Date Title & Details Speaker Listen Download
05/24/2020
Turning the Question Around

There are many kinds of currency in today’s world: money, information, affection, prestige. We chase after them thinking they will satisfy a lack, a need. Often, we find they are not nearly as fulfilling as we had hoped and crave more. How will we find contentment and satisfaction? This Sunday Jyoshin talks about discerning what is wholesome versus unwholesome about this process, and learning what is enough.

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
05/17/2020
Inconveniences

Our lives of late have occasional moments of deep fear, and many hours of mild irritation. What does it mean to be annoyed? How do we practice with the minor inconveniences of life? In fact, these small obstacles are one of the most effective ways to deep wisdom.

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
05/10/2020
Appreciate the View

There are many urgent, complex problems in the world, and at times we all get caught by them, and information and analysis doesn’t actually free us. But there is something to notice that does help. The benefit is apparent on both a personal and a much larger level.  

Tags: kakumyo

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
05/03/2020
Wesak

This Sunday we celebrate the Buddha’s birth; an event that has many stories associated with it. This Sunday Jyoshin will circle around stories and storytelling in our tradition. Bring your tea and a comfortable seat up to your device to zoom in to listen to the talk.

Tags: jyoshin, wesak

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
04/26/2020
The Self in Times of Change

When circumstances take a sudden shift from what we have come to think of as normal, it can shake our sense of who we are. Almost all of us have had to deal with massive changes recently that may seem catastrophic. In addition, we can be confused by the curious juxtaposition of the sense of staying physically separate from each other as much as possible, and a paradoxically strong sense of connection. Genko speaks to these conditions and others in this Sunday’s Dharma Talk.

Tags: jyoshin, wesak

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
04/19/2020
Your Buddhahood Has Been Predicted

2,500 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha himself predicted that all of us would realize Buddhahood. Buddhist scripture is replete with this assurance. But if our Buddhahood is assured, why do we struggle so with self-doubt? How do we balance the Buddha’s unbridled optimism with the frustration that inevitably arises in our practice?

Tags: Student Talk, Thomas

Categories: Dharma Talks

Thomas Koshin Bruner
04/12/2020
Spring Sangha Forum

This Sunday will be a sangha forum. The Dharma Council will be speaking on ways the teachings are being presented. Of course we are in a special time right now, and it is important to hear from everyone as to how we are communicating, and if your needs are being met. Please take the time to listen and bring any suggestions you may have.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Sangha Forum

No Dharma Talk
04/05/2020
What is Real?

In exploring Buddhist teachings and trying to incorporate them into our life, questions like “What is real?” move from being vague or frivolous ideas to concrete practices that shape our day. In this talk Kakumyo will see how this question shapes how we relate to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
03/22/2020
Passing Through the Net

This Sunday Kakumyo will talk about getting caught and unstuck and what a meditation practice can bring to bear on our current situation.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
03/15/2020
Bodhisattva Vows

We don’t have a lot of exposure to the Bodhisattva Vows at Dharma Rain. In this talk we’ll investigate these challenging and powerful vows. We’ll explore some of the rather different formulations of them and the koan nature of these vows. We’ll also investigate the power of wise aspiration in our practice.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Mike Gyoshi Kaplan
03/08/2020
Developing Discernment

We live our lives having to make so many decisions. How do we see what is right for us to do? What is the role of the mind and how do we develop our own wisdom to guide us.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Anthony Fujaku Stevens
03/04/2020
Paramitas #2

There was no recording of this class.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde, Mark Sosetsu Stauffer
03/01/2020
The Scope of Equanimity

It might be easy and comfortable to think about practice in terms of how it affects our mind state. This cause and effect is fairly simple and relatively observable. If the effect of practice spreads farther, what does that challenge? How would that impact our practice?

