NW Dharma News

Rev. Senji Kanaeda leads the monks and nuns in a formal procession called a Gyodo

Winter 2019, Volume 32, #2

NW Dharma News

Trains, Cats, and Dharma; A Great Man Gone

David was a great lover of cats…and they loved him

In September the Northwest Dharma community was saddened to hear of the passing of David Forsythe, the long-time volunteer leader of Northwest Dharma Association. For the past several years NWDA has been re-visioning and planning for the transition to a new generation of Dharma leaders and association volunteers. If it hadn’t been for David’s vision and skill, the organization might not have survived long enough to make those transitions. David came to Seattle from upstate New York, where he’d been managing online library catalog systems. He began volunteering for NWDA in 1996, and was unfailingly enthusiastic about rolling up his…

Dharma Education

Mindfulness Retreat Transforms Teens in Oregon

Teens practice mindfulness while prone, a favorite during the retreat.

This past August more than 50 teens and adult mentors gathered at the Ananda Center at Laurelwood, just outside of Portland, to spend a week together practicing the art of mindful meditation. This was the 6th teen retreat held in the Pacific Northwest sponsored by Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme – “I be me”). Today’s teens report high levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Add to that family conflicts, the prevalence of drugs and alcohol use, and national problems such as overt racism and political adversity, and our teens need more support than ever. Inward Bound Mindfulness Education retreats for…

Dharma in Canada

Retreat Center Offers Canadian Mountain Solitude

The Mahasiddha Retreat Centre provides a tranquil and inspiring environment for retreat and study

Less than a year after opening in the snowy Canadian Rockies, the Mahasiddha Retreat Centre is planning more retreats for 2020. Mahasiddha is the first rural retreat center to be operated by Seattle-based Nalandabodhi. That organization, under the direction of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, offers traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings tailored for contemporary practitioners. Mahasiddha Retreat Centre complements Nalandabodhi’s normal focus on daily practice, study and mindful activity. Since its opening last spring Mahasiddha Retreat Centre has supported several group retreats. We’ve also welcomed retreatants who found there the space and tranquility for individual practice of several days or weeks. We look…

Compassionate Action

Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda, a dream revived

Nipponzan Myohoji monks and nuns make an offering

In August people traveled from across the U.S. and Japan to Poulsbo, Washington, to celebrate the ground purification ceremony for what will be the first peace pagoda on the West Coast by the Nipponzan Myohoji Order. The 150 attending the ceremony witnessed a living prayer for peace; with a soft breeze moving the many colorful flags, and sunlight illuminating the grass, the trees, and the opened earth for the peace pagoda. The pagoda project is being led by Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist nuns, monks, and their supporters. The ground purification ceremony or Jichin-sai, is a traditional Buddhist and Shinto ceremony asking…

Dharma Healing, Arts

What’s New and What’s Ancient With Your Mala?

People wearing malas celebrate a "Listening to the Sound of Silence” retreat at the Trappist Abbey in Carlton, Oregon. The retreat was taught by Jerry Braza from the Order of InterBeing.

Around the Northwest, Buddhist practitioners are using the strings of beads called malas in new and sometimes-surprising ways. And maybe not so surprising, here in 2020, some people are adapting digital devices to support their dharma practice as effectively as physical malas have since the time of the Buddha. As I reached out to Buddhist practitioners around the region, I was fascinated by the array of perspectives they bring to their mala use. Malas sold in Seattle empowering refugee Tibetan nuns in India Seattle-based Tibetan Nun Project in 1987 began raising funds to educate and empower nuns in the Tibetan…

Sangha News

Female Leader Takes Over at Seattle Soto Zen

Outgoing teacher Eko Jeff Kelley prepares to bow with Kanshin Allison Tait, incoming teacher, in 2019.

Leadership changed at Seattle Soto Zen in September, with new spiritual director Kanshin Allison Tait replacing Eko Jeff Kelley as resident teacher. Kelley has retired after serving in the role for nearly 10 years. Shortly after the teacher transition ceremony Seattle Soto Zen conducted its annual September sesshin at Camp Indianola, west of Seattle. Tait and Kelley shared teaching responsibilities for a topic Kelley had chosen, “Impermanence Is Buddha Nature.” The sesshin participants were very aware of the truth of impermanence, as they said farewell to their beloved teacher. “Now things are changing,” said Kelley in his closing remarks. “That’s…

Go to the Northwest Dharma News for more!

Featured Events

D.T. Suzuki and the Remaking of Pureland Buddhism

“Pure Land Buddhism as we know it today is in many ways the result a crisis and redefinition of Buddhism during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. A major figure in this redefinition was the scholar and thinker Daisetz Suzuki, who is perhaps best known today as a proponent of Zen in the West. But he also had a deep interest in Pure Land Buddhism. This talk explores the life and thought of Suzuki and his innovative interpretations of Pure Land Buddhism.” This talk is part of the 73rd Annual NW District Buddhist Convention being held in February of 2020.

