Author: Genko Rainwater

Many Zen metaphors point to the insubstantiality of reality and our attempts to fix it. Zen practice offers a kind of clarity and centeredness to one’s life that comes from a lots of determined looking at what is. But all that looking doesn’t tell us what it is, in fact, it does quite the opposite.… Read more »

On Wednesday, April 22, lots of volunteers from Friends of Trees came in to do weeding and mulching. Teasel, blackberries, and more were removed and cut back, and many areas were mulched to help them survive dry weather. We have work parties every Wednesday on the property from about 9:30am to about 3:30pm. Come in… Read more »

Twice a year, the sangha has an opportunity to hear from our governing bodies, to ask questions and give feedback. The spring forum is primarily sponsored by the Dharma Council, giving updates on classes and programs. The Board will also report on where we are in our multiple transitions. Have questions about the progress on… Read more »

Our Sangha has made significant progress in our bold, multi-year vision to Plant Zen In Siskiyou Square. Half of us have contributed thus far, and our goal and need remains 100% Sangha participation. With gifts and pledges ranging from $100 to $100,000, the generosity of Sangha members is fueling Lotus Blooming – our campaign to… Read more »

Yesterday’s work party saw the kitchen floor and other areas in the Sodo painted. Most of the Sodo floor has now been painted, so we can more easily keep it clean and don’t have to put rugs down on dusty bare wood. See the photo of the sanzen room inside the Sodo. Volunteers sheet-rocked the… Read more »

Now that we’re sitting on-site, sometimes the zendo is cold in the mornings. Discomfort arises. What then? Buddhism has a long history of mining this dilemma. We’ll look at some of these approaches and how this applies to the rest of life. This talk was given on Sunday, April 12.

This last week, Friends of Trees and Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors (ECO) teamed up with our sangha to plant 400 native shrubs and trees along the pathway in the oak savanna area. Six different classrooms of fourth- and fifth-graders came to the site to take part in habitat restoration and nature/science exploration activities. ECO… Read more »

I met my teacher and said “I have only always wanted to be helpful.” She probably thought: “Oh, here comes another one suffering with some heavy stuff to sort out.” Then she said to herself with sincerity: “Great beginning.” To me she said instead, “well, let’s put that on hold for awhile, learn our practice… Read more »

We now have a tree-lined street, with a graveled sidewalk alongside. Our wonderful volunteers have worked hard planting many trees, with more still to go in the ground. The photograph shows Uji (the closer, light-colored double-wide portable building) and the Sodo (past Uji). We also got beautiful black dirt put into the light-pole base holes,… Read more »

We are pleased to announce that Frog Song Montessori Preschool will open September 2015! Frog Song joins Dharma School and Mandala on the Mountain summer camp as a new Dharma Garden program. Preschool development team members Shin’yu Vitells and Ko’in Newsom have worked to make this longtime vision of abbot Gyokuko Carlson and others a… Read more »

On Sunday, March 29, Seido celebrated inhabiting the new Sodo with the sangha and explored the question of what it means to live into one’s practice, into one’s life fully. Using Dogen’s writing on “Twining Vines” that includes the story of Bodhidharma’s transmission to his students, the talk both celebrated the sangha’s activity on the… Read more »

During last week’s retreat, we were able to sit in Uji, the portable double-wide on the land. It was sweet to sit with the frogs’ chorus after dark and in the early morning. The photo shows the building, and in the foreground the lamp poles for the street lights. The concrete mounting posts for those… Read more »

More than 70 people enthusiastically welcomed 5 new lay Buddhists as we celebrated our first Sunday services in the new Sodo. The building is unfinished with no electricity or water yet, but it is wheelchair accessible, and it’s ours. Preceptees (back row, left to right) are Randall Filbert, Sally Tomlinson, Kelly Klooster-McCombs, Arjuna James Badgley,… Read more »

Our annual Jukai retreat is in process this week, and will culminate in the Jukai ceremony on Sunday, when individuals receive the Bodhisattva Precepts and formally become Buddhists. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend this open retreat full- or part-time. See the schedule. Please note a change, though. On Sunday after the Jukai Ceremony,… Read more »

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