Welcome 2024 - Words from the Teachers

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Heiwa Peace calligraphy by Shinmon

Dear sangha friends,

We hope the holidays have been a time for rest, reflection and renewal for you, as well as time in the good company of family and friends. We know that the dark days of early winter can also be a time when the pain of loss and grief, personal and global, can weigh heavily. As we open to a New Year, this is a good time to allow the stillness of winter dormancy to heal our frayed edges and unattended places of hurt, to touch our deepest yearnings for peace, connection, and freedom from suffering. It's a time for each of us to renew our bodhisattva vows, so that our words and actions will emerge from a place of deep care for all beings. (Note Michael's Wednesday evening dharma seminar on The Power of Vow.) 

In the coming weeks we will each be taking some time for personal retreat and reflection, and we encourage you to include similar intervals, in whatever ways you can, in your days, weeks, months and year.  "Personal time" is a misnomer, because the ways we attend and care for ourselves, and the ways we are cruel to ourselves, extend outwards and onwards to others in ways we are largely unaware of. 

The past year has been one of great change for the Mountain Rain sangha, with the launching of our new practice space, Bright Stream Temple, and adapting to our new sesshin venue at Brew Creek Centre. So many of you have offered so much: time, volunteer work, thoughtful planning, and financial contributions, and most important, showing up to practice together, in-person and virtually. We want to express our deep gratitude to you all. When our energy flags, when we're feeling the age upon us (as Kate's mother used to say), all we have to do is come and sit in community, and be upheld by the sincerity of your practice. 

In the wider sphere, the past year has brought the ongoing anguish of wars, racialized and gender violence, homelessness and displacement, opioid deaths, economic, ecological and climate instability, all due to the complex effects of human greed, hatred and ignorance. And right in the midst of all that, all around the world are people acting with kindness and compassion, courage and creativity, responding to suffering beings. Our everyday Zen practice supports us to stay steady, and trust that how we live in this world matters. 

As a New Year's gift, here is a calligraphy by Shinmon of the Japanese word for peace, heiwa, for you to download (Click here), or you can pick up a copy at the Wall St. zendo.

Warm bows and wishes for peace and well-being to you and all beings, 
Myoshin Kate and Shinmon Michael

Annual donation appeal

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Dear Friend,

“Make of yourself a light.” These words are said to be the last ones spoken by the Buddha at the time of his death, addressing his faithful attendant, Ananda, who was in deep despair at the prospect of losing his teacher. They have echoed down through the ages, giving solace and guidance to us living in the twenty-first century in very challenging times.

Through our practice with Mountain Rain Zen Community, we strive to kindle this light so it can shine for ourselves and the world around us.

People are coming and the zendo is bursting. 2023 has seen a great influx of new people coming through our doors, attending introductory workshops and often staying to become regular members, while those with established practice have stepped up to take on greater responsibilities. This year, we witnessed the ordination of two new priests (Myosen River Shannon and Yuki David Burke), while Dai-i Flo Rublee received Dharma Transmission from our Founding Teacher Norman Fischer.

A residential practice home was established. Miraculously, in January we were gifted by the Vancouver Zen Center with an established temple in the form of a large residence located on Sherbrooke Street in East Vancouver. Full time residents have since moved in, and our Guiding Teachers Myoshin Kate McCandless and Shinmon Michael Newton anchored the residential practice by becoming part-time residents. Bright Stream Temple (Koryuji) has become a great complement to our zendo on Wall Street.

We hired our first employee. In an attempt to ease the demanding workload of our teachers and other sangha leaders, we hired an Administrative Director in July of this year.

We have so much to celebrate – a thriving sangha, a new residential practice center, our first employee. We absolutely could not have accomplished these things without the immense dedication of our teachers and all of the community members and supporters, like yourself, who have stepped forward offering time, energy, talent and financial contributions. We are deeply grateful for all that you have given.

And, like the bodhisattva vows, our aspiration to spread the light of the dharma has no end and requires ongoing commitment.

We are reaching out to request your help in sustaining the Mountain Rain Zen Community. We need your ongoing support to continue making the Buddha dharma accessible to our sangha at Wall Street Zendo, Bright Stream Temple, and the Cloud Zendo (online). Your donations support our operating expenses: rent, supplies, utilities, repairs, teachers’ stipend, administrative director’s salary, as well as our capacity to offer reduced fees for those on limited income.

Having a reliable source of income every month allows us to budget for our many offerings, so please consider making monthly contributions, or increasing your monthly contribution amount. Many members and supporters find signing on as a monthly donor to be an easy way to have a big impact. The process is straightforward and only needs to be set up once. It can be updated or canceled at any time.

Any amount you wish to offer is welcome and deeply appreciated – whether a one-time or monthly contribution. Your donations enable Mountain Rain to continue its work of cultivating wisdom and compassion in a far-reaching community.

Warm bows,
Mountain Rain Zen Community Council
(Moe, Michele, River, Trudy, Vicki, Todd, Matt & Jacob)

Donate Now

MRZC is a non-profit organization with charitable status. A tax receipt will be provided for donations of any amount through CanadaHelps on our website. Please note that we cannot provide tax receipts for cheque and e-transfer donations due to the administrative costs this would incur.

Rohatsu sesshin - a bridge at Brew Creek

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Creek and bridge at Brew Creek Centre

Kinhin is walking meditation. It is not a break or gap in practice or a rest from zazen. It's a bridge between sitting still, and moving in daily activity. During sesshin our walking meditation extends to moving between our rooms, the zendo and the dining hall, especially attending to icy patches underfoot.

Going in - rohatsu sesshin

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Big thanks to those who packed, loaded and drove.

Our zendo is on the move today as many of us travel to Brew Creek for our first-ever full rohatsu sesshin. To reenact and celebrate the Buddha's long sitting under the bodhi tree until he awakened, looking up at bright Venus in the morning sky, we will sit surrounded by mountain forest, along an icy creek as we approach the shortest days of the year. There's something very still about sitting in a dark zendo at this time. 

Those of you who cannot join in person are warmly invited to come sit with us online even for short periods, to touch and be supported by the sesshin spirit.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83496587690?pwd=VjZJTjcxOVdnUEUyUEZkaHB5QXBYdz09

Meeting ID: 834 9658 7690

Passcode: 448941


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On Sunday December 10, we will gather at the Wall St. zendo for a practice period closing circle.