Featured Event

Mahasangha Event

Member Group: Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple

Date: Saturday, February 22
Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Event Type: Featured Event, Talk

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Register here: https://jetsunma.bpt.me How do we transform difficult situations that we experience in our daily lives into opportunities for inner growth? Developing an understanding of our mind – what leads to happiness or suffering – is key to a peaceful life and a liberated heart. With stories and instructions, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo distills the essence of ancient Buddhist teachings, making them relevant for life in today’s world. Schedule – Doors open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Teachings begin at 10am sharp. Please give yourself plenty of time to arrive, check in at the registration desk, and take a…

Featured Event

Mahasangha Event

Member Group: Dharma Friendship Foundation

Start: Saturday, June 6 @ 10:00 am
End: Sunday, June 7 @ 4:00 pm
Event Type: Featured Event, Mahasangha, Meditation, Other, Retreat, Talk

Tradition: Tibetan, non-sectarian
Teacher: Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Go to Full Calendar of Events

CLICK >>

What's Happening

Port of Seattle approves prayer room and next steps

The space will favor no religious or spiritual tradition, and will attempt to create a supportive inner environment for people from any traditional religious tradition as well as for people following more individual spiritual approaches or even none at all.

More >

Awake and Alive: Mindful Living with Cancer Retreat

Mindfulness, meditation and self-compassion that help you find deeper peace, calm fear and anxiety, boost immunity, build resilience and cope better with stress and uncertainty.

More >

Seattle Asian Art Museum re-opens

Read the article in the Northwest Dharma News. Visit the Seattle Asian Art Museum website here.

More >

CLICK >>

Group Members

Beginners Mind Zen Meditation

Simple, Zen-style meditation for beginners and experienced meditators, led by Ellen Enmei Simpson.

Tradition: Zen || Location: Salem, OR

Brahma Vihara Foundation

DaeJa Napier teaches Vipassana meditation with an emphasis on the cultivation of the four Brahma Viharas: loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. She has been practicing and studying in various Buddhist traditions since 1974. Her root teacher is the late Zen Master Seung Sahn. Her practice continues to be enriched through intensive practice under the guidance of Asian and Western teachers including Sayadaw U Pandita, Pa Auk Sayadaw and her western mentor, Joseph Goldstein. DaeJa has dedicated her life to exploring the traditional pathways to awakening and their application in daily life. Her conveyance of the Buddhist teachings and...

Tradition: Vipassana || Location: , WA

Zenwest Buddhist Society (formerly Victoria Zen Centre)

Zenwest Buddhist Society is a dynamic community and offers a sustainable environment for the practice of living Zen in our families and in our world. Zenwest offers: Training for many non-residential members, and a few residential members. A variety of inclusive activities for the Sangha and broader community. Zenwest: Is located in Sooke on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada Was incorporated as a non-profit organization in the province of British Columbia and registered federally as a charity in November, 1980. Was recognized as an independent religious body in the province of British Columbia in May, 2009. Zen practice here...

Tradition: Zen || Location: Sooke, BC

Portland Buddhist Priory

The Portland Buddhist Priory is a temple in the Serene Reflection Meditation (Soto Zen) tradition as practiced in the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. The temple was founded by Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett and we offer a full range practice opportunities, including meditation instruction and spiritual counseling as well as Buddhist funerals, weddings, house blessings and animal ordinations and funerals.

Tradition: Soto Zen || Location: Portland, OR

SAMGardnerCenter

The Seattle Art Museum collection includes many important Buddhist paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, hand scrolls, and more—a selection is on view at its Asian Art Museum location. The Gardner Center hosts visiting scholars, writers, films, and artists for public events exploring Buddhist arts and cultures. While the Seattle Asian Art Museum is closed for renovation (reopening late 2019), our programs are held in various locations. The SAM Gardner Center co-sponsors festivals and other educational events with the Northwest Dharma Association.

Tradition: Non-sectarian || Location: Seattle, WA

PT Sangha

We are a peer led group practicing in the Vipassana (Insight Meditation) tradition. We meet weekly on Wednesdays from 7 to 9 pm for meditation and dharma presentations and discussion. We hold 2 non-residential weekend retreats each year with an experienced Buddhist teacher: one in the Fall and one in the Spring. We also hold monthly Day of Mindfulness on the second Saturday of each month, except for the months when there is a non-residential retreat. All these events are announced in advance at https://ptsangha.org. To be kept informed, please go to our website and subscribe to our email list.

Tradition: Vipassana || Location: Port Townsend, WA

Portland Buddhist Center

Transform Self and World in Portland, Oregon Practicing Buddhism enables us to open to new and creative experiences and break old patterns that keep us trapped. The Portland Buddhist Center was created to encourage and support Buddhist practice in our current time and culture through opportunities to meditate, study, and develop friendships.

Tradition: Triratna || Location: Portland, OR

Shared Heart Arbor

Do Shin Tei Kai focus of the study and practice of traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. Along with learning the movements of Chado ~ the Way of Tea; they specialize in blending the traditional philosophy with contemporary views of the Ceremony itself.

Tradition: Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony || Location: Portland, OR

1 2 3 ... 13 ... Next » Last »»

Go to the Group Directory page for more!