Welcome!
Ozarks Dharma Community is glad to share our new website. We hope to be adding more in the days ahead and welcome your comments and suggestions.
The Ozarks Dharma Community is an informal and diverse group of practitioners committed to sharing the teachings of the Buddha with each other and with the greater Springfield, Missouri region. We are inspired by the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, but open to people of all persuasions.
Our beginnings go back to 2001, when the Body of Works Meditation Group (BOW) was started by Dr. Neil and Cheryl Nathan, who invited two people from their Tai Chi class to begin a Buddhism study group. They would listen to recordings of prominent leaders of the Western tradition of Buddhism, meditate and then engage in discussion. Initially meeting in the Nathans’ home, they soon welcomed more practitioners and interested persons and moved to our present location in the BOW Yoga Studio at the Carlson Building in downtown Springfield in 2002.
In 2004, the time requirements of Dr. Nathan’s medical practice lead him to relinquish leadership to Sister Dipa, who held the position until 2010, when she joined theMahapajapati Monastery in California. She was succeeded by Holly June Graves, the current leader of the BOW meditation group. Our community has continued to grow, and with it our activities, which now include the Wednesday evening sitting at Brentwood Library, a Stream Team, a committed practice group, and an active online community. (See Visiting and Calendar for more information about times and formats.) We also havespecial activities, ranging from participating in a Kiva lending team to enjoying informal social gatherings to organizing local retreats. In 2012, we began calling our group "Ozarks Dharma Community" to reflect these changes.
Though our membership has changed over the years, we maintain a core group dedicated to the message of the Buddha in the Theravada tradition. Our mission remains the same as when we began: to study, learn, grow, and share the teachings of the Buddha in a practical way.
We welcome anyone interested in Buddhism to join us.
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About UsThe Ozarks Dharma Community is an informal and diverse group of practitioners committed to sharing the teachings of the Buddha with each other and with the greater Springfield, Missouri region. We are inspired by the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, but open to people of all persuasions.
Our beginnings go back to 2001, when the Body of Works Meditation Group (BOW) was started by Dr. Neil and Cheryl Nathan, who invited two people from their Tai Chi class to begin a Buddhism study group. They would listen to recordings of prominent leaders of the Western tradition of Buddhism, meditate and then engage in discussion. Initially meeting in the Nathans’ home, they soon welcomed more practitioners and interested persons and moved to our present location in the BOW Yoga Studio at the Carlson Building in downtown Springfield in 2002.
In 2004, the time requirements of Dr. Nathan’s medical practice lead him to relinquish leadership to Sister Dipa, who held the position until 2010, when she joined theMahapajapati Monastery in California. She was succeeded by Holly June Graves, the current leader of the BOW meditation group. Our community has continued to grow, and with it our activities, which now include the Wednesday evening sitting at Brentwood Library, a Stream Team, a committed practice group, and an active online community. (See Visiting and Calendar for more information about times and formats.) We also havespecial activities, ranging from participating in a Kiva lending team to enjoying informal social gatherings to organizing local retreats. In 2012, we began calling our group "Ozarks Dharma Community" to reflect these changes.
Though our membership has changed over the years, we maintain a core group dedicated to the message of the Buddha in the Theravada tradition. Our mission remains the same as when we began: to study, learn, grow, and share the teachings of the Buddha in a practical way.
We welcome anyone interested in Buddhism to join us.
