Year: 2014

Property Update The Board has accepted an offer for the Dharma House, and inspections are underway. A family wants to buy it as their primary residence, and the agreed-upon price is substantially higher than what we (briefly) listed the house for a year ago. The Board also agreed to move forward on selling the Zendo… Read more »

Rick Fumyo Mishaga “In the same way that a parent cares for an only child, keep the Three Treasures in your mind.” [Dogen Zenji in Tenzo Kyokun] It was spring of 1237. Dogen, the founder of a fledging monastic community just south of Kyoto, had finally finished his Tenzo Kyokun, “Instructions for the Chief Cook.”… Read more »

Transcript of a Dharma Talk by Kyogen Carlson “Koan” is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word “kung-an,” which means public record. This was a Chinese legal term that referred to records of cases that set precedent, like “case law.” In the Zen tradition, koans are records of particular events such as an exchange between master… Read more »

Having recently returned from several months of travel in Nepal and Thailand, Gyoshi gave a talk on February 23, 2014, about four main dharma themes he worked with there: Expect Nothing Don’t Define Oneself I Really Don’t Understand What’s Going On Clarify One’s Life Goals He explained how working with these themes helped him lighten… Read more »

Dharma Rain, Portland Friends of Trees, students from Concordia University and Madison High School, and Neighborhood Families Plant Trees and Shrubs On Saturday February 22nd, between 70 and 80 people joined forces to plant native species trees and shrubs in the ravine at the Siskiyou Square site of our new temple and cohousing development. This… Read more »

January 2014 This summary describing the work of the temple’s three major decision-making bodies is published regularly. Each of the three major bodies of the temple mandala – the Board of Directors, the Dharma Council and the Mandala Council – meets monthly and provides notes to be consolidated for a report to the general sangha.… Read more »

On Sunday, February 2nd, Fujaku completed his term as Shuso at the ceremony of Hossen. He presented this verse from the Diamond Sutra: “Therefore, Subhuti, bodhisattvas should leave behind all phenomenal distinctions and awaken the thought of the consummation of incomparable enlightenment by not allowing the mind to depend upon notions evoked by the sensible… Read more »

This letter came January 15, 2014, addressed to the Dharma Rain Sangha. I’m not certain who to address this letter to, but currently I’m serving the last 9 months of a 40-month prison term for robbery in the third degree. I spent the last 13 months at Oregon State Penitentiary where I became a regular… Read more »

Buddhism flourished for a thousand years and more after the Buddha died. By then Buddhism had spread to many countries and languages. For many reasons, Buddhism then began to decline and virtually died out in India altogether until very recently. The Dharma talk for the celebration of Nehan will explore the final teachings of the… Read more »

Kyogen Carlson Note: the following has been used as a hand-out for Precept classes at Dharma Rain Zen Center for a number of years In the linage tradition handed down to me from Jiyu Kennett Roshi and Chisan Koho Zenji, the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts are more than just a foundation for practice. They are complete… Read more »

by Rick Nin’yu Harlan From Jukai, 1998 I had to take the Precepts vow. I didn’t know why or really what the entire meaning was, but I knew that I must. As time has passed, it has become a little more clear to me. Is it a set of moral standards to live by? Yes,… Read more »

Case 94 in the Book of Serenity tells of a time when Master Dongshan (Tozan Ryokai) was very ill. A monk came to him and asked, “Is there someone who does not get ill?” Donshan answered, “There is,” and the dialog goes on from there. Does this contradict the First Noble Truth? What’s going on… Read more »

We have good news on the geotechnical front – the pile of earth that has been sitting where the Sodo will be built – has done its job much better than expected. The idea was to put something much heavier than a building there, and “pre-squish” the ground until it is done squishing. The ground… Read more »

Jiko’s Pilgrimage Journal Entries from India Note: Center members Sallie Jiko Tisdale and Thomas Koshin Bruner have been in India from several weeks, visiting Buddhist sites, but also other placers of cultural and historical interest. *Jambudvipa, the ancient name for India used in Sutras. Jan. 9 in Varanasi: We walked to the northern end of… Read more »

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