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Bookstore FAQs

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about our Bookstore.

If you don't see the answer to the question that you'd like to ask, you can send your question via e-mail to Dan, Dan the Bookstore Man.

You can make a purchase in person at the Kadampa Center Bookstore. We are no longer a self-service Bookstore, so you will need to check out at the register with a staff volunteer. 

You may pay for your purchases (or make a donation) by Visa or Master Card, check or cash.

All merchandise is priced and books are sold by the price on the back. We collect sales tax at the time of purchase.

There are several reasons why you should make your purchases of Dharma books and other items in the Kadampa Center Bookstore. First, your purchase will greatly support our center and secondly, spending wisely does not just mean finding the cheapest price, no matter what; it also means spending your money where it will do the most good. Your purchase with us will do you good, and do our community good.

No. Sorry, but we are not set up for e-commerce yet. We do hope to one day be able to process orders online, but since we are an all-volunteer organization, we just don't have the manpower.

Due to our limited staffing and being an all-volunteer organization, we can not handle a large volume of orders from all around the country ... yet. If it is a special situation, you could e-mail Bookstore Management and we'll see what we can do.

Yes! We do accept special orders and they are available at no extra cost. Simply e-mail Dan with as much information as you know about the book that you are looking for (title, author, publisher, ISBN, etc.) and he will research to see if the book is available. *Please note: Special orders may take as long as four to eight weeks to arrive, as they may not coincide with our regular ordering cycle. When the book arrives you will be notified and it will be held for you at the Center.

An excellent and complex question. Strictly speaking, it is not good for one to "sell" the Dharma or Dharma items. However, since we do live in a conventional world, and since it does cost money to print books and manufacture other items, we need to pay the people from whom we purchase those items.

According to the FPMT:

"We should always avoid the thought that we are selling the Dharma. Therefore, while charges are levied for certain Dharma items that may be sold in the Dharma shop or as part of the education program at the center, it is very important not to arise the thought of making money from the Dharma. To cover the expenses, ... is acceptable, but the motivation should not be one of making money for profit."

The proceeds from books and non-book items (incense, prayer flags, katas, etc.) sold in our Bookstore, go to support Kadampa Center, including our Spiritual Programs and sangha support.

Please do not take items from the Bookstore without paying for them at the time of purchase. We are not questioning your honesty or integrity, you simply need to check out through our bookstore register to make our accounting correct as we are no longer on a self-serve basis. Our Bookstore does function like any other business, and it is not okay to take something without paying. This also relates to a basic Buddhist concept : taking what is "not freely given" creates bad karma for your future self.

Our volunteer Bookstore Manager, Dan, is the main person who decides which books and other items to buy - he places all of the wholesale orders. He does, however, greatly welcome any suggestions or requests of any specific titles that our members and friends may have.

Dan keeps an eye on what's "new & noteworthy" in Dharma publishing through trade catalogs from publishers and distributors, as well as checking the publishers' web sites. He buys what he feels is appropriate for our center's Bookstore to carry and what he thinks members will have an interest in. He generally orders books that are in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, since that is the type of center we are. He says that deciding which books & items to buy is as much an art as a science and that it can be quite challenging - and that he could easily fill a shop with three to four times our space.

If you are a vendor and feel that your merchandise would be appropriate for our Tibetan Buddhist Bookstore, you may send us a catalog if you wish. Please mail your catalog directly to the center.

Sure, we could always use an extra pair of hands or two to help us ring up sales. If you are a member of Kadampa Center and would like to help, please feel free to speak to Cherie, our bookstore manager or send her an email. We also need help whenever we have an off site event, such as a public teaching or our Light on the Path retreat planned for each fall over the next few years. Cherie usually posts an email on the Kadampa email list whenever there is a need for help.

You can find out what's new and/or interesting in our Bookstore in three different ways.

  • This website has just about all of the new & noteworthy books listed on our New & Noteworthy page.
  • You can subscribe to the Kadampa email list through Yahoo! groups and receive the weekly Kadampa Center bulletin via email that lists the featured book of the week, which is usually a new or recent release, along with a link to our New & Noteworthy page which shows what's new & interesting in our Bookstore.
  • And lastly, just come on into the Bookstore and check out our "New & Noteworthy" display for new Dharma books, and if you see Dan, just ask him what's new in the Bookstore and he'll be glad to show you.