Dharma Voyage
mind, body, nature
Dharma Wind
           
 

      The Dharma Wind is a craft inspired by the ancient Pacific Voyaging Canoes.  She carries the spirit of earth rhythms and the sweeping profile of an artist who believes his work is the birth of a sacred space; a sculpture of dreams in motion.  She is the continuation of a time when humanity lived in the shadow of the heavens, and heard the heart of existence in the rolling of waves.    She is a recreation of barefoot times and the refined wisdom of wild; when we knew how to listen to the wind and smell the sublime fragrance of morning.   



    

    I've always been inspired by the image of the old style Pacific and Arabian Sea canoes.  The upswept bows.  The coconut fiber bindings.  The smells of a completely organic creation.  When I was staying in Kerala, India, I spent entire days watching the comings and goings of these amazing, hand made, hand paddled, sun and oil colored craft.  They seemed to influence, demand, and cherish a relationship with the fishermen who use them.  I thought a great message, or teaching, was being transmitted by the simple action of pushing these magical boats into the sea.

-Ben Booth 

Dharma Wind

The Exciting Future of Dharma Voyage


    The vision.  The textured shine of hand-crafted wood sweeping towards heaven.  The wind become wings of a press of sail.  A boat shaped from a dream of barefoot times, when earth spirits guided the shape of society.  A boat as a vehicle to reconnect us to a rich, authentic experience of life lived with meaning and balance.  This boat is Dharma Wind, the vision of which was the inspiration for forming Dharma Voyage, inc. as a charitable, nonprofit organization.

    Dharma Wind will be a large (circumnavigation capable), high performance wooden sailing catamaran, given an artistic makeover to embody the sensitivities of the old-world voyaging canoes.  She will become a harmonious fusion of the continued refinement of modern sailing design and the romantic image from a time when crafting a boat was a sacred practice of giving oceanic form to forest spirits.  Her large, open deck space will become a platform for self-exploration.  She will bring us into ourselves.  She will bring us out into nature.

    We envision the entire process of creating Dharma Wind to be an enriching educational experience.  So she will begin as a boat building program.  Imagine building a piece of functional art that will act in service of preserving the wisdom of the natural world and in liberating the extraordinary potential of human existence!  Building this boat from drawings to launching will develop practical and even career skills of craftsmanship.  We are also confident that the insight and self-awareness gained through the hands-on, creative action of building such a unique, dramatic craft will be a priceless, life-changing experience.  As our students grow and evolve, it is our earnest wish that they will share this experience with future generations, sending positive ripples further and further into the fabric of our culture long after the Dharma Wind construction is over.

    Once launched, Dharma Wind will continue her mission of enhancing self-awareness and liberating potential.  Becoming an ocean-going center for guiding both youth and adults in meditation, mind-body health, environmentalism, sailing and adventure inspirations, Dharma Wind represents a great effort in bringing forth a way of life founded in peace, balance and intuitive education.