Tag: StillPoint
Our beloved Abbot Kyogen Carlson passed away about 9am Thursday, September 18 from a massive heart attack. Several teachers, disciples, and members held vigil at the hospital most of yesterday. People are welcome to come by the 85th St house (3155 NE 85th Avenue) to share stories, food, or just sit as needed. This Sunday,… Read more »
Framing of the Sodo is moving along rapidly. The sub-floor is in, and we have walls beginning to go up! Roof joists have been delivered. Plumbing and stormwater trenches and pipes are happening. The pond has been dug, and the pathway to 82nd Avenue is continuing to take shape. Changes happen every day out there… Read more »
Forty three members of Siskiyou Householder Refuge (HHR) have committed to and invested in the Siskiyou co-housing project. Part of this investment is paying for the infrastructure work on in progress, including storm water and bioswale development and bringing in utilities. This work is also an inspiration to others who may want to form… Read more »
With Permits In Hand, Work Takes Off! Construction crews are busy on the new property, as we have been as well. Below the foundation is being poured onto the footings established earlier. Framing will being in a few days! Click on any photo for a larger view Below we see the foundation completed! This is… Read more »
Genzo-e Sesshin, our first retreat actually on the property, was a big success. Participating were Kakumyo (presiding teacher), Jyoshin (shuso), Genko (precentor), Shin’yu (tenzo), Ko’in, Kengan, Yoan, Shokei, Doug Hull, Joe Walder, Sonja Aikens, Terry Carnahan, Kim Wood-Saldana, Kym Kline, Sokuchu, and Richard Schuler. The photo shows the people present at the end of retreat… Read more »
The Dharma Council is introducing a new team into the Sangha’s organizational structure, designed to answer long-standing questions about how instructors are developed, and how people are given opportunities for leadership in the sangha both in class instruction and in other roles such as the sacristy and the jisha-ryo. Many important qualities of good teachers… Read more »
Work Starts in Earnest on the Sodo With work permits in hand, heavy equipment is again working the property on infrastructure as well as the Sodo. Here are some early photos, click on any one of them for a larger view: This will be the wheelchair ramp into our new Zendo/Sodo! It has a firm… Read more »
There is a lot going on this week. GroundWork came in to help with putting together the raised beds for the gardens and also preparing the newly-picked plums for saving and eating. At the same time, construction workers were putting in a vault and manhole cover so that the methane pipes can be below street… Read more »
Blooming, Fruiting, and Leafing It’s lovely to watch the property come to life as summer develops, including many edibles. The property is offering free fruit and vegetables. Besides the many blackberries and wild plums, lamb’s quarter is showing up wherever there is disturbed earth. The blackberries are ripening early and the wild plums are so… Read more »
Successfully Concluded with Record Numbers During the week of July 13-19 Dharma Rain’s annual Mandala on the Mountain youth camp took place at Camp Adams, near Molalla. Fifty three campers and another 25 staff packed the little Zendo and dining room, and thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather as Portland baked in high 90s temperatures. Click… Read more »
June 2014 This is a summary describing the month’s work of the temple’s three major decision-making bodies. A governance notebook with approved minutes is filed in the temple office. A list of current Council members and areas of concern, individual charges to leadership and temple job positions are listed on the temple website. Board of Directors A quorum of… Read more »
Update on the Property, courtesy of Ken Barker It is always good to see wildlife thriving at the property. They are not always easy to photograph. Swallows and dragonflies tease me by flitting past so quick that I have been unable to capture an image. Someday! Cooperation has been paying off. Madison High School… Read more »
Linda Hoka Bebernes This article was written as a final paper for a Dharma Rain Zen Center Seminary class on the Chinese ancestors in our tradition. The assignment asked for an ancestor from each of the three periods of Chinese Ch’an identified in Andy Ferguson’s book on Zen’s Chinese Ancestors, “Legendary, Classical, and Literary.” Because… Read more »
A major piece of good news this week: we’ve been approved for a bond, after a delay of several weeks. This was the last remaining hurdle we needed to cross to receive a building permit and get back to work on the site. One reason we hope to pay off the land this fall is… Read more »
Heavy, contracted work on the property has been stalled for the last two weeks. We’ve done most of what we can do easily without having city inspections. But our permit is held up pending a bond for the Siskiyou street improvements (widening the street and adding a sidewalk). Until we have the bond, we can’t… Read more »
On Sunday, June 22, Kyri Kengan Treiman was installed as the shuso at the Hood River / Columbia Gorge Zen sitting group, under her teacher Jiko Tisdale. The audience included members from the Sandy Sitting Group and the Portland sangha, and Abbots Gyokuko and Kyogen Carlson. Kakumyo Lowe-Charde, the primary teacher in Hood River, served… Read more »