Soto Zen Practice in Vancouver, BC
Bright Stream Temple will be closed for practice from Sunday, Dec. 17 until New Year's Eve.
Wall St. Zendo will remain open for the regular practice schedule through the holidays, except for ZenYU on Christmas day. Check the website News Blog for changes and weather alerts.
“Make of yourself a light.” These words are said to be the last ones spoken by the Buddha at the time of his death, addressing his faithful attendant, Ananda, who was in deep despair at the prospect of losing his teacher. They have echoed down through the ages, giving solace and guidance to us living in the twenty-first century in very challenging times.
Through our practice with Mountain Rain Zen Community, we strive to kindle this light so it can shine for ourselves and the world around us.
People are coming and the zendo is bursting. 2023 has seen a great influx of new people coming through our doors, attending introductory workshops and often staying to become regular members, while those with established practice have stepped up to take on greater responsibilities. This year, we witnessed the ordination of two new priests (Myosen River Shannon and Yuki David Burke), while Dai-i Flo Rublee received Dharma Transmission from our Founding Teacher Norman Fischer.
A residential practice home was established. Miraculously, in January we were gifted by the Vancouver Zen Center with an established temple in the form of a large residence located on Sherbrooke Street in East Vancouver. Full time residents have since moved in, and our Guiding Teachers Myoshin Kate McCandless and Shinmon Michael Newton anchored the residential practice by becoming part-time residents. Bright Stream Temple (Koryuji) has become a great complement to our zendo on Wall Street.
We hired our first employee. In an attempt to ease the demanding workload of our teachers and other sangha leaders, we hired an Administrative Director in July of this year.
We have so much to celebrate – a thriving sangha, a new residential practice center, our first employee. We absolutely could not have accomplished these things without the immense dedication of our teachers and all of the community members and supporters, like yourself, who have stepped forward offering time, energy, talent and financial contributions. We are deeply grateful for all that you have given.
And, like the bodhisattva vows, our aspiration to spread the light of the dharma has no end and requires ongoing commitment.
We are reaching out to request your help in sustaining the Mountain Rain Zen Community. We need your ongoing support to continue making the Buddha dharma accessible to our sangha at Wall Street Zendo, Bright Stream Temple, and the Cloud Zendo (online). Your donations support our operating expenses: rent, supplies, utilities, repairs, teachers’ stipend, administrative director’s salary, as well as our capacity to offer reduced fees for those on limited income.
Having a reliable source of income every month allows us to budget for our many offerings, so please consider making monthly contributions, or increasing your monthly contribution amount. Many members and supporters find signing on as a monthly donor to be an easy way to have a big impact. The process is straightforward and only needs to be set up once. It can be updated or canceled at any time.
Any amount you wish to offer is welcome and deeply appreciated – whether a one-time or monthly contribution. Your donations enable Mountain Rain to continue its work of cultivating wisdom and compassion in a far-reaching community.
Warm bows,
Mountain Rain Zen Community Council
(Moe, Michele, River, Trudy, Vicki, Todd, Matt & Jacob)
MRZC is a non-profit organization with charitable status. A tax receipt will be provided for donations of any amount through CanadaHelps on our website. Please note that we cannot provide tax receipts for cheque and e-transfer donations due to the administrative costs this would incur.
Creek and bridge at Brew Creek Centre
Kinhin is walking meditation. It is not a break or gap in practice or a rest from zazen. It's a bridge between sitting still, and moving in daily activity. During sesshin our walking meditation extends to moving between our rooms, the zendo and the dining hall, especially attending to icy patches underfoot.
Big thanks to those who packed, loaded and drove.
Our zendo is on the move today as many of us travel to Brew Creek for our first-ever full rohatsu sesshin. To reenact and celebrate the Buddha's long sitting under the bodhi tree until he awakened, looking up at bright Venus in the morning sky, we will sit surrounded by mountain forest, along an icy creek as we approach the shortest days of the year. There's something very still about sitting in a dark zendo at this time.
Those of you who cannot join in person are warmly invited to come sit with us online even for short periods, to touch and be supported by the sesshin spirit.
On Sunday December 10, we will gather at the Wall St. zendo for a practice period closing circle.
On Saturday November 18, close to twenty sangha members actively engaged in the MRZC annual retreat & review of strategic deliverables!
Capably led by Moe Zakzouk, we gained skills as negotiators and listeners. We sat in circle together, laughed together and learned together.
We reflected on our aspirations for Mountain Rain, and specifically what our motivations were for the retreat. We discussed what is working well, what needs to change, what is missing.
New songs, composed by Trudy Grienauer, were sung and the bodhisattvas invited to eat. Potluck lunch and tea-time were when exciting ideas bubbled to the surface to be shared, as can be seen in this photo.
Then, in breakout groups, each of MRZC’s priorities (Sustainable Governance, Financial Sustainability, Capacity Building, Diversity and Inclusion, Practice Leadership) was explored and some helpful suggestions were discussed.
We look forward to moving ahead with our strengthened community and clarified vision!
MRZC's Soto Zen practice emphasizes being fully awake to our own moment-to-moment experience, from our meditation cushion to every aspect of our everyday life. Join us!
How can we look deeply into the roots of our shared delusions and together align with an ethic of mutual care and respect?
Mountain Rain Zen Community
Creative Commons Canada License
Banner: Blue Mountains Walking by Bruce Shotoku Nielsen (2013)
