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Recording Categories: Dharma Talks
Years: 2018
Speakers: All Speakers
Date Title & Details Speaker Listen Download
12/16/2018
Transition of Winter Solstice

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.

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
12/09/2018
Practicing with Brightness

Categories: Dharma Talks

Ko’in Newsom
12/02/2018
Perfect Wisdom

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
11/25/2018
Freedom from Outcomes

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
11/18/2018
“Bad Students”

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
11/11/2018
Perfect Meditation

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
11/04/2018
Founders Day

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.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
10/14/2018
Meditation Off-Trail

Kakumyo describes a recent (experimental) sesshin he participated in and some of the lessons learned for trusting and deepening meditation.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
10/07/2018
Perfect Energy

Genko continues a series looking at the six perfections (paramitas) with Virya, sometimes translated as Energy. Dale Wright says in The Six Perfections: “Virya mean[s] the energy of accomplishment, the effort, courage, and power to see spiritual endeavor through to its completion. Viryaparamita is the perfection of this energy, the power of unyielding commitment to the ultimate goal of universal awakening.” Genko explores some of the facets of this perfection and how it works in our lives.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
09/30/2018
Two Ancestors

Every year toward the end of September we celebrate the contribution of Eihei Dogen and Keizan Jokin to the establishment of Soto Zen. Dogen is considered the founder of Soto Zen in Japan, having brought it from China in the 1200s. Keizan, four generations later, popularized it and was instrumental in its spread.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
09/23/2018
Perfect Patience

Genko continues to examine the six Perfections (Paramitas) and this month looks at Kshanti, translated variously as patience, tolerance, and forebearance. Patience has gotten a lot of press in Buddhist teachings, being considered a central virtue. According to Dale Wright, who wrote The Six Perfections, “Bodhisattvas who have trained in this virtue are imperturbable and well-composed, calm and focused in the midst of adversity.”

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
09/16/2018
Being a Buddha

Zen master Bankei said, “Rather than trying to become a buddha, nothing could be simpler than taking the shortcut of remaining a buddha!” We are that which we long for. In the original spirit of Zen, we focus on direct experience. We recognize that we are, already, the Buddha.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Caverly Morgan
09/09/2018
Turning Up the Vivid

Fall term is in effect and practice is flowing. This Sunday Kakumyo will talk about one way we may notice the effects of contemplative practice, and how to make good use of this phenomenon.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
09/02/2018
Beginnings and Endings

With the shift towards cooler weather and the return of rain, the mind naturally turns towards fall practice. The beginning of Ango, with a Term Opening Ceremony and the Daoren Entering Ceremony, mark a starting point for particular sets of vows or intentions. (During the Term Opening Ceremony, each of us will have the opportunity to express a vow of practice for the term.) However, Buddhism has an intriguing way of looking at beginnings and endings. This Sunday, Jyoshin, will explore this theme and how zen holds these ideas.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
08/26/2018
Chapter Headings

Kakumyo speaks about Dharma Rain’s path as a sangha and institution. What does our trajectory look like, and what are the values and context that are shaping it?

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
08/19/2018
When the Ordinary Is Just…Ordinary

There are many stories of awakened life as that of the “everyday,” when our ordinary experiences and the objects we meet take on a luminous quality. But what happens when we look around and find that our ordinary lives are just…ordinary?

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
08/12/2018
Perfect Morality

Genko continues to look at the Six Perfections, with the second of the Perfections: sila, usually translated “morality” or “ethics.” The problem with focusing on morality is that we sometimes get into judgments of good and bad, which is not so helpful. How can we live an ethical life and still find contentment and a sense of self-worth? Genko talks about how we work with the Precepts to create a state of mind that lends itself to taking moral action naturally.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
08/05/2018
Buddha Nature

The teachings of Zen tell us that all living beings have Buddha Nature. We do our practices to uncover that which always there. Gyokuko explores some of what we experience in the practice of uncovering and discovering our true nature.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Gyokuko Carlson
07/29/2018
The Spectrum of Presence

We recognize that instances of giving and receiving attention are not all equivalent. Sometimes it can feel profound,other times trivial. We’ll explore this range, what it means, and our ability to affect where our behavior lands.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
07/22/2018
Cold and Heat

