Dharma Talks: Recent Episodes
Prairie Mountain Zen Center
PMZC offers Sunday morning Dharma talks by our own teachers and sangha members. In addition, we are privileged to have wonderful Soto Zen guest speakers from around the country.
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a talk on Dogen's chapter on all-inclusive study from the Shobogenzo.
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Sangha member Isabelle Andre gives a talk on Buddhist perspectives on death and dying, drawing from numerous sources including Thich Nhat Hanh and the Tibetan traditions.
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Sangha member Rev. Tetsudo Judy Putnam speaks on the Buddha's answer to Subhuti from the Diamond Sutra. Subhuti asks the Buddha how one should walk the path of the Bodhisattva and receives an interesting answer.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives a brief overview of The Five Remembrances from the Upajjhatthana Sutta. The sutta recommends that The Five Remembrances of old age, sickness, death, change, and karma be reflected upon often by all.
The talk was a short introduction to a longer discussion by the sangha that was not recorded.
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives a talk entitled, "Zen and the Metta Sutta: Waking Up with Loving-Kindness".
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a talk on Dogen's commentary on The Eight Awakenings of Great Beings from the Shobogenzo.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives the final talk in the series based on Diane Eshin Rizzetto's book, Deep Hope: Zen Guidance for Staying Steadfast When the World Seems Hopeless. The subject is prajna, the paramita of wisdom or seeing clearly.
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Sangha member Steve Lindly gives a talk titled “Does Enlightenment Lead to Helping Others?”.
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin will give a talk based on the Ten Directions Chapter of Dogen's Shobogenzo.
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Sangha member Daitoku Rick Vosper will give a talk entitled "Why We Sit: The Brother-In-Law Question".
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Sangha member Nendo David Pavlacky gives a talk entitled "Diving Into the Sea of Suchness".
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Sangha member Paula Scarborough will give a talk entitled "Aging and Illness as Practice". Paula has been doing holistic elder care for fifteen years and her talk will draw on this wealth of experience.
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PMZC's Guiding Teacher Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a talk on the Four Immeasurables of the Theravadan tradition: lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives a talk on using Roshi Joan Halifax's GRACE process as a framework for having conversations with people we disagree with.
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Sangha member and sewing teacher Tetsudo Judy Putnam gives a talk on Komyozo Zanmai, a fascicle attributed to Dogen's dharma heir Koun Ejo zenji.
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In recognition of Pride Month, sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives a talk on gender identity and Buddhism, with special focus on transgender issues.
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Guest speaker Rev. Myo-O Habermas-Scher gives a talk entitled, "Where Are The Old Women in The Tea Shop?"
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Sangha member Isabelle Andre gives a talk entitled, "Torei Zenji and Our Predicament".
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Sangha member Daitoku Rick Vosper gives a talk entitled, "A Few Words About Doors".
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives the fifth talk in a series based on the book, "Deep Hope" by Diane Eshin Rizzetto. This talk covers the fifth paramita, dhyana, or meditation.
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Sangha member Judy Tetsudo Putnam gives a talk on the revival of Dogen’s teachings in Japan in the Tokugawa Period.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives the fourth talk in a series based on the book, "Deep Hope" by Diane Eshin Rizzetto. This talk covers the fourth paramita, Engaging Effort.
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 6 of 6).
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Sangha member Nendo David Pavlacky gives a talk entitled, "Liberation of Muchness".
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 5 of 6).
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Guest speaker Rev. Tenku Ruff gives a talk entitled, "The Generosity of Freedom From Fear."
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 4 of 6).
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives the third talk in a series based on the book, "Deep Hope" by Diane Eshin Rizzetto. This talk covers the third paramita, Practicing Patience.
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 3 of 6).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 2 of 6).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax (Class 1 of 6).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie introduces the PMZC Winter 2025 class based upon the book "Standing at the Edge" by Roshi Joan Halifax.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives the second talk in a series based on the book, "Deep Hope" by Diane Eshin Rizzetto. This talk covers the second paramita, Taking Skillful Action.
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Sangha member Daitoku Rick Vosper gives a talk entitled, "The Sutra of Infinite Meanings".
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a talk on the topic of bowing and prostrations.
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Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling gives a talk based on Diane Eshin Rizetto's book, Deep Hope.
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin presents a talk on Dogen's Zenki: The Whole Works.
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie's Fall 2024 class on the Hidden Lamp concludes (6 of 6).
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Rev. Malik Hokyu Walker presents a talk entitled, "Shikantaza and Hishiryo: The working tools of Zen".
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin concludes his talk on Fukanzazengi, Dogen's Universal Recommendations for Zazen (part 3).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie presents his Fall 2024 class on The Hidden Lamp (class 2 of 6).
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin continues his talk on Fukanzazengi, Dogen's Universal Recommendations for Zazen (part 2).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives his Fall 2024 class on The Hidden Lamp (class 1 of 6).
