Month: October 2016

Three new community workshops begin in November, one each month. They are each two hours long, free, and don’t require any Buddhist background or interest. A mix of explanation, meditation, experiential exercises, and facilitated discussion will be used to ensure that the workshop is practical and translates to your life. Cultivating Compassion Feel caught by… Read more »

On October 28-30 we hold our annual weekend Segaki retreat, focused on cleansing karma and releasing attachments to the past, including those who have died. The retreat is vigil-style, which means that people can come in and leave as they need to. We begin the retreat at 7pm on Friday and continue through Sunday evening.… Read more »

Yesterday’s regular Wednesday work party did a lot of things undaunted by intermittent rain. Gemmon continues to work on the Japanese-style garden in front of the Sodo. She fills a wheelbarrow with gravel from the back, wheels it around to the front, dumps it where she wants it, and rakes it into place. Then goes… Read more »

Anthony Fujaku Stevens was ordained as a Soto Zen priest on Friday, October 21. A nice crowd of more than 50 people came to witness and celebrate this fine event.

At last weeks Sangha Forum, members requested an opportunity to talk more about succession, the abbot’s role, how this might look and why it matters. This week, Kakumyo will speak briefly about his perspective here, and then invite questions. This talk was given on Sunday, October 23.

The Oregon Tradeswomen continue to work Thursdays on the barn. Framing up the inside will allow it to be available to us as a workshop and storage. Yesterday’s work party involved being moved by wheelbarrows for landscaping. Curtains got put up. Other projects are moving forward. It is wonderful to have facilities, including parking, so… Read more »

“It’s only natural to support the organization that supports my practice and development. There can’t be one without the other.” Membership is the steady foundation that allows Dharma Rain Zen Center to function on a day-to-day basis, and to continue to offer many of our programs at low or no cost. If you find value… Read more »

Twice a year, the sangha has an opportunity to hear from our governing bodies and to ask questions and give feedback. This fall forum is primarily sponsored by the Board of Directors, giving updates on where we are with finances, succession, special workshops geared for a broad audience and proposed changes to membership definitions. The… Read more »

Wednesday was our last day of blue sky and sunshine for a while. Fujaku, Joel, Kakumyo, and Gary took advantage of it to work on the barn in anticipation of the Oregon Tradeswomen coming to work on more framing Thursday. We’ve been seeing more praying mantises around the property, as well as owls and other… Read more »

Anthony Fujaku Stevens is completing postulancy and moving into training as a novice monk. On Friday, October 21, he will be ordained as a Soto Zen priest in a Shukke Tokudo ceremony. This is a public ceremony, and all are invited to share and witness this important step for our sangha.

“I joined Dharma Rain because I want to support the organization from which I derive life-sustaining benefit. I’d like it to continue to thrive, selfishly for my sake, but in truth for the sake of everyone. Being a member honors the dharma. When the monthly e-mail arrives confirming my donation, I think of the interplay… Read more »

Perhaps one of the hardest barriers to our Zen practice is the barrier of “self.” Attaching to self as an entity separate from others generates patterns of suffering and confusion. The illusion of self also thwarts our ability to experience our deeper reality and its expression in our daily lives. Our great ancestor, Manzan Dohaku,… Read more »

Wednesday under October skies, the work party accomplished several tasks. Here, Joel dumps a load of dirt on the Japanese Garden, which Gemmon is sculpting. Shin’yu checks it out as she walks to the Sodo. Last Friday the new sign (sculpted by Hakugyo) went up. Fujaku, Ikuo, and Joel worked hard, and the final result… Read more »

Gyoshi reports on the Mountains and Waters Sesshin in September: “Warm, clear days and cold, frosty nights. Tons of ripe blueberries and huckleberries. Elks bugling, snorting, whistling all around us during evening zazen. Separate meadows in full fall coloring for tents, zendo, and sanzen. A mostly successful experiment with mixing traditional sesshin forms with the… Read more »

People are sometimes surprised to learn that Buddhism has a long, rich history of confession and repentance. The flavor of this in Buddhism is quite different from what we may have experienced in other religious practices, but we still experience shame, self-hatred and regret as we face up to past mistakes. Dharma Rain will be… Read more »

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