000 offers to the world.”
As a monthly donor, Donna contributes to our Give Each Month (GEM) program and belongs to our GEM Mandala—a community of thousands of generous, compassionate, and committed people from more than 46 countries around the world.
Donna founded Spirit Fire Meditative Retreat Center, based in Leyden, Massachusetts in 2003, and served as its spiritual director for many years. She developed the Practice of Living Awareness as both a meditative and life practice. When her body became disabled, her colleague took over running Spirit Fire, which now offers programs virtually. Meanwhile, Donna moved to a small community in Colorado and continues to teach a core group of students online.
She often uses 84000’s translated sūtras as the basis for meditation practice sessions with her students. In gratitude for the open access to the Buddha’s teachings, Donna makes a donation every time she downloads a sūtra for recitation and practice as well as continues her steady stream of monthly giving.
"Because It's Important"
Asked why she so faithfully donates each month, Donna replies simply: “Because it’s important.” She adds that everyone who contributes receives more in return than what they have given, and she encourages friends and students to also donate when they read or download the precious texts translated by 84000.
“Whatever we receive from 84000 has come to us through the generosity of others over countless years,” Donna says. “We become part of that stream of generosity so the translation and access to the teachings can continue. These (teachings) are authentic, nondeceptive, and they work.”
In 2023, Donna wrote the following testimonial to 84000 via readers@84000.co:
“Great gratitude for everyone for making the sūtras available to everyone. I get teary and overwhelmed by deep bliss and gratitude for sūtra—to be able to recite it, contemplate it, and try to apply the teachings. The terms ‘vast and profound’ are simply letters strung together until one exposes one's mind to the words of the Buddha, the scope of the teachings, the limitless variations on the same few themes, and even the names of the sūtras, the buddhas and bodhisattvas for their deep and extensive meditative meaning and instruction. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Learn more about our Give Each Month (GEM) program and join our GEM Mandala!
If you are inspired by Donna’s story, please write to us at readers@84000.co and tell us about your own 84000 experience!