Several times a month, typically on a Thursday evening or a Saturday afternoon, Dharma Rain Zen Center offers introductory workshops on Zen practice.

  • Intro to Zen Meditation covers the essentials of zazen (sitting meditation).
  • Starting A Practice describes how to bring zazen practice into daily life with an explanation of the forms used in the zendo and during services.
  • Basic Buddhist Teachings introduces the basic teachings of Buddhism.

These workshops are open to all and offered free of charge (donations are gratefully accepted). You do not need to register. Our address is 8500 NE Siskiyou. The workshops are held in the Sodo (the large temple building at the end of the driveway on the left).

See the calendar below to find out when an introductory workshop you are interested in is scheduled.

More about Workshops and Classes …

Classes and Workshops Calendar

Jun
1
Sun
Hand in Hand Meeting
Jun 1 @ 11:45 am – 1:15 pm
Hand in Hand is an end-of-life support program offered by Dharma Rain to members of the sangha who are approaching death. A group of senior sangha members (Companions”) have been trained to respond to requests by dying sangha members (“Friends”) in need of spiritual support and compassionate companionship during this time. Companions consider our work to be an integral part of our spiritual practice. After completing an 8-week Hand in Hand training course in Fall 2021, we have been meeting monthly to engage in peer-led on-going training and support for each other. Our monthly meetings are open to sangha members interested in exploring topics related to death and dying as a part of your spiritual practice. If you would like to join us or for more information, contact Hoka at the above email address.
Recitation of the Avatamsaka Sutra
Jun 1 @ 11:45 am – 12:15 pm

Ko’in (and sometimes others) lead the ancient, traditional practice of the recitation of the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra.

We chant aloud as a group for approximately 30 minutes each week. No registration required; please attend as you are interested or able. We meet in the library on Sundays after the dharma talk. (On third Sundays we meet in the office, next to the library.)

We are using Cleary’s translation of the Sutra. Please bring your own copy if you have one. There are a limited number of extra copies available for use in the library.

According to Thomas Cleary, this sutra “is perhaps the richest and most grandiose of all Buddhist sutras, held in high esteem by all schools of Buddhism that are concerned with universal liberation. Its incredible wealth of sensory imagery staggers the imagination and exercised an almost mesmeric effect on the mind as it conveys a wide range of teachings through its complex structure, colorful symbolism, and its mnemonic concentration formulae.”

If you have questions, please contact Fumyo or Ko’in at dharma-rain.org.

Jun
6
Fri
Qigong Class
Jun 6 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Kakumyo offers this Qigong class open to beginners as well as advanced practitioners, and all the physical postures can be modified to fit individual needs or limitations.

We will focus on “the 14” (ie., the JinJing Gong Shi Si Shi), but do pieces of a few other forms as well. The goal is to have you leave with:

  • an exposure to the types of breathing and basic postural principles
  • a felt sense of what we mean by “tendon-meridian”
  • basic introduction to a variety of qigong techniques (shaking, walking, standing, percussion, sound, visualization) that can be used to support vitality and transformation
  • enough familiarity with the “14” and the “7” that you could practice on your own, (perhaps with the handout that will be provided)

The style is from the JinJing Gong lineage. Kakumyo is a fully authorized teacher, with 20 years of qigong practice. His teacher was Bill Frazier, who learned from Wang Shifu in China, whose teacher was Li Jie, a Taoist priest of the Quanzhen pai school, Longmen Pai sect.

The JinJing Gong lineage is small, based around Chengdu, China, but a practice community has sprung up around Portland, OR, over the last 20 years. This is a vigorous style of qigong, with a variety of different forms/sequences. It has martial, medical and contemplative roots, incorporating graceful movements, challenging breathing, detailed mindfulness, and other elements into the overall exercise.

Jun
7
Sat
Zen and the Art of Psychotherapy
Jun 7 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Zen and the Art of Psychotherapy is a cohort group for mental health professionals who are practitioners of Zen Buddhism. Our mission is to support and learn from one another to integrate and embody the Dharma in our work and our personal lives. We welcome licensed, pre-licensed, grad students and retired folks. This group will meet monthly on the first Saturday at Dharma Rain.

Jun
8
Sun
Recitation of the Avatamsaka Sutra
Jun 8 @ 11:45 am – 12:15 pm

Ko’in (and sometimes others) lead the ancient, traditional practice of the recitation of the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra.

We chant aloud as a group for approximately 30 minutes each week. No registration required; please attend as you are interested or able. We meet in the library on Sundays after the dharma talk. (On third Sundays we meet in the office, next to the library.)

