As we close our 10th Year celebrations, please enjoy these photos from the Winter Benefit Gala and also remember all those who have contributed to Maitripa’s birth and growth so far through the personal reflections of co-founder and Dean of Education, Namdrol Miranda Adams below.

2016 Maitripa College Winter Benefit: The Evening’s Program

Tiffany Patrella Blumenthal welcomed the guests and introduced a new short film (“Closing the Gap“). Yangsi Rinpoche’s annual President’s Address was followed by Maitripa College student speaker Jyoshin Clay (“What Maitripa Means to Me”); keynote speaker Roger Jackson (“Maitripa College As Crossroads”); and Namdrol Miranda Adams, offering a special message in gratitude.  Jacob Lindsley and Leigh Miller presided over our traditional concluding “giving and receiving ceremony”. Over the course of the evening, which was held in the beautiful Aquariva at River’s Edge, guests enjoyed music by Skip Vonkuske and Gideon Freudmann of the Portland Cello Project, a reception, hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, delicious meal, and special presentation of golden katas (traditional offering scarves) to each individual by Yangsi Rinpoche.  Photos by Chris Majors Photography.

Brief Words of Gratitude from Namdrol to Those Who Have Helped Us On Our Way

Winter, 2016 ~ In Celebration of the 10th Year of Maitripa College

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Gratitude is often the first thing that arises when I bring you to mind. The dream of Maitripa College was only that, a dream, until you breathed life into it, and offered us a physical space in which to nurture the development of positive minds and good hearts in so many. Your prayers and protection for all those that come here has been like the loving gaze of a father for his children, who are often clumsy but well-intentioned! We know we are in your holy heart and mind all the time, and knowing this makes everything possible for us. Thank you, Rinpoche, from my heart.

Leigh Miller (Director of Programs) and Tiffany Blumenthal (Director of Student Services)

Your joyful effort, easy laughter, and loving minds balanced with practicality, intellect, and wildness inspire me to walk this path beside you every day. Thank you, my sisters, from my heart.

Venerable Roger and our FPMT Family

The mandala of FPMT embraced me many years ago, through the kindness of its founding teachers and the many senior students who constructed it, with love and prayers for so many. In the same way, I have seen FPMT embrace the project of Maitripa College, and become a gentle refuge for many of our students. You been always at the forefront of this refuge, with your soft and laughing presence quietly appearing to teach us all about devotion and steadfastness. Thank you, Venerable Roger and our FPMT family, from my heart.

Louise Light (Graphic Director and Webmaster) and Alfredo Piñeiro (Director of Technical Services)

Your extraordinary love for the teachings, our teachers, and for me are evident in every moment you dedicate to the project of Maitripa College. Please know that it has not gone unnoticed. Thank you from my heart.

Yangsi Rinpoche

In the kitchen of our apartment during one odd year in Seattle, you turned to me and said, “Let’s make a Buddhist College!” And so we did. In the ten years since we began, many worlds have risen and fallen again, and through it all the vision of Maitripa College has taken shape and become a refuge for so many. Through your example I have learned most of all to be more courageous, kinder, and more pure of heart. Thank you, Rinpoche, from my heart.

 Jacob Lindsley (Assessment Coordinator and Registrar) and Amanda Russell (Environmental Coordinator)

In different ways, the devotion, clarity, and consistency that both of you offer to this project, despite the odds, is the greatest teaching of them all. Thank you from my heart.

Jim Blumenthal

Our Dear Jim: In the truest sense of the word, you were a founder of all that is to come, the ground of Maitripa College, its support, and its quiet cornerstone. Thank you, my brother Jim, from my heart.

Beth Arntz (Volunteer Administrator), Sunitha Bhaskaran (Bookkeeper), and Linda Brown (Librarian)

All of you are relatively new to the project of Maitripa College, and I don’t know you well, but it is evident to me that your hearts have brought you here. Thank you for your devotion and service, from my heart to yours.

And So Many Others: There have been many amazing people involved in Maitripa from the beginning who have done much great work.  Your dedication, love, and service towards this project is precious and cherished. Thank you from my heart!

  •  The Students of Yangsi Rinpoche who Founded Maitripa College and our First Class

  • The Maitripa College Board of Trustees

  • Alberto Fournier, Founding Board Member and President of the Maitripa College Board of Trustees

  • Angie Garcia, Current Board Member and Founding Administrator of Maitripa College

  • Kalleen Mortenson, Former Library Director

  • Marc Sakamoto, Former Bookkeeper & Photographer

  • Sara Ritter, Former Board Member and Former Director of Student Services

  • Denis Davis, Former Environmental Coordinator

  • Justin Jenkins, Former Administrator, Alumnus

  • Clay Daulton, Former Director of Student Services, Former Director of Develpment

  • Don Polevacik, Former Security Coordinator, Alumnus

  • The Maitripa Institute Founding Family, Compassion in Action Volunteers, and All Our Precious Donors and Supporters

  •  The Maitripa College Teaching Faculty from 2006-2016

  • The Maitripa College Teaching Assistants from 2008-2016

  • The Graduates and Senior Students Who Led Community Events and Teachings 

  • The Maitripa College Alumni from 2008-2016

  • All Maitripa College Students, Past, Present, and Future

  • All Others in Direct Service to Yangsi Rinpoche