Founding Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
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| History and Vision | |
The time has come for ZCO to find a home in Portland. During the past 3 years the sangha has grown significantly, showing an increase in both membership and attendance at Thursday and Sunday meetings. Senior students have begun to take on leadership roles, increasing the depth of the community. The increase in membership size, the high attendance at events, and an enthusiastic core of senior students led many to suggest it was time for a ZCO home in Portland. On March 2nd, 2009 the ZCO Board voted to move forward in manifesting the vision of a ZCO Portland center. Below is a statement that captures the spirit of this vision.
A Hearth, A Bridge and An Offering: A Vision for a ZCO home in Portland We envision a vibrant home for our Portland Sangha, a place of stillness in a busy urban environment where we practice the Buddha Dharma, offer Buddha’s teachings to the larger community and embody Jizo’s qualities of unflagging optimism, fearlessness, and gentleness. A Hearth: We seek to create a Sangha practice center that honors and supports the ten thousand facets of householder life. A Bridge: We seek to provide a bridge from our urban community to the deep well of practice at Great Vow Zen Monastery, mutually benefiting both. An Offering: We seek to reach out to the larger Portland community by putting the Bodhisattva Vow to work in the world, benefitting all beings, protecting and healing our earth treasure.
Our hearth… …is a place of stillness in the busy world We will have sitting four or more days a week and host regular all day sits, or zazenkai, so that people in the city can benefit from longer sitting. We have many classrooms and a great space for a zendo that fit 50-75 people for zazen and 100-200 for other types of events. We are open to renting out our facility to other spiritual groups that need sitting space. We have a residential component where one or more ordained can serve as part of their training. Our center has ample parking for our many programs and to minimize the impact of daily programs on our neighbors. We have enough space to run concurrent programs. There is green space either on the grounds or nearby or we start a roof-top garden for altar flowers and vegetables.
…supports the ten thousand facets of a lay life We hold monthly fusatsu ceremonies on the moons for the renewal of our vows and mark the changes of the seasons with family celebrations. We have a Sunday morning program that would include sitting, a talk or practice circle, and a community lunch. Our Sunday morning program includes a Dharma School, our own or one that we do jointly with our friends at Dharma Rain Zen Center.
…is a place for Sangha practice Sangha members support weekend programs by regularly attending classes and workshops, strengthening our own personal practice which in turn strengthens the sangha. The sangha also supports weekend workshops by volunteering to open the doors, manage registration, cook simple meals for workshop attendees and clean up. The sangha takes care of the property volunteering for regular cleaning and maintenance of the space as their talents allow. The community also comes together for big projects like painting and small rehab work. Senior sangha members offer their talents as instructors for classes and facilitate regular practice discussions. Members with counseling backgrounds strengthen their own talents and offer them to others.
…is where we put the bodhissatva vow to work in the world Jizos for Peace manifests here and finds its next mission. We join with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and sponsor a Portland area Chant For Peace. Our center sponsors refugees and provides respite for caregivers. At our hearth zen practice and artistic expression meet like two arrows in mid-air. We focus on those practices with zen lineage – calligraphy, flower arranging, painting – and as well as other expression of the artist heart – photography, sculpture, pottery, mandalas, sacred dance and chant.
…offers classes steeped in the Dharma We offer the stream-entering classes Basics of Buddhism and Introduction to Zen Practice. In classes on the classical Buddhist sutras lay practitioners may benefit from reading and experiencing the authentic teachings. We offer an understanding of the great matter with the series of classes Preparing For Your Own Death. We examine how to live lightly on the earth with our class Just Enough: Buddhism, Debt and Money. We present the Buddhist perspective on ethical living with our classes on the precepts. We offer weekend workshops starting with a preview Friday evening talk followed by an all-day Saturday. Our workshops offer introductions to more in-depth workshops at the Great Vow Zen Monastery. We offer Non-Violent Communication for individuals and for couples. Our center offers the benefit of the traditional Zen arts through Kaz Tanahashi’s calligraphy workshops and full-day training in Chado, the Way of Tea. We offer the power of clarified intention through our Life Vow workshops. The benefits of practice come to life in workshops in Mindful Parenting, Conflict and Compassion at Work, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Buddhism and Addiction. For caregivers facing burnout, we offer restorative retreats, and for young people exploring the great breadth of life, retreats to offer reflection and guidance. For those with aspiration to heal the world we offer workshops and retreats on working for peace and healing the earth. We offer classes on Buddhist history in general and the history of Zen in particular to maintain the strength of our linage. We have a large and growing library of Buddhist books and teachings from other spiritual traditions. At our center, we host visiting Buddhist teachers to give talks and workshops in a place of Buddhist practice. We partner with local bookstores to host teachers on book tours or other practice tours. We have a small gift shop for practice supplies so that practitioners can buy Zen Works products – cushions, benches, Jizos – as wells as other altar and practice supplies and books. …and your ideas! |
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