Jyoshin speaks of the need for honoring deep winter by taking some down time. We close down the temple for two weeks partly as a way of following the direction of the earth in resting in the darkness and the cold. This talk was given Sunday, December 16.

Ko’in explores Dogen’s Komyo (Brightness), Koun Ejo’s Komyozo Zanmai (Treasury of Luminosity) and how she has been practicing with brightness and these teachings in this student talk. This Sunday is the end of Rohatsu, and the end of fall Ango. We’re flashing back to an earlier time, when we traditionally ended Rohatsu with a special… Read more »

We are on Rohatsu Sesshin this week. Annen shared this beautiful image of the crescent moon and the morning star over the Sodo on Monday, December 3. She points out that we are blessed to practice in this beautiful place. In other news, the 2018 Annual Report is now available for your perusal on the web… Read more »

Fall’s beauty invites photographs. Between Rocky Butte to the east of us, and the beautiful trees and shrubs all around us, we are blessed in this land. We are moving toward Rohatsu next week, and looking forward to sharing silence, sharing space, sharing beauty. Ember happily puts lids on packages of pumpkin pie filling donated… Read more »

Prajnaparamita, Perfect Wisdom, completes the series of talks on the Six Perfections. Wisdom has been an integral part of each of the other five we’ve discussed, and is one of the key wings of practice we cultivate (along with Compassion). It can be difficult to talk about, but we will provide some pointers at least.… Read more »

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. We had a few friends over at the Sodo, had lots of food that couldn’t be beat, lots of laughter and conversation, music, games, etc. Now that the holidays have officially arrived, here are some upcoming events to keep in mind. Rohatsu is coming up in a week.… Read more »

It’s easy to get the idea that certain thoughts and feelings are not part of Zen practice. We may think that to be a good student of Zen is to be free of strong emotions or points of view. What is the relationship between powerful and even overwhelming emotions and our practice? What does it… Read more »

On Saturday, students in the Blueprint Foundation came to work on the property, and helped move a greenhouse from Gyokuko’s house to our garden. This is one of many community organizations that Dharma Rain Zen Center partners with. Another partner is Madison High School’s urban agriculture program. Several students came on Wednesday with their teacher… Read more »

For this fifth out of a series of six talks on the Paramitas, we look at Zen’s core practice. “Meditation and Wisdom, the final two Buddhist Perfections, … [are] the culmination of the sequence … upon which the entire structure is founded” (from The Six Perfections, by Dale Wright). This talk was given Sunday, November… Read more »

This Sunday, Jyoshin spoke about honoring lineage and tradition and at the same time exploring the tension between valuing and connecting with what we’ve done before while also responding to current conditions. This talk was given Sunday, November 4.

Our annual Segaki ceremony, presided over by Jyoshin, was a huge success. Here the daimosho offering at the Segaki altar shows Gemmon, Jyoshin, and Renso, with Shin’yu, Annen, and Kaishin in the background. During the procession as we chanted the “Universal Gateway Chapter,” the sacristan read the list of names of those who have died… Read more »

Every fall, we hold a weekend Segaki retreat, focused on cleansing karma and releasing attachments to the past, including honoring 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. Zazen… Read more »

The last two Sunday afternoons we have hosted a garden work party in stunning weather. This last Sunday, Karen, Todd, Nancy, Mieka, and Ember enjoyed working on cleaning up and beginning to winterize the garden terrace. We are still getting tomatoes, kale, and chard from the garden. Wednesday Work Parties Dharma Rain hosts regular Wednesday… Read more »

At this last Sunday’s Sangha Forum, the final draft report from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion project done by Bruner Strategies, was released, introduced, and briefly discussed. This is the beginning of a longer conversation within the Sangha. As this conversation develops, we will have the opportunity to shape the direction the sangha goes. Both… Read more »

Twice a year, the sangha has an opportunity to hear from our governing bodies and to ask questions and give feedback. This forum is primarily sponsored by the Board of Directors, giving updates on where we are with the property development, fundraising and finances, board activities, and more. The Dharma Council will also give a brief… Read more »

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