Month: June 2015
Jiko talked about the 10,000-year clock, the problem of nuclear waste, why we plant trees and what it means to let go of goals in this talk about time, effort, and the future. This talk was on Sunday, June 28.
Many Zen masters speak of “Don’t Know Mind.” What is this Don’t Know? What do we know, how do we know it, and does it matter? This talk was given Sunday, June 21.
While Lotus Blooming – our fundraising campaign to Plant Zen in Siskiyou Square – is about money, our vision and aspiration for Siskiyou Square is about the Dharma. So, why does Lotus Blooming matter? “Dharma Rain has been a fundamental part of who I have become, or at least many of the aspects I am… Read more »
Today they are cutting down trees along Siskiyou Street in preparation for the eventual street widening. Kakumyo and Fujaku work together on cutting trees. North West Tree Specialists donated a chipper and crew to take care of the remains. After all the trees we’ve been planting, it’s sad to lose trees this way, but it… Read more »
On Sunday, June 14, Kyri Kengan Treiman presented a verse to be examined on as a culmination of her year as shuso for the Hood River Sangha. The Hossen was held at the grange in White Salmon Washington, as the regular Hood River space was too small to accommodate all of the visiting teachers and… Read more »
Every year, Buddhists get together at Colonel Summers Park to show Portland a little bit about what Buddhism is about here. This year was no exception. On June 13, Dharma Rain Zen Center hosted a booth as always, though this year we added information about Frog Song Montessori Preschool to the information about where we… Read more »
There are many ways to approach the precepts. In this talk we’ll explore how precept practice as a path of heart works. We’ll also take a deeper look at our unique statement of the 6th precept, “Do not dwell on past mistakes.” This sounds very different from how most others state the 6th precept –… Read more »
Wednesday’s (June 10, 2015) celebration of the $200,000 grant from the EPA for brownfield cleanup and mitigation included speakers saying wonderful things about the project at Siskiyou Square. Speakers included Kakumyo Lowe-Charde; Representatives from EPA Brownfields Program, DEQ Brownfields Program, City of Portland, Senator Ron Wyden’s office, Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office, Business Oregon, and Metro.… Read more »
When we’ve tasted the benefits of something that we care about, it’s normal to want to get more of it or make it work better. In the practice sphere, this impulse can show up as trying to figure out the right way to practice: What are the key ingredients to produce compassion, wisdom, equanimity? (And… Read more »
Last Sunday the Columbia Land Trust sent a bunch of their Young Ambassadors to work in the ravine pulling weeds and planting mushrooms. Some of our younger members joined them for the first Zen Adventure Club outing. During the afternoon, someone discovered a nest with baby birds in the ravine. Good times! We have work… Read more »