Home
Newcomers
About Us

Our Teachers & Lineage

The Practice of Sangha
Practice Opportunities

Weekly Sangha

Naples Sangha

Tampa Sangha

St. Petersburg Sangha

Other Florida Sanghas

Days of Mindfulness

2013 Days of Mindfulness

Retreats

Upcoming Retreats

Intensive Practice Periods

Classes

KM Groups

Community Gatherings

Order of Interbeing

Paths of Awakening
Events/Calendar
Teachings

Mindfulness Trainings

Dharma Talks

Dharma Talks Archive

Retreat Dharma Talks Archive

Q&A Dharma Talks Archive

Fred's Blog
Membership & Ways to Support FCM
Contact Us
Subscribe to mailing list

Membership and Support

We invite you to become a member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness and to join in our efforts to make the Dharma, the teachings of Buddhism, available in Florida. All FCM members, from our teacher Fred Eppsteiner to the newest student, are involved in sharing their wisdom, time, and material resources to support and enrich our practice community.

FCM "members" are practitioners of meditation who wish to have a formal Dharma relationship with our teacher Fred, to regularly participate more fully in the life of our practice community, the sangha, and to make a deeper commitment to support our goals and activities. FCM membership is available in three categories, as follows. Please note that, as is currently the case, all of these options can be paid for on an annual or quarterly basis.

Basic Membership: $300 per year for individuals, $480 for a family membership. This level includes access to our teacher, Fred, for private consultations concerning Dharma practice/life, participation in solitary retreats under Fred's direction at Empty Cloud Cottage, access to live streamed Dharma talks and "member only" archived Dharma talks on the web site, registration for intensives and retreats, use of the Practice Center library, and invitations to members-only events.
Supporting Membership: $600 per year for individuals, $960 for a family membership. This level includes all benefits of Basic Membership for those wishing/able to make a higher financial commitment, plus free participation in FCM intensives.
Sustaining Membership: $1,200 per year for individuals, $1,800 for a family membership. This level includes all benefits of Supporting Membership plus free participation in FCM classes and workshops.

Please be aware that it has been Fred's intention from our community's inception that no one would be denied access to membership due to financial considerations. Our Basic Membership level is a suggested donation and one may pay a different amount. Please contact our membership secretary, Diane Powell (diane.powell2010@gmail.com) directly to establish a different membership payment.

If you are already a member and are trying to renew your membership, please login and click the "Profile and Subscriptions" option.

For those who wish to be included in our mailings but not practice at the level of "member," please select the "Subscribe to mailing list" option on the home page instead. Whether you become a member of FCM or not, our weekly meditation practice and teachings will continue to be available to you, as they are to all.

See our Membership Form

A Buddhist community like FCM functions on the basis of "dana," or generosity. The annual dana payments of our members help support the Florida Community of Mindfulness by

providing the funds for appropriate meeting spaces for weekly meditation and Dharma talks,
helping cover operating costs for meditation cushions, equipment, and supplies as well as advertising and promotional expenses to make our activities available to interested persons,
offering financial support to our teacher, Fred Eppsteiner, so he can continue to work as a full-time Dharma teacher,
supporting our Library Fund to make available video, audio, and reading materials to enhance our practice,
assisting with travel expenses to bring guest speakers to our area,
contributing toward our Retreat Scholarship Fund and charitable donations in our local communities.

The Florida Community of Mindfulness, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation and is recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Thus, your contributions to FCM are tax-deductible.

Dana

Since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha 2,500 years ago, the transmission of the Buddha's teachings has been supported by the members of the practice community through "dana," a Pali word usually translated into English as “generosity” or “giving."

As a fundamental part of the Buddha's Way, dana is the practice of developing a generous and open heart. Along with the cultivation of harmonious living and of wisdom, generosity is considered one of the fundamental pillars of the Dharma (the teachings and practices of Buddhism). The practice of generosity is one of the six paramitas, transformative actions that lead to liberation and enlightenment. (The other five paramitas are virtuous conduct, patience, diligent effort, concentration, and wisdom.) Shantum Seth and Fred Eppsteiner in India

Our teachers freely share their Dharma teachings and offer us the fruits of their many years of training and practice. Dana is a way for us to express our individual appreciation for our teachers' dedication to transmitting the Dharma and alleviating suffering and for us to express our gratitude for the Dharma and the unbroken lineage of teachers that began over 2,500 years ago with Shakyamuni Buddha himself.

How do we practice dana in the Florida Community of Mindfulness?

FCM relies upon its members for their annual membership pledges and other tax-deductible voluntary financial contributions, which are FCM’s sole source of funds. This dana is used to cover the support of our teacher, Fred Eppsteier, and to cover the other costs described above.

Equally important, volunteers from our local meditation groups offer their time to serve their sanghas by setting up the meditation hall, leading meditation practice, providing flower arrangements, or preparing refreshments after meditation. FCM members also practice dana by contributing their time and skills to provide needed services to FCM such as website maintenance, the development of educational programs, editing our newsletter, and providing organizational leadership.

Dana is the practice of "hidden virtue." Practicing dana with awareness allows us to work through our self-centered attachments, especially our attachment to our money, time, and self-interest, so that we can be free to truly help and support others in myriad ways.