Lots of Jukai Ceremonies: In addition to the 14 people who took the Precepts here at DRZC almost two weeks ago, several people have taken or will soon take the Precepts in our various prison sanghas. Genko gave Precepts to 6 women at Coffee Creek; Gyoshi gave Precepts to 5 men at Oregon State Penitentiary; and Mugaku will be hosting Genko and other volunteers March 10 and 11 in eastern Oregon for as many as 8 more men to receive the Precepts at Two Rivers and Eastern Oregon Corrections Institutions. This is an important step in the growth both of these individuals and also the prison sanghas.

Last Saturday morning, Dharma Rain was visited by people from two different Vietnamese temples, one in our Vancouver, and the other from Tacoma, each coming to pay respects to other temples on the New Year. The delicious oranges we have been enjoying and which appear on our altar came from the Vancouver group. The Tacoma group brought about 100 people in two large tour buses.

One of our community partners, Madison High School’s Food Pantry, donated a substantial amount of produce to us, which is greatly appreciated. We also received a donation of bread and bean soup from Grand Central Bakery by way of Ember. Many thanks for the donations.


Nancy and Kakuon also send out a heartfelt gassho to sangha members who have been so generous with donations of warm socks and gloves and water bottles! These kind of donations are ongoing all year, just a reminder. Again, MANY THANKS!

Last Saturday, Friends of Trees came to plant native trees and shrubs around the duplexes, on the berm, and in the ravine. Read more about it and look at photos here.

Wednesday Work Parties

We have regular Wednesday work parties from around 9:30am to 3:30pm. There is plenty of work for people to do, inside and outside, light and heavy. Come for as much or little of the time as you wish. We have tools and gloves, but if you have your own, feel free to bring them. If you are around at 12:30pm, we feed you lunch.