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Funding for dharma books?

yoda_sodayoda_soda Dagobah Explorer
in General Banter

So I've had a dream for a while of building a personal library of dharma books (with a few other books added in from other religious traditions for reference). Recently, I've found a number of organizations that offer books for free and I've requested things from them. I'm really grateful to have those. But some of the high-quality books out there are just not available for free. I've been assuming for a while that no one out there would support someone as insignificant as me with this project. I was just thinking about this today and wondered if I might be wrong. Does anyone know of a way to get a grant or something to help fund this idea? I was thinking about maybe designating the library as an interfaith / peacemaking center once I manage to gather the texts.

Alex

Comments

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I’m afraid I’m not so big on fundraising. You could try and put a plan together and then start a GoFundMe page, getting funding from the public? Or you could try getting institutions interested with a letter-writing campaign, everybody from the Library of Congress to His Holiness the Dalai Lama might find something like this.

    Certainly an internet page about where one can find free downloadable books and pdfs just for buddhism or even on an interfaith basis might be very useful.

  • adamcrossleyadamcrossley Veteran UK Veteran

    Cool idea, @yoda_soda. I guess you mean on quite a large scale. It makes me think, it would be fun to start a sitting group in one’s own house, maybe with a lending library too.

    Alex
  • yoda_sodayoda_soda Dagobah Explorer
    edited March 2019

    @adamcrossley Thanks, I suppose it's more important to have a few of the best books than to have lots of books. So it's not necessarily a massive undertaking.

    @Kerome I was thinking about that... funding from such places.

  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    All the Dharma centers I've been too have some sort of small library of books that they will loan out. That's not really an answer for your idea, but if you wanted to read a book you couldn't afford that is an option.

  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran

    PS. Don't forget that once you have collected them, there will be the added chore of giving them away. I was lucky enough to find someone who was keen on books and gave him the majority of mine ... quite a stash over time. :)

  • yoda_sodayoda_soda Dagobah Explorer

    @genkaku True! Or, opening up some kind of center that people could use to better themselves and the world.

  • adamcrossleyadamcrossley Veteran UK Veteran

    @yoda_soda said:
    Recently, I've found a number of organizations that offer books for free and I've requested things from them.

    I presume you’ve found these, but for anyone who hasn’t, there is a Theravada organisation in the UK and another in the USA that will post books written by monastics for free. ‘The Forest Sangha’ has collections by Ajahn Chah and ‘Dharma Talks’ in America has good translations from the Pali Canon.

    UK
    https://forestsangha.org/teachings/books

    USA
    https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#/Archive/Writings/ebooklist.pdf

  • yoda_sodayoda_soda Dagobah Explorer

    @adamcrossley Yes, and it's a great resource. Thanks.

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