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Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives a talk introducing his Fall 2024 class on The Hidden Lamp.
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Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives the first part of a talk on Dogen's Fukanzazengi.
Sangha member Shin-E Kieran Rhysling discusses the teaching of the Three Doors of Liberation.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin speaks on "Holding Up a Flower" or the account of the awakening of Mahakasyapa in The Formless Record of the Transmission of Illumination.
Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives a talk introducing his upcoming Winter 2024 class on the Platform Sutra.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a talk on Dogen's essay "Only a Buddha and a Buddha" from the Shobogenzo.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin continues the Eightfold Path series with a talk on Wise Mindfulness.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin speaks on The Heart of Zen.
This book is available for download at https://www.sotozen.com/eng/library/leaflet/heartofzen/index.html .
Sangha member Rick Vosper speaks on the Lankavatara Sutra.
Zen's First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, it covers all the major teachings of the Mahayana Buddhism.
Dharma talk by Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin on based on the book The Shamanic Bones of Zen by Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel.
In this talk, Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magee presents an introduction to our Spring 2023 Dharma class based on Norman Fischer's book, Sailing Home.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin gives a Dharma talk on the Four Noble Truths, one of the foundational teachings of Buddhism.
Meho Isabelle André will be giving a dharma talk on Hongzhi's Guidepost of Silent Illumination.
A talk by Rev. Chikyo Ryunin Ewan Magie introducing his Winter 2023 class, The Heart Sutra.
A talk by Sangha member, Paula Scarborough, entitled "Exploring Being a Lamp Unto Yourself."
A talk by Sangha member, Rick Vosper, entitled "Branching Streams Flow In The Darkness: Observations on Suzuki-Roshi's Talks on the Sandokai."
Paula is a long-term student and practitioner of massage, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, the Diamond Approach and for the last few years, Soto Zen with Prairie Mountain Zen in Longmont, Colorado. She does contemplative elder care along with wellness coaching and massage. She loves inquiring into the moment and following the threads of truth that reveal themselves and learning, sharing and growing with friends and her sangha.
Ewan Magie is a longtime meditator and explorer of the mountains and wilderness of the American West. He began formal meditation practice in the 2000s with Seattle Insight Meditation Society and founding teacher Rodney Smith. He moved to Colorado in December 2018 and teaches English at Morgan Community College in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Chikyo Ryunin Ewan Magie was ordained as Soto Zen priest in 2019 by Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen in Bellingham, WA. He has served Prairie Mountain Zen Center and Jodo Cliff Clusin since January 2019. He continues to give dharma talks and teach quarterly classes at PMZC, both in zendo and online.
Rev. Jakudo Peterson was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 18, 2011 and received Dharma transmission from him on April 30, 2016. He currently leads the Albert Lea Meditation Group in Albert Lea, MN.
Rev. Shinmon Michael Newton began Zen practice in 1983 as a university student in Japan, with a Rinzai priest at an ancient temple on Mount Tsukuba, later moving to Kyoto and practicing Soto Zen with Shohaku Okumura. Since returning to Vancouver in 1987 he has practiced with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. He received priest ordination from him in in 2003 and dharma transmission in 2011. He was installed as a guiding teacher of Mountain Rain Zen Community in May 2017.
Michael teaches Asian studies and religious studies at Simon Fraser University. He is committed to supporting Mountain Rain as a lay practice community in connection with the wider community, the arts, and the natural world.
Rev. Myoshin Kate McCandless began Zen practice in 1983 as a university student in Japan, with a Rinzai priest at an ancient temple on Mount Tsukuba, later moving to Kyoto and practicing Soto Zen with Shohaku Okumura. Since returning to Vancouver in 1987 she has practiced with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She received priest ordination from him in in 2003 and dharma transmission in 2011. She was installed as a guiding teacher of Mountain Rain Zen Community in May 2017.
Kate has worked as an organic farmer, ESL teacher, translator and as a clinical counselor in women’s health and hospice/bereavement care.
Reverend Jodo Cliff Clusin, PMZC Guiding Teacher, talks about Dogen's essay Flowers in the Sky.
On first Sunday of each month, the dharma talk and discussion is devoted to study of one of the precepts. This week Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie introduced the precept of Not Being Possessive.
Sangha member Leslie Irvine talks on the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is one of the most important texts of Mahayana Buddhism and the earliest printed book in the world. Its lessons on impermanence and the nature of reality still have transformative power today.
With a particular focus on the 3 Jewels and the 6 Paramitas, sangha member Isabelle Andre explores the feedback loop between the way Buddhism can inform a pilgrim's actions and attitudes on the path, and how, in turn, the aspiration to respond skillfully to various encounters may also deepen and intensify one's Buddhist practice.
