Covid Policy
As we come back together for in-person trainings and gatherings we have tried to find a way that feels most responsible and safest for everyone. Towards that end we will be requiring all participants, teachers and staff to be vaccinated against Covid 19 and to have had a recent Covid test.
We realize that the situation can change rapidly and that this policy may need to be adjusted as we judge the situation warrants it. Masks may be required depending on the state of the virus and the policy of each studio or center at the time of the gathering..
We thank you for your understanding. Please get in touch with us if you have any question or concerns.
We realize that the situation can change rapidly and that this policy may need to be adjusted as we judge the situation warrants it. Masks may be required depending on the state of the virus and the policy of each studio or center at the time of the gathering..
We thank you for your understanding. Please get in touch with us if you have any question or concerns.
A Personal Note from Biff
Dear Friends,
I want to share my thoughts about Covid and why our policy is what it is. For me personally, as for all of us, this has been
a very challenging and upsetting time for so many reasons, not the least of all has been the uncertainty of how to live with this virus and even more challenging, how to live with each other. It has been very difficult to feel the separation that has been so much a part of our society in so many ways widen even more with the strong and I believe often genuine differences in how to best make our way through this pandemic.
I have spent many hours in conversation with Doctors from my own family who have been on the front lines of this pandemic since its beginning and I know for my own certainty some things about this virus. It has caused a great deal of suffering and it is very contagious. I also know that there have proven to be ways of reducing the spread of the virus and thereby reducing the suffering it can cause. Along with social distancing, they are mask wearing, testing and vaccinations.
The Jamtse School was born from the Jamtse Sponsorship Project. This project was started to help support Tibetan refugee children and their families. The name was given to us by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and it means kindness in Tibetan, a word made up of two words, love and care. It’s a beautiful word that includes the idea of metta (loving kindness) with karuna, (compassion). Metta is a Buddhist practice of wishing that all beings be free of suffering, to be healthy and happy. Compassion combines loving kindness with the willingness to take actions to help end suffering. This relationship is the heart of what Jamtse is about. One of the Jamtse’s schools central practices is the practice of loving kindness and when we gather we begin our days with a shared Metta prayer. The Jamtse Sponsorship Projects roll is different, it is about taking action to physically help these children and families in need. To that end, all the profit from our trainings and my writings goes directly to help the children. That is how loving kindness becomes compassion.
As we question how to live in this new world of Covid we must not only open our hearts to the suffering through Metta, but we also need to ask; is there any action, any act of compassion we can take to help end this suffering.
We believe that there are things we can do.
We can wear a mask in public to protect the vulnerable among us.
We can be willing to self test so if we do get Covid, we will have less chance of passing it on.
We can get vaccinated and stay boosted.
These are acts of compassion.
Compassion isn’t about ourselves, but about helping others.
Our policy is not set in stone and will shift as the pandemic changes. It will always be based on scientific facts as we understand them, and it will always be a practice of compassion.
With love
Biff
I want to share my thoughts about Covid and why our policy is what it is. For me personally, as for all of us, this has been
a very challenging and upsetting time for so many reasons, not the least of all has been the uncertainty of how to live with this virus and even more challenging, how to live with each other. It has been very difficult to feel the separation that has been so much a part of our society in so many ways widen even more with the strong and I believe often genuine differences in how to best make our way through this pandemic.
I have spent many hours in conversation with Doctors from my own family who have been on the front lines of this pandemic since its beginning and I know for my own certainty some things about this virus. It has caused a great deal of suffering and it is very contagious. I also know that there have proven to be ways of reducing the spread of the virus and thereby reducing the suffering it can cause. Along with social distancing, they are mask wearing, testing and vaccinations.
The Jamtse School was born from the Jamtse Sponsorship Project. This project was started to help support Tibetan refugee children and their families. The name was given to us by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and it means kindness in Tibetan, a word made up of two words, love and care. It’s a beautiful word that includes the idea of metta (loving kindness) with karuna, (compassion). Metta is a Buddhist practice of wishing that all beings be free of suffering, to be healthy and happy. Compassion combines loving kindness with the willingness to take actions to help end suffering. This relationship is the heart of what Jamtse is about. One of the Jamtse’s schools central practices is the practice of loving kindness and when we gather we begin our days with a shared Metta prayer. The Jamtse Sponsorship Projects roll is different, it is about taking action to physically help these children and families in need. To that end, all the profit from our trainings and my writings goes directly to help the children. That is how loving kindness becomes compassion.
As we question how to live in this new world of Covid we must not only open our hearts to the suffering through Metta, but we also need to ask; is there any action, any act of compassion we can take to help end this suffering.
We believe that there are things we can do.
We can wear a mask in public to protect the vulnerable among us.
We can be willing to self test so if we do get Covid, we will have less chance of passing it on.
We can get vaccinated and stay boosted.
These are acts of compassion.
Compassion isn’t about ourselves, but about helping others.
Our policy is not set in stone and will shift as the pandemic changes. It will always be based on scientific facts as we understand them, and it will always be a practice of compassion.
With love
Biff
