NWDA News

Seattle Regional Meeting of Buddhist Teachers

Seattle meeting participants included (from left): Kanjin Cedarman, Eshin Godfrey, Ann Tjhung, Kathy Adams, Mark Winwood, Genjo Marinello, Guo Cheen, and Timothy O’Brien

Fifteen teachers from varied Chinese, Zen, Tibetan, vipassana, and non-sectarian organizations gathered at the Choeizan Enkyoji Nichiren Buddhist Temple in Seattle on Oct. 4, for the annual teachers’ meeting. A similar meeting was underway at the same time in Portland, a new and more local strategy by Northwest Dharma Association to better support the region’s Buddhist teachers. The Portland meeting was hosted by the Portland Insight Meditation Community. Located in an old brick building in the heart of Seattle’s International District, the Nichiren Buddhist temple, with an ornate shrine, represents the ancient Nichiren Shu lineage from Japan. The young American…

Dharma in Canada

Finding Acceptance and Gratitude,
While Walking Spain’s Camino de Santiago

So many pilgrims have walked the Camino de Santiago that they’ve left this rock cairn.

One might wonder what would drive a Zen student to walk the Camino de Santiago, the Catholic pilgrimage in Spain. I wondered the same thing. What I learned is that the pilgrimage became a long kinhin, which is the Japanese term for walking meditation done between rounds of zazen, or sitting meditation. The miles on the path also became an awakening of gratitude. I have for five years been living at the Zen Centre of Vancouver, British Columbia, studying Zen under my teacher, Eshin Godfrey. One initial reason I went is because of the history of the Camino de Santiago….

Dharma Arts

Traditional Tibetan Medicine and Yuthok Nyingthig
Expanding presence in Portland and Seattle

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang teaches dream yoga, in March, 2014

A well-known Tibetan teacher of traditional Tibet medicine, which is deeply linked to Buddhist philosophy and practice, is expanding his activities in the Northwest. Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, founder of the International Academy for Traditional Tibetan Medicine, has added Seattle and Portland to his extensive international teaching schedule. He led Northwest region classes in traditional Tibetan medicine, and offered teachings and empowerments, during his summer 2015 visit to the West Coast of the United States. Dr. Nida is scheduled to come to the Northwest in June and July of 2015, although the courses he will offer have not yet been finalized….

Dharma Education

Two Portland-area Buddhist Leaders Died this Fall

Kyogen Carlson with his wife, Gyokuko Carlson, with whom he co-taught for years

Two leading Portland-area Buddhist teachers passed in recent months, a significant loss for the region. On Sept. 18, Roshi Kyogen Carlson, co-founder of Dharma Rain Zen Center, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was 65. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Gyokuko Carlson, who founded Dharma Rain with him. Then on Oct. 8, James Blumenthal, professor…

Sangha News

A Zen Pilgrimage to China

Morning service at Dong Hua Temple, with Fa Hsing Jeff Miles, Venerable Kozen and Koro Kaisan Miles in the front row

October was an auspicious month for friends and members of Mount Adams Zen Temple, of Trout Lake, Washington, as they completed a long-planned Zen pilgrimage to China. Mount Adams Zen Temple teacher and abbot, Ven. Kozen Sampson (Thay Minh Tinh), had spent months diligently planning a trip to China that would include nine members of his extended dharma family. The trip came on the heels of converging events which included the publishing of the book “Seclusion and Awakening,” the story of modern Chinese Zen Master Venerable Wan Xing Shi. Master Wan Xing Shi, abbot of Dong Hua Temple in China,…