The Buddha famously told Ananda that good spiritual friends are the whole of the holy life. Sangha includes teachers, friends and supporters, and also those who challenge us in many ways. Co-Abbot Gyokuko Carlson speaks about Sangha as refuge, and the various ways that manifests. To hear this talk, click here.
An Open Letter from Sallie Jiko Tisdale “Most people today mistakenly think that constructing buddha-images and building stupas helps the buddha-dharma flourish,” wrote Dogen in September of 1235. “Even though we might erect huge temples adorned with polished jewels and gold, we cannot attain the Way by these works. To learn even a single phrase of the… Read more »
Last Monday, September 23rd, a group from the Lummi Tribe on the Washington coast came through Portland with totem pole 22 feet high carved by elder Jewell Praying Wolf James, who is accompanying it on a journey from eastern Montana to Vancouver BC. Some years ago the Lummi started a tradition of taking poles to places… Read more »
No, this is not a Monty Python sketch, or anything like that, although bringing up the issue, these days, is taken as absurd. Not long ago I found myself telling someone that you can, in fact, discover the meaning of life, or at least your deeper purpose. However, when you do you will find it… Read more »
As you know, the Board of Directors voted to pay down some of the costs of developing our new property by selling the zendo and Dharma House earlier than we had originally anticipated. While this is still our plan, it’s undergoing modification as we bow to circumstance.
We are on silent retreat this week, studying the Dogen Shobogenzo fascicle “Gyobutso Yuigi,” the Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas. The focus of the sesshin is to sustain practice during an intensive period, acting out our Buddhahood in the meditation, disciplines and rituals of a traditional Zen retreat. Sesshin gathers our intention in a resolute… Read more »
This Sunday Seido will be talking about the seasonal changes we experience during summer practice where discipline loosens and the natural world presents itself in full color. What do we learn about ourselves during this time? What emerges in our relationship to zazen and what obstacles present themselves during a time of year typically marked… Read more »
First of all we want to thank HandsOnPortland for their energetic support of our work practice day Tuesday, July 30. They helped move wood chips on the Oak Savanna portion of the property to control invasive grasses, and with restoration in the ravine on the NE and eastern edge of the property. Speaking of that,… Read more »