Winter 2018, Volume 31, #4
Letter from Your NW Dharma Association From the depths of the Northwest winter, we’re looking forward to the renewal of spring. The Northwest Dharma Association relies entirely on the generosity of volunteers and members. We recently sent out our winter appeal. If you haven’t renewed your membership, now would be an excellent time. And if you have renewed recently, please…
In November there was rejoicing in the Tibetan Nuns Project’s Seattle office, with the news from India that 10 more Tibetan Buddhist nuns had made history by attaining their geshema degrees. The 10 nuns received their degrees at a Nov. 5 ceremony at Kopan Nunnery in Nepal. Headquartered in India, with the North America office in Seattle, the Tibetan Nuns…
More people serving time in Washington state prisons are practicing the dharma, and doing so more deeply, as a growing number of volunteers offer a widening array of options. The increasing activities include more people taking refuge, more people doing retreat, and more people studying from the growing Buddhist library collections, and with the guidance of visiting Buddhist teachers. These…
I believe that there is something specifically in Buddhist practice for Black Americans. How can there not be? It’s about suffering and the end of suffering. Our particular brand of suffering comes from being born into these black bodies, in a country that was forged, from its birth, in anti-blackness. How have other Black American women found their way to…
Despite the title the new book, “The Compassionate Kitchen: Buddhist Practices for Eating with Mindfulness and Gratitude,” is a dharma book more than a food book. It is based on a series of talks I gave at Sravasti Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in the northeast corner of Washington state, where I serve as abbess. The book describes different ways that…
Two Northwest women are playing a key role in the global empowerment of Buddhist women, by leading the organization that is supporting one of the world’s best-known female Tibetan Buddhist monastics, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives, Inc., is a U.S. 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization registered in New York, comprised of a volunteer board of directors. Two of these directors…
H.E. Garchen Rinpoche is one of the four Eminences of the Drikung Kagyu lineage. His incarnations originated from the Siddha Gar Chodingpa, the heart son of Drikung Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon. H.E. Garchen Rinpoche will be staying in Seattle for three weeks in a private residence and will be teaching and giving empowerments during the three weekends, starting April 12 through…
A Rare Public Event This Grand Tara Drupchen is a rare opportunity to participate in a large Buddhist practice and ceremony in order to help increase personal well-being while contributing to world peace. This will be a great opportunity to experience first-hand the power of one’s own love, compassion, and wisdom as well as what happens when like-minded individuals join…
Please join us for a panel discussion on the subject of “Artists Mind – Zen Mind”. The panelists – Pam Ingalls, Bruce Morser, and Alex Echevarria – will describe the process by which they each create their art. What is their state of mind when they are working on their art? Do they focus on technique while they are working?…
The work of about 25 well-known Vashon artists and craftspeople will be featured and available for purchase. Proceeds will be used to help pay off newly purchased land and eventually develop a zendo on Vashon. Also available for sale will be scrolls of calligraphy from China and objects made from Japanese cotton and silk fabrics. Services provided by members of…
There will be workshops, Dharma talks, and an activity/art booth for children. Many Buddhist communities in the greater Portland area will be there with a booth offering information on their particular practices and offerings. A very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the park.
Event Dates: June 8 & June 15, 1:00- 4:30 pm; Commitment to both sessions is necessary. Earth, air, fire, water—when creating pottery we best become attuned to each of these elements and their interaction. According to Buddhist teaching, we can transform our sense of self by becoming aware of these same elements within our body. Through creating simple pinch pots,…
This event is restricted to Gen-X Buddhist teachers The 2019 GenX Buddhist Teachers Sangha Conference is is dedicated to fostering communication and collaboration across different traditions of Buddhism. The conference will host teachers representing traditions and lineages across the Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana and Ekayana vehicles. A few of our Goals: To foster collaborative learning, respect and community engagement for the…
Nitartha Summer Institute 2019 “Deepen Your Meditation, Enrich Your view” with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen July 5 – August 3, 2019 Deepen Your Meditation, Enrich Your view: A new Unified Program In 2019, study and meditation will be joined at the Summer Institute! All students will receive Mahamudra meditation instruction and a significant portion of each…
Get away. Turn off your phone. Step back into yourself. Our multi-day residential retreats teach you awareness and concentration practices that lead to beneficial outcomes validated by science. Through guided mindfulness meditation, small group discussions, and movement, you will learn how to calm your mind, direct and sustain attention, explore emotions and thoughts, cultivate compassion, and communicate more authentically with…
In this two and half day retreat, led by Damien Abel and Joe Evans, we will study the Six Paramitas as they are laid out in the Way of the Bodhisattva. The six paramitas are the essence of the Mahayana vehicle. The six paramitas are: Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Discipline, Meditative Concentration & Wisdom The retreat is: Friday Sept. 6 from…
The Lotus Sisters/Lotus Sangha is Seattle’s Buddhist Sangha for Lesbian & Bisexual Women, and Trans, Non-Binary & Gender Non-Conforming People. We sit in the Theravadan tradition, but practitioners of other traditions are welcome. We have sits throughout the month, and hold periodic retreats and days of mindfulness including an annual 5 day residential retreat. Our guiding teacher is Arinna Weisman....
Dzogchen Shri Singha of Portland (DSSP), founded in 2004, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to spread authentic Buddhist teachings and to support the enlightened Dharma activity of Great Perfection of Wisdom lineage holder H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Since its founding, DSSP has sponsored many teachings by the Vajra Master and...
Creston Zendo is a lay practice centre in the Soto Zen tradition. Resident lay teacher, Kuya Minogue took lay precepts at Shasta Abbey in 1986, lay discipleship precepts with Kyogen Carlson in 1989 and received dharma transmission in the Zen Writing Practice tradition from Natalie Goldberg in 2006. She has recently joined the Silent Thunder Order and Creston Zen Centre...
Sandy Boucher has been practicing and teaching in the Theravada tradition for thirty-five years. She leads retreats such as "Dharma and Writing," "A Celebration of the Divine Feminine," and "Meditation and Spirit of Creativity" in the Northwest and the San Francisco Bay area. Sandy has chronicled the contribution of women to American Buddhism through her nine Dharma books. Her new book, She...
Teaching Dhammakaya Meditation Technique that was taught over 2,000 years ago. This technique disappeared and was rediscovered by our great grand master Phramonkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), Luang Pu Wat Paknam Pasi Charoen, Thailand. It utilizes the center of the body as a focus point in order to bring the mind to a standstill, thereby creating physical and spiritual well-being for the...
A Soto Zen temple in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi. Ashland Zen Center provides the opportunity to practice with teachers, priests and a sangha while fully, meaningfully engaged in work and family life. One-day sittings, sesshins and extended retreats provide students additional opportunities to deepen practice. Ashland Zen Center is a non-profit organization, maintained and supported entirely by donations and...
DRZC is a diverse group of people who come together to share the practice of meditation, and to study the principles of Buddhism. The purpose of the Center is to offer instruction in Zen practice and Buddhist teachings, and to provide a place where people can form a community that supports Zen practice in everyday life.
