Tag: News

This last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Sue Moon presenting a workshop on her book, Hidden Lamp. The book is filled with stories of women of the way. The workshop included some writing exercises and and opportunity to share on an important woman in your life. Thank you to Gyoshi and Daiko for… Read more »

Claire and Sosetsu are in Malaysia! Claire Lundy, lead teacher at Frog Song Preschool, was one of only 16 women chosen to represent the women’s USA Touch Women’s Rugby Open! She is playing at the FIT World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sosetsu is also there as a referee. We’re rooting for them! The World… Read more »

We are on Denkoe Sesshin this week. It is a cloistered retreat, which means that it is closed from breakfast through dinner. Early mornings (5-7:20am) and evenings (7-9:25pm) are open for drop-in. Wednesday Work Parties Dharma Rain hosts regular Wednesday work parties from around 9am to 3:30pm. There is plenty of work for people to… Read more »

Three new residents are now on site. Kemyo just moved in. Zonnyo is doing a residency for the month of April. Kakuon is resident for spring Ango, that is, March, April, and May. We are enjoying having full dorms and lots of people at meals. In addition to these three, residents include Jyoshin, Ember, Genko,… Read more »

Ken Barker sent three lovely pictures – two of birds, and one of a rabbit. You can find a list of birds spotted at Dharma Rain by those participating in eBird. This is a citizen science project, a network of local, national, and international partners. They have a list of 94 species spotted and recorded… Read more »

On March 9, six people became lay disciples. Kakumyo’s students are Minshu, Honei, Yusatsu, Sokuchu, and Zuiryu. Jiko’s student is Daiko. All of them have sewn rakusus and met all other criteria for becoming lay disciples. The sangha rejoices. The weather is slowly getting better, and we are beginning to work outdoors again. Wednesday’s work… Read more »

On Sunday, January 13, Dharma School students, teachers and parents surprised Gyokuko, arriving at her back door to sing Dharma School songs and offer flowers. A small way to say “Thank you for Dharma School!” Wednesday’s work party brought out several people who braved the windy and cold, but mostly dry weather to do winter… Read more »

More than 150 people showed up to wish Gyokuko (in gold kesa, center) well on her retirement. The group photo shows a portion of those who gathered for a photo after the ceremony. The ceremony was brief and dignified, and after that everyone in the hall got to say thanks in whatever way they wished… Read more »

Since mid-November, we’ve been visited by many birders looking to spot the eastern bluebird, as there have been many sightings on our property and in surrounding areas. According to Wikipedia, the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. It is the state bird of Missouri and New… Read more »

We are on Rohatsu Sesshin this week. Annen shared this beautiful image of the crescent moon and the morning star over the Sodo on Monday, December 3. She points out that we are blessed to practice in this beautiful place. In other news, the 2018 Annual Report is now available for your perusal on the web… Read more »

Fall’s beauty invites photographs. Between Rocky Butte to the east of us, and the beautiful trees and shrubs all around us, we are blessed in this land. We are moving toward Rohatsu next week, and looking forward to sharing silence, sharing space, sharing beauty. Ember happily puts lids on packages of pumpkin pie filling donated… Read more »

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. We had a few friends over at the Sodo, had lots of food that couldn’t be beat, lots of laughter and conversation, music, games, etc. Now that the holidays have officially arrived, here are some upcoming events to keep in mind. Rohatsu is coming up in a week.… Read more »

On Saturday, students in the Blueprint Foundation came to work on the property, and helped move a greenhouse from Gyokuko’s house to our garden. This is one of many community organizations that Dharma Rain Zen Center partners with. Another partner is Madison High School’s urban agriculture program. Several students came on Wednesday with their teacher… Read more »

Our annual Segaki ceremony, presided over by Jyoshin, was a huge success. Here the daimosho offering at the Segaki altar shows Gemmon, Jyoshin, and Renso, with Shin’yu, Annen, and Kaishin in the background. During the procession as we chanted the “Universal Gateway Chapter,” the sacristan read the list of names of those who have died… Read more »

A large part of Wednesday’s work party focused on the playground structures. There is now soil in the eco-roof waiting for plantings. And the climbing structure has the slide and climbing wall attached, and all the floors are trimmed and looking good. Wednesday Work Parties Dharma Rain hosts regular Wednesday work parties from around 9am… Read more »

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