Pointing Out The Great Way®
Foundation
History
A Brief History of the
Pointing Out The Great Way®
Foundation
(now Mustang Bon Foundation)
Pointing Out The Great Way® Foundation was incorporated on May 10, 2012, in Delaware as a nonprofit foundation; from its inception, The Board members were volunteers and were never compensated in any way for their role as board members. The original purpose of establishing the foundation was to provide opportunities for students responding to Dr. Dan Brown’s Pointing Out Way meditation retreats to give back. It provided a means to support projects that benefited the lineages where the teachings originated; to provide students with the opportunity to accumulate merit according to Buddhist traditions; and to support other miscellaneous endeavors, such as translating sacred Tibetan texts into English and supporting a school for Tibetan children in order to preserve the Tibetan culture.
Dr. Dan Brown’s retreats were originally geared toward giving students a “taste of awakening” through guided meditation instruction in a group setting in the Essence Mahamudra tradition. This evolved into Dr. Dan Brown also teaching with Geshe Sonam in the Bon Dzogchen tradition.
Some of the initial projects of the foundation included funds for a library at Rahab Monastery and funds for building a Stupa at Rahab Dharma Center in New York. Please se www.mustangbonfoundation.org for more detail.
In 2012, His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin asked Dr. Dan Brown and Geshe Sonam to translate several key Bon Dzogchen texts and three different collections written by the 20th century Dzogchen master Shardza Rinpoche, for a total of 8 translations. Dan and the Foundation raised funds to support these translations. Significant donations for this project allowed the translations to be successfully completed. Dr. Dan Brown received a total of $935,000 per his request and direction through foundation donations or direct payments to him. The Foundation retains 100% of the copyrights of these translations and gives 100% of profits to the Mustang Cultural and Education Center in Nepal.
100% of any donations raised, are also used to support other projects originating from the 33rd Menri Trizin’s vision. One of these projects is a school for 46 children run by Geshe Sonam in the Mustang Valley in Nepal. The Foundation raises funds to support tuition for those children who currently attend boarding school. The children learn traditional Tibetan culture, language, songs and prayers, along with a Nepalese required education. In 2020, the Foundation purchased a hotel in Jomsom, Nepal to house the schooling provide better living conditions for the children. The Foundation has also been raising money since 2014 for the construction of a Monastery in the Mustang Valley in Nepal capable of offering housing and classrooms for cultural and spiritual training for up to 100 children and 100 monks with a Gompa capable of sitting 100 practitioners and if possible, guest housing for visitors interested in the advanced practices of the Bon. The land has been purchased. Architectural designs are being finalized, stages of construction are being estimated and ground has been broken.
In 2018 the Foundation’s website was developed, and published translations are continually being made available. In 2019 there was a fundraising trip to Nepal that was very successful. The 33rd Menri Trizin’s vision of preserving and revitalizing the Bon culture, teachings, and practices in the Mustang Valley is the guiding focus of the Foundation.
In 2021 Dr. Dan Brown and the Board of the Foundation disagreed on the best path forward to proceed with bringing these initiatives to fruition. Geshe Sonam and the monks did a Divination and confirmed that the best path forward was to build the monastery and spiritual center in phases working with local architects and people. This was the approach the Board supported. Dr. Dan Brown disagreed and chose to sever his relationship with the Foundation and also with Geshe Sonam. Dr. Dan Brown expressed his desire to not teach with Geshe Sonam anymore or to have any role with the Foundation. Instead, he chose to change his for profit business name from Pointing Out Way to Pointing Out the Great Way. To avoid further confusion and based on the Board of the Foundation’s commitment to HH the 33rd Menri’s vision, it seemed necessary to change the name of the Foundation to the Mustang Bon Foundation. The Foundation and the current board members are actively fundraising and tirelessly working for the success of the described projects. In addition, the Foundation is supporting teachings and retreats with Geshe Sonam so the gifts available to the West from the Bon Dzogchen tradition can continue to be learned and practiced.