Sangha member Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives an introduction to his six-week class on Dogen Zenji's fascicle Bendowa. The class will be offered by Zoom on Thursday evenings beginning March 31 and is open to all. See Spring Class below for details.
Rev. Kyosho Valorie Beer has practiced Zen Buddhism since 1991. She was ordained as a Zen priest in 2005 and received Dharma Transmission in 2013 from her teacher, Edward Brown. She lived at Green Gulch Farm from 2003 to 2012, when she moved to City Center. After serving as the San Francisco Zen Center corporate secretary, she was the City Center Ino (Head of Meditation Hall), and is now supporting the Branching Streams sanghas as a visiting teacher. Before taking up monastic life, Valorie worked for two decades in corporate Human Resources at various high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. She is the author of four books, she is a private pilot, and she is the mother of a thirty-something daughter who works and lives in the Bay Area.
Sangha member David Pavlacky explores time from the perspective of Dainin Katagiri’s (2007) book “Each moment is the universe: Zen and the way of being time,” and his (1984) recorded Dharma talk “Time”.
Sangha member Rick Daitoku Vosper speaks to us on The Truth of This Life: Zen Teachings on Loving the World as It Is by Katherine Sobun Thanas. Rick Daitoku Vosper has been practicing Zen since 1995. He took vows with Jodo Cliff Clusin in 2013. Recently retired, he has worked as an advertising copywriter and in the bicycle business, as well as with his one-person marketing services company. Rick lives with his family in South Arkansas.
Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie introduces his upcoming Thursday night class, which starts January 13.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin, Guiding Teacher at Prairie Mountain Zen Center, reads from this classic collection of Zen stories published in 1955.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin is the guiding teacher at Prairie Mountain Zen Center. In this talk he discusses a talk by Katagiri Roshi on karma and causation from the book Each Moment is the Universe.
In this talk, sangha member David Coupland will discuss Thich Nhat Hahn's commentary on the Heart Sutra. David practiced and studied with Zen and Insight Meditation groups in Ann Arbor, MI for over thirty years. He trained as a Dharma teacher with Deep Spring Center, Ann Arbor, and taught insight meditation to community groups.
David worked in software development and marketing, managed a small nonprofit, and taught high school before retiring to Longmont with his wife Karen in 2019 and has been a member of Prairie Mountain Zen Center since then.
Annabella Pitkin is an Assistant Professor of Buddhism and East Asian Religions at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and Director of Lehigh Asian Studies Program. Her dharma talk is about Mahayana traditions and practice.
Dr. Pitkin's forthcoming book, Beggar Modern: Renunciation and Longing in the Life of a 20th Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint (April 2022), explores the life of the Himalayan Buddhist teacher Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin receives a gift robe sewn by sangha members in appreciation for his many years of service as founder and guiding teacher of Prairie Mountain Zen Center.
Rev. Norm Randolph is a senior teacher at Dharma Field zen center in Minneapolis. Born in San Francisco in 1943, he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a psychology degree and worked in an Air Force psychiatric clinic. In 1969 he met Dainin Katagiri Roshi in San Francisco, and moved to Minneapolis when Katagiri Roshi went there in 1972. He was ordained in 1978 and received Dharma Transmission in 1989.
Ewan gives us an introduction to his Ancestors and Koans class which begins on Thursday September 16.
Rev. Ekyo Susan Nelson was a lay student of Katagiri-roshi and had her jukai ceremony in 1980. After Katagiri’s death she practiced for a time at Clouds in Water Zen Center before returning to Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (MZMC) during Karen Sunna’s tenure in the late 90’s. She was ordained by Tim Burkett in 2003 and received dharma transmission from him in 2011.
Currently she is one of four senior teachers at MZMC. She moved to Hokyoji with her husband Carl in 2010 and is now a part-time resident practitioner there while also residing in South Minneapolis. One of her biggest joys is being a grandma.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin is the Guiding Teacher of Prairie Mountain Zen Center. This is part two of a two-part series.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin is the Guiding Teacher of Prairie Mountain Zen Center. This is part one of a two-part series.
Judy worked for the City of Fort Collins in the Light and Power Department for 23 years in various positions from Meter Calibrator to Special Projects Coordinator. As a young student, she gained a Masters degree in Biology and in retirement became a volunteer Master Naturalist with the City of Fort Collins, CO.
Her interest in Native American cultures culminated with sewing a traditional brain- tanned dress, leggings and moccasins adorned with porcupine quillwork. These items are now on loan to the Smithsonian from Kate Goes In Center, to whom they were given.
She has actively participated in the local Project Linus effort making quilts for hospitalized children and those in compromised situations. Since 2010 she has made over 200 quilts. She is recognized as a Zen Buddhist Sewing Teacher in both the Suzuki tradition and the Katagiri tradition. She has been helping students sew rakusu since 2004 and has been helping students sew okesa since 2013. In 2019 she was recognized by her Guiding Teacