A Generous Gift

Mountain Rain Zen Community has received a bequest from the estate of former sangha member, Evelyn Teichmann.

Evelyn attended regularly in Mountain Rain’s early years at our Fraser Street location. She did jukai in 2010 with Zoketsu Norman Fischer officiating and received the dharma name, Meishin Yōkai (Luminous Faith Embracing World), from Kate and Michael.

Evelyn was deeply thoughtful and found the dharma a support in her life. She went to law school but never worked in the field, having struggled with mental health issues since early adulthood. She moved out of Vancouver for some years, but got back in touch with Kate and Michael some years ago. She was stable and living in a group home and told them of her wish to include Mountain Rain in her will.

MRZC Council is exploring how to use Evelyn's gift in alignment with her request that it be used for "scholarships and otherwise at MRZC's discretion", and is considering adding the funds to the Endowment Fund so that it can support a sustainable scholarship offering.

A poem she wrote entitled World Kindness Concert, was included in our Spring, 2008 (paper!) newsletter.

“Celebration of care, our kind acts network,
Kindness is our alchemy, gold of the heart.
Celebration of children, one kind footstep at a time,
Kindness is our alchemy, diamond of the mind.
Celebration of international music, kind thoughts travel afar,
Kindness is our alchemy, pearl of the soul.
Celebration of humanity, each kind act unites our homes,
Kindness is our alchemy, emerald of the body temple.
Our treasury of kind acts leaves a beautiful world.
This treasury transforms the beautiful world.”

— Evelyn Teichmann