Temple Project: Community Update #1
Topics: Existing Temple, Temple Project Leader, Temple Project Design Build Contractor, DCC Renewal Fundraising
Welcome to the first Community Update! In this update, and others to follow, the aim is to inform the DCC community about the exciting changes taking place at the Dharma Centre of Canada. The Board of Directors has prioritized the importance of regular and comprehensive communication with the DCC community as it fulfills the mandate of the DCC 2019-2025 Strategic Plan.
The term “Dharma Centre Renewal” is being used to encompass the umbrella of projects to improve the DCC’s physical structures and virtual capabilities. These projects include improving the DCC’s video communications abilities (for example, Zoom), the Tara Cabin, the Temple, and others. The Temple Project is currently the focus of the renewal efforts, but not the only project underway.
The Dharma Centre’s Temple has been the spiritual home for many, serving as an amazing and historic container to receive the teachings of awakening. Since the late 60s, the Temple has hosted transformational teachings and benefitted countless beings.
Over time, the physical structure has aged and been affected by the elements. Furthermore, the Temple is difficult to navigate for those who have challenges with mobility. As the DCC’s membership continues to age, this will affect a greater number of people.
It is for these reasons that the Temple Project is underway. The goal is to have a sustainable gathering space that can continue to host teachings for at least another 50 years—a space that is fully accessible, both in-person and virtually.
The following is a closer look at the main issues with the existing Temple…
Ongoing Issues with the Temple:
Noteworthy Absence of Practitioners: Unfortunately, there is a growing number of practitioners choosing not to use the existing Temple. These practitioners include teachers and non-teachers, both inside groups and outside groups.
Their reasons include lack of accessibility, allergic reactions, and more, but what is most important is their absence. For some, their reluctance to use the Temple translates to a reluctance to participate in the Dharma Centre as a whole; some are finding their Centre of Dharma in another location.
Lack of Accessibility: Some in our community find the DCC’s campus (the Temple, other structures, and walkways) to be arduous because of its poor physical accessibility. The Temple and other structures lack the basics such as a wheelchair ramp or lift, accessible bathrooms, handrails, smooth walkways, etc. To some, this issue is already of dire importance. More in the DCC community will experience the significance of this as they continue to age.
Legally, the province of Ontario requires all public facilities to be wheelchair accessible by 2025, though as a small organization the DCC has some leeway with the date.
The critical point is that people are deterred from coming to the DCC because of the DCC’s poor accessibility. The DCC is committed to ensuring that all members can safely navigate the DCC’s campus and its facilities.
Vapor Barrier: The structure’s lack of a vapor barrier has enabled the grounds’ ever-present moisture to permeate the building. Substantial efforts have been made in the past to address the moisture issue, though the problem persists because the underlying issue of a vapor barrier has not been resolved.
It may be surprising to some that under the Temple’s floor is dirt; there is no concrete slab or plastic to minimize moisture intrusion. Furthermore, the exterior barrier (outside walls) that is meant to protect the interior of the Temple is plywood, not a metal or plastic siding that would help prevent moisture from entering the building.
In summary, the Temple has no effective barrier to all the rain and humidity that is so common at the DCC. Moisture causes both decay and growth of substances in the structure – neither of which are welcome.
In Summary: Since in-person teachings are vital to transmitting Dharma, when some people choose not to be in the Temple, this becomes a significant limiting factor to the DCC’s ability to host Dharma Teachers, house long-term retreats, and spread the teachings of awakening.
Because of a noteworthy absence of practitioners, poor accessibility, and lack of an effective vapor barrier, the Dharma Centre’s Board of Directors chose to move forward with exploring options about what to do with the Temple and other structures. Their efforts started by finding a project leader for the Temple Project.
Choosing the Temple Project Leader
In September 2020, Travis Olsen was asked to manage the Temple Project because of his cooperative attitude, experience in leading organizations, and commitment to Dharma. In October 2020, he accepted and was approved by the Board as the Project Leader of the Temple Project. Travis works collaboratively and meets weekly with the DCC President and Vice President/Treasurer, regularly with the Board of Directors, and often with the Spiritual Directors (when they are available).
Temple Project Design Build Contractor Referrals & Their Input
Travis started by asking for referrals from the DCC community for general contractors. He wanted experts who had seen the structure with their own eyes to give him an assessment on the Temple’s state. He received eight contractor referrals, seven of which were local. He contacted all of them, and three of them visited the Temple.
The three contractors (of the eight referrals) each walked in and around the Temple at different times. In each meeting, multiple Board Members and/or Spiritual Directors were present. Each of the three contractors were all career professionals, and each had the same things to say about the existing structure:
It is possible to remodel, though each contractor strongly recommended not to.
There are extensive problems (no vapor barrier, a pervasive smell that is detectable to many, poor energy efficiency, many mice living/dying/defecating in the walls, poor functionality outside of the Meditation Hall, etc.).
A remodel that would resolve the structure’s issues would require removing the lower story, laying down a cement pad, rebuilding the entire lower story, taking the Meditation Hall walls down to the studs, salvaging the roof, and installing a vapor barrier around the entire structure.
Remodeling will be more costly than building a new structure of the same size, and likely take more time.
The DCC is more likely to get the functionality it wants/needs for the decades to come if it builds a new structure.
What is more important to the DCC’s community than to many contractors, is the history this building carries and the importance it has to DCC members. To some, preserving this structure is of utmost importance.
How The Temple Project’s Design Build Contractor, Jim Boyle, Owner of Imagineers Ltd., Was Chosen
Jim is one of the three contractors that visited the Temple. Jim worked with one of the DCC’s Spiritual Directors (“SDs”) on an addition to their home, and the SD had a wonderful experience. The project came in on-time and on-budget – a rarity in the world of construction.
When Jim came to The Dharma Centre, he met with Terry, Jack, Lama Mark, Monique, and Travis. During the two-hour meeting, they talked as they walked around the perimeter of the Temple, toured its inside, and sat in the Meditation Hall. Great questions came from all, and Jim answered each question to their satisfaction. Jim was patient, well-spoken, and clearly knowledgeable thanks to his 40+ years working as a contractor in the Kinmount area.
By the end of the meeting, and in subsequent conversations, each of the SDs present at the meeting expressed a comfort in working with Jim as the contractor. Travis felt that of the eight people he had been referred and interviewed, Jim was the cream of the crop. Jim has been a Design Builder in the Kawartha Lakes area for 40 years (which includes Kinmount), was a longstanding member of the Selwyn Heritage Committee, managed the successful effort to save the Parish Hall Building of St. Martin’s Church in Ennismore, and wants to be the Design Builder because the Temple is a structure he feels will be involved in helping people at deep levels. The board voted, and Jim was approved as the Temple Project’s Design Build Contractor.
Dharma Centre Renewal Fundraising
With the Dharma Centre Renewal (and the Temple Project within it) well underway, the DCC is turning its sights to fundraising. The DCC is happy to announce that David Berry is leading the Dharma Centre Renewal fundraising effort - more on this later!
In Closing
The hope is that this summary gives the DCC community some helpful information about how the Temple Project started. In Dharma Centre Renewal Community Update #2, the extensive “Needs Assessment” will be discussed, which is a compilation of the needs and wants for the Temple Project as expressed by many in the DCC community.
Ideally, the DCC will have a campus where all members feel comfortable and experience it being fully accessible (both in-person and virtually), so that the DCC can share the teachings of Dharma in them for at least another 50 years.