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
02/26/2020
Paramitas #1

Class 1 of 7

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde, Mark Sosetsu Stauffer
02/16/2020
Cultivating Joy

What is Joy? Is it the same as happiness? How does it relate to Suffering? Is it okay for a Buddhist to feel happy? In fact, Joy is one of the Four Immeasurables, as well as being one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. Genko explores Buddhism’s relationship to Joy, and gives some tips for cultivating it in our own lives.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
02/12/2020
Precepts #6

Class 6 of 6

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Carrie Schulz, Jyoshin Clay
02/09/2020
The Dharma of Straight Nails

Trying to avoid judgmental or reactive patterns, we might forego our authentic recognition of what fits. If we aim for clarity we might end up feeling disconnected. There’s a sweet spot in navigating life that allows for both wise discernment and nonattachment.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
02/05/2020
Precepts #5

Class 5 of 6

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Carrie Schulz, Jyoshin Clay
02/02/2020
Buddha No Buddha

We celebrate the Festival of Nehan this week, and the historical Buddha’s passge out of this world. But perhaps there never was a Buddha. What if the Buddha never really existed? What happens to our practice then?

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
01/29/2020
Precepts #4

Class 4 of 6

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Carrie Schulz, Jyoshin Clay
01/26/2020
Strong Emotions

Whoa! What was that!? Sometimes we aim for equanimity and find ourselves surprised by reactive strong emotions. This Sunday Jyoshin will talk about selvesfromthepast appearing in the Present and ways zen practice can be used to examine habit patterns around strong emotions and reactivity.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
01/22/2020
Precepts #3

Class 3 of 6

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Jyoshin Clay
01/19/2020
Precepts as Path, Vow and Koan

This Sunday Genko weighs in on the ongoing study of the Bodhisattva Precepts we are doing on Wednesday nights, led by Jyoshin and Carrie. How do we hold, keep, and commit to the Precepts? More than a set of rules, they point us to a path in a particular direction. We work with them as vows, as koans, and this raises its own questions. What does it mean to make a commitment, a vow, and to do it publicly?

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
01/15/2020
Precepts #2

The second Class of six.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Jyoshin Clay
01/12/2020
Koan of Community

The question of how to undertake a meditation practice in the midst of a practice community is one that has been asked since the time of the Buddha. What tools are we given to skillfully attend to our own personal growth, while also supporting others in a way that provides space for their transformation as well? What are our social obligations to each other in community that test our ability to embody the dharma teachings we have encountered? What happens when we take these views out into the world?

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
01/08/2020
Precepts

This is the first of Six Classes. Taught by Jyoshin and Carrie

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Carrie Schulz, Jyoshin Clay
01/05/2020
Effort and Lack of Effort

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
12/15/2019
What do I do with this Pain?

Sometimes we see the state of the world and despair. Our experience with the suffering of all beings is hard to hold at times. How does our practice help us to navigate when it seems there is nothing to be done? Is there room for despair in the Dharma?

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
12/01/2019
Alone, Together

As we begin Rohatsu, our longest and most solemn sesshin of the year, Genko looks at sesshin practice and the intimacy it fosters in the midst of deepening silence.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
11/24/2019
Equanimity as practice and result

This week Kakumyo discussed the most subtle and difficult of the brahma viharas or divine abidings. Equanimity is a key factor in creating the relational context that we function in. Given Zen’s emphasis on the interdependence of life, practice and enlightenment, this relational content becomes important. Holidays are approaching, get your equanimity booster while you can.

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
11/20/2019
Foundational Teachings #10

Number 10 of 10. On Bodhisattvas

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Wednesday Classes

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde, Shin’yu Vitells
11/17/2019
“being armed with the great armor”

In the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines, bodhisattvas are described as “being armed with the great armor.” This week, Jyoshin will look at what this armor might be, how we tend to think about armoring, and how we may be able to shift towards utilizing spiritual armor instead of defensive armoring.  

Tags: forum, spring sangha forum

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
Date Title & Details Speaker Listen Download

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