We are using Cleary’s translation of the Sutra. Please bring your own copy if you have one. There are a limited number of extra copies available for use in the library.

According to Thomas Cleary, this sutra “is perhaps the richest and most grandiose of all Buddhist sutras, held in high esteem by all schools of Buddhism that are concerned with universal liberation. Its incredible wealth of sensory imagery staggers the imagination and exercised an almost mesmeric effect on the mind as it conveys a wide range of teachings through its complex structure, colorful symbolism, and its mnemonic concentration formulae.”

If you have questions, please contact Fumyo or Ko’in at dharma-rain.org.

Jun
12
Thu
Zen Poets Society
Jun 12 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Zen Poet Society is a Dharma Rain cohort group for those in the sangha with an appreciation for poetry and its many intersections with practice. Come to write, share your own poetry, poems you’ve found that have moved you, or simply bear witness to what others bring to the table.

 

Intro to Zen Meditation
Jun 12 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Introduction to Zen Meditation workshop is designed for complete beginners, but it is also recommended for anyone who has not received instruction in the Soto Zen style of zazen. No previous experience is necessary.

This meeting is available both in person and online. Advance registration for attendance, whether in person or on Zoom is not required. Clicking the link for Zoom attendance will bring up a form to provide your first name and email before joining the meeting.

Jun
15
Sun
Recitation of the Avatamsaka Sutra
Jun 15 @ 11:45 am – 12:15 pm

Ko’in (and sometimes others) lead the ancient, traditional practice of the recitation of the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra.

We chant aloud as a group for approximately 30 minutes each week. No registration required; please attend as you are interested or able. We meet in the library on Sundays after the dharma talk. (On third Sundays we meet in the office, next to the library.)

We are using Cleary’s translation of the Sutra. Please bring your own copy if you have one. There are a limited number of extra copies available for use in the library.

According to Thomas Cleary, this sutra “is perhaps the richest and most grandiose of all Buddhist sutras, held in high esteem by all schools of Buddhism that are concerned with universal liberation. Its incredible wealth of sensory imagery staggers the imagination and exercised an almost mesmeric effect on the mind as it conveys a wide range of teachings through its complex structure, colorful symbolism, and its mnemonic concentration formulae.”

If you have questions, please contact Fumyo or Ko’in at dharma-rain.org.

Jun
20
Fri
Qigong Class
Jun 20 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Kakumyo offers this Qigong class open to beginners as well as advanced practitioners, and all the physical postures can be modified to fit individual needs or limitations.

We will focus on “the 14” (ie., the JinJing Gong Shi Si Shi), but do pieces of a few other forms as well. The goal is to have you leave with:

  • an exposure to the types of breathing and basic postural principles
  • a felt sense of what we mean by “tendon-meridian”
  • basic introduction to a variety of qigong techniques (shaking, walking, standing, percussion, sound, visualization) that can be used to support vitality and transformation
  • enough familiarity with the “14” and the “7” that you could practice on your own, (perhaps with the handout that will be provided)

The style is from the JinJing Gong lineage. Kakumyo is a fully authorized teacher, with 20 years of qigong practice. His teacher was Bill Frazier, who learned from Wang Shifu in China, whose teacher was Li Jie, a Taoist priest of the Quanzhen pai school, Longmen Pai sect.

The JinJing Gong lineage is small, based around Chengdu, China, but a practice community has sprung up around Portland, OR, over the last 20 years. This is a vigorous style of qigong, with a variety of different forms/sequences. It has martial, medical and contemplative roots, incorporating graceful movements, challenging breathing, detailed mindfulness, and other elements into the overall exercise.

Jun
22
Sun
Recitation of the Avatamsaka Sutra
Jun 22 @ 11:45 am – 12:15 pm

Ko’in (and sometimes others) lead the ancient, traditional practice of the recitation of the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra.

We chant aloud as a group for approximately 30 minutes each week. No registration required; please attend as you are interested or able. We meet in the library on Sundays after the dharma talk. (On third Sundays we meet in the office, next to the library.)

We are using Cleary’s translation of the Sutra. Please bring your own copy if you have one. There are a limited number of extra copies available for use in the library.

According to Thomas Cleary, this sutra “is perhaps the richest and most grandiose of all Buddhist sutras, held in high esteem by all schools of Buddhism that are concerned with universal liberation. Its incredible wealth of sensory imagery staggers the imagination and exercised an almost mesmeric effect on the mind as it conveys a wide range of teachings through its complex structure, colorful symbolism, and its mnemonic concentration formulae.”

If you have questions, please contact Fumyo or Ko’in at dharma-rain.org.

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