Description

The Mahayana Dharma Center was established in 1993 by Marion and Duane Nelson. The Nelson's own the 200 acre farm and forest property on which the Center is located. The farm also includes Global View and the Medicine Buddha Healing Center. Since 1993, several teachers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition have lectured on Buddhism and Tibetan culture to Dharma Center visitors.

The Medicine Buddha Healing Center, a new addition to the property, is a facility from which traditional Tibetan medical treatment can be received. Treatments will be provided by Dr. Dowa Dolma, a well-respected Tibetan doctor from India, who is expected to arrive in Spring Green during the fall of 2001. She is to remain for approximately two years, after which another doctor will take her place. Global View, a renovated barn that is also the temporary site of the Healing Center, is a store that sells artifacts from South Asia collected by the Nelsons in their yearly trips abroad.

Lama Ngawang Chodan is the present Dharma teacher at the center. She meets with students on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. Although Sunday teachings are described as Dharma instruction of a more “ordinary” fashion, Wednesday evenings hold something rather unique. Wednesday teachings pertain to “spiritual healing,” and are meant to increase the spiritual healing capabilities of those who desire to become healers or who already work in the health care industry. This provides an interesting compliment to the traditional Tibetan medicine now available at the Medicine Buddha Healing Center.

Other Activities

Apart from weekly meetings, the Mahayana Dharma Center holds various empowerment retreats. In the summer of 2001, a Spiritual Healing retreat was held, and a Green Tara initiation was expected in the fall.