Author: Genko Rainwater
Last Sunday we celebrated our annual Nehan Festival, and Gyokuko gave the Dharma Talk. This week Kakumyo picks up two themes that Gyokuko talked about, and explores them further. This… Read more »
The north side of the roof is almost finished, except for the skylights. Siding is also going up on the exterior, over a moisture barrier that will be painted. The… Read more »
Our annual Nehan Festival commemorates the parinirvana of the Buddha and his final teaching. This involves a special service in place of Full Morning Service. This year, Gyokuko gave the… Read more »
The south side of the roof is done, and looking mighty handsome. The north side is about half done as of Friday morning. Wednesday’s work party went to Tillstrom Tree… Read more »
This is a summary describing work of the temple’s major decision-making bodies during December 2014. A governance notebook with approved minutes is filed in the temple’s transition office. A list… Read more »
What does it mean to “function secretly, like a fool”? The final lines of one of our daily scriptures is packed with important teaching, in the simplest of language. The… Read more »
On Wednesday, January 28, sangha members gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Sodo, which then included painting various things on the subfloor. At each of the cardinal directions, Gyokuko… Read more »
On Sunday, January 25, 2015, Jyoshin Clay presented a verse and took questions in the Shuso Hossen ceremony. Gyokuko sat in for Kyogen, Jyoshin’s teacher, carrying Kyogen’s hossu for the… Read more »
This Sunday the current shuso, Jyoshin Catherine Clay, will take her “final exam,” presenting a verse and answering questions from teachers and sangha members. This is the culmination of a… Read more »
As you can see above, the roof is going up on the Sodo. Roofers are working on the tricky angled bits first, and then will finish with the larger more… Read more »
We sometimes use the phrase “the edge of my practice.” What does this mean? What kinds of edges do we face? And what about plateaus, ledges, mountains, and other geographical… Read more »
On Saturday, January 10, we held our annual Kanzeon Festival in the Sodo, which was wonderful. We even had heat, which is not something we should get used to, but… Read more »
Sekkei Harada gives this advice in his lectures in a new book Unfathomable Depths, Drawing Wisdom for Today from a Classical Zen Poem. Let’s see if Gyokuko can draw any… Read more »
We had a wonderful work party on Wednesday, January 7, with sunny weather, lots of sangha members, and a lot of work done. We did a first sweeping of the… Read more »
One of the fruits of spiritual practice is that we trust those around us. It’s not that we become gullible, but we see more layers. It’s important to look at… Read more »
Work is still moving forward. End pieces are in place, and soffits are being worked on, in preparation for finishing the roof. A large part of the infrastructure on the… Read more »