While we do not engage in formal koan study at Dharma Rain, many koans are held in our collective mind as valuable teaching stories. Jyoshin explores Dongshan’s “Cold and Heat”, a particularly apt study for our current summer weather patterns.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
07/15/2018
Perfect Generosity

A new book – The Six Perfections by Dale Wright – inspires this talk. He writes about how to cultivate character using the Buddhist teachings on the paramitas. Genko reports on this and then goes on to explore the first paramita – dana, generosity.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
07/01/2018
Orienting Towards Buddhahood

Kakumyo talked about some of the lessons of the last two weeks, pulling threads from the “Juki” chapter of the Shobogenzo, which we studied at Genzoe sesshin last week, and weaving those with themes from the three day pastoral care workshop that happened this week.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
06/17/2018
Twigs, Vines, and Blackberry

Gyokuko has been working in her yard, like a lot of other people. In this Dharma talk, she talks about finding the right tool for the right job.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Gyokuko Carlson
06/10/2018
Pride: Sin or Virtue?

We are entering into Portland Pride season. “Pride” turns up on both Christian and Buddhist lists as one of the seven deadly sins or one of the five poisons, respectively. In what ways is it negative? How can it be seen as positive? How does it relate to Shame (which is generally listed as a positive in Buddhist thought)? Genko explores some of these confusing ideas.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
05/27/2018
Varieties of Attentiveness

This Sunday we’ll explore qualities like concentration, focus and receptivity with a Buddhist lens. How do these qualities affect our life, and what contributes to reliably accessing them, both within and beyond formal meditation.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
05/20/2018
The Suffering Outside

The story of the historical Buddha is often used as a lens to examine our own practice and path. This talk touches on the point where he escapes the confines of his privileged life and affluent shelter and begins to examine the suffering outside. A key figure is his father the king, who tried to keep his son out of the way of old age, disease, death and even the path of the wise.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Mark Sosetsu Stauffer
05/13/2018
Dharma Expression

Happy Mother’s Day! For some, Mother’s Day can bring up memories of crayon drawings on refrigerators, sharing space with brightly colored magnetic letters of the alphabet. This is part of how small children investigate their environment and learn about themselves and the world around them. Mothers (and those who take on the role of mother) help guide the process, teaching both explicitly and implicitly. This Sunday, Jyoshin will explore the role of creative expression in dharma practice and the many ways we can share with others what we learn through our time on the cushion.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Jyoshin Clay
04/29/2018
How to Be Alone

Why do we feel different when we are alone? The self alone changes when it meets others. Is one self more authentic than the other? How do we resolve the tension between solitude and relationship? We will consider the ways that we protect ourselves around other people as well as the ways we fall into habits when we are alone.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Sallie Jiko Tisdale
04/22/2018
The Virtue of Practicing with Sangha

This week we have been on Denkoe Sesshin, with up to 25 people practicing in the zendo in the evenings. Kakumyo explores the value of this in his talk on Sunday.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde
04/08/2018
The Liturgical Calendar

At this week’s Dharma Talk, we played a recording of a talk given by Kyogen. He discussed our liturgical calendar, and the seasons and teachings associated with each part of it. He then focused specifically on the upcoming Denkoe retreat, and the study of the Denkoroku. This very special Dharma Talk allowed us to hear the voice of one of our founders in our hall. Gyokuko answered questions after the talk.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Gyokuko Carlson, Kyogen Carlson
04/01/2018
When is Good Enough Just Perfect?

We all have high expectations. In the workplace, in our social lives, in our Zen practice. The idea that we ourselves or others in whom we are invested can meet those expectations often creates anxiety when the idea comes up against reality. Come share your thoughts as Gyokuko shares some of hers.

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Gyokuko Carlson
03/25/2018
Tisarana – Three Refuges

Genko looks at how the Three Refuges (also called the Three Jewels or Three Treasures) can provide a place of safety and support for us in our practice. What is refuge? What is safety? How do we work with these in our lives?

Tags: Meditation, Paramitas, Six Perfections

Categories: Dharma Talks

Genko Rainwater
Date Title & Details Speaker Listen Download

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