Teachers and sangha members from Zen communities throughout the Northwest, joined No-Rank Zen Temple members for  the dedication ceremony.
Photos by: Gregory Darmohray, Yuen Houck, Rinzan Pechovnik, Senryu Pechovnik

After a year of remodeling and restoration, No-Rank Zendo formally dedicated their new Portland home temple in early October. 

This was the culmination of a vision put forth by Rinzan Pechovnik Osho, the abbot of the temple, who long wished for a place of practice for the community. He sought a place where the community could put its practice to work, after long years as a sangha renting a temporary home.

While the heart  of Zen practice is zazen meditation, its expression is found in action taken off of the cushion. Dedicated caring for a physical space allows that practice to manifest more fully. The building purchase also allows the community to hold additional zazen periods, local retreats, community events and classes of various kinds, all of which support spiritual development and caring engagement with community and the world.   

Teachers and community members from several sanghas throughout the Northwest, joined the No-Rank Zendo sangha on Oct. 5, for  rituals and expressions of well-wishes for the establishment of the new temple. Temple sanghas attending included Chobo-ji in Seattle, The Zen Community of Oregon with representatives from Great Vow Zen Monastery and Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple, and Dharma Rain in Portland.

No-Rank Zendo, a Rinzai Zen practice community, was founded by Rinzan Pechovnik Osho in 2014. The sangha had been leasing space from Portland Friends of the Dhamma since its founding. As the sangha grew, so did a desire to have a space to put down roots, and to cultivate a place for Rinzai Zen practice.

After several years of preparation and searching for the right space, No-Rank purchased a 100-year-old church on NE Wygant Avenue in northeast Portland, in September, 2023. The building has been home to several different Christian communities over the years, and was most recently a Pentecostal church.

Upon stepping into the sanctuary space of the building, Rinzan and several sangha members had an immediate sense of, “This is it.” The building would require a lot of  renovation and care, but it was of the right size, at the right time, and it had the bones of a sacred space.

As Rinzan Osho said in his opening comments at the dedication ceremony, creating a home temple is quite like establishing one’s personal Zen practice. 

 “We start with an inspiration,” he said. “In personal practice, it is an inspiration to touch more deeply into the mystery of things. With establishing a temple, it is the inspiration to put the practice into a particular home to house it. We then begin looking for the right place for it to happen. With practice, we look for the right community. With establishing a temple, it’s finding the right building. After shopping around – to different sanghas or different real estate opportunities – we make a commitment to engage – joining the sangha or buying a building.

“It’s only then, when we see how much work needs to be done to either clear up our own heart-mind, or to clean up the property,” he said. “We then go about clearing things out, scraping things down, and discovering the foundation of what is there.”

Since taking ownership of the building, the No-Rank sangha members have cleared out debris and junk left behind, patched holes, and scraped down and refinished every surface in the building. In the process they have restored the building, creating a vibrant and welcoming practice space. The work required many hands and many skilled workers, as well as time, energy, labor, and financial support from every member of the sangha. Rinzan poured countless hours into the work alongside sangha  members. Their vision, heart, sweat, and even some blood (from the occasional mishap), are in the very walls of the new temple.

The space is divided into two levels, with the zendo upstairs, and the the fellowship hall downstairs. Each level is about 1,200 square feet and can accommodate a maximum of 50 people, though the zendo itself is set up to seat 32.

Regarding the building’s style, a visiting priest once described it as a perfect mix of Japanese Zen and Portland. There is a simplicity and austerity to it.  Utilizing the arched ceiling and dark wood wainscotting, the walls have been painted a warm gold, offering a sense of coziness and welcome, a comfort for Portlanders on cold and rainy winter days.

The downstairs fellowship hall is spacious and functional, with the feel  of a living room. In addition to these main spaces, there are of course bathrooms, a kitchen, and a room utilized for dokusan, one-on-one dharma exchange with Rinzan Osho.

The temple sits on a half-lot in a quiet residential neighborhood. Though there is little landscaped space on the property itself, there is enough for a few flower gardens to brighten things up. 

Immediately upon purchasing the building, the No-Rank Zendo sangha started meeting neighbors and fellow property owners. The neighbors welcomed the temple project with excited enthusiasm. Though the church had a small congregation it had been flagging, and neighbors were concerned the building would fall into dilapidation.

The love and care that No-Rank Zendo has put into restoring has been met with much community appreciation. Many neighbors are starting to attend community meditation periods.  

The work of founding a temple has brought forth a maturity and groundedness in the sangha, as members have stepped forward with ideas, skills, and support in countless ways. The temple becomes a place of home that belongs to everyone, sparking a sense of responsibility in extending welcome to all who enter through the doors. 

During the dedication ceremony, Genjo Marinello Roshi, abbot of Chobo-ji in Seattle and Rinzan Osho’s transmitting teacher, said, “Zen practice and training are like water to the desert. The zendo is like an oasis where we can commune with the infinite intimate fabric of the universe. This hall is where we can come to listen to the symphony of now, and be inspired by the silence between and within the notes. What a delight that a new spring, with old storied roots, has opened in Portland!”

Other attending Zen teachers offered words of congratulations and affirmation. They honored the work of establishing the temple, and expressed the support of the mahasangha in providing a space of practice, diving ever deeper into the boundlessness of the dharma.

Going forward, No-Rank Zen Temple gathers for weekly services at 75 NE Wygant Ave in Portland, on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m., and Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. Services are also streamed online.

Sunday services include a dharma talk called a teisho offered by Rinzan Osho, or a dharma discussion. Wednesdays include opportunities for dokusan with Rinzan Osho.

No-Rank also gathers on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. at a local park, for  “Zendo in the Park.” The location depends on the time of year, so please check the website for details.

Monday through Friday, the sangha meets online at 6 a.m. through an online  portal members  call “Cloud Zendo.” In addition to services, No-Rank offers regular dharma study meetings, recovery dharma meetings, and a precepts discussion group. More details can be found on the No Rank Zendo website.

All are welcome! No-Rank hopes to be a place of refuge, care and practice  for all, that they may become increasingly intimate with the true nature of themselves and this very life. From this each person can spring forth from the cushion, to bring tender care into the world.