I felt that by assisting to uplift the mandala, I strengthened my own personal practice and the community’s efforts toward building PDSF’s beautiful vision. I felt great satisfaction with this

I think it is the most wonderful experience I’ve had in recent decades. In the Learning Dharma Skills Program, I was able to bring my years of work experience to PDSF in a way that reinforced strong ethical and moral precepts, while at the same time benefiting the center. Having the Dharma be integral to my everyday routine also reinforced the path of the Dharma; it was something I lived—before breakfast, after dinner, even during dreamtime—in a way I’d not experienced before in my life

Before I participated in the Learning Dharma Skills Program at PDSF I think I did not fully realize the importance of the sangha and the relentless support that it provides. The community at PDSF radiates with such love and joy that you cannot help but be uplifted in your practice and have a brighter view of the world. During my time at  PDSF, I read a quote from the Words of My Perfect Teacher in which Patrul Rinpoche says that we should consider any being who inspires true bodhichitta in us to be a buddha. I remember having that thought so often at PDSF because of the myriad ways in which people expressed their love to me, and to everyone else present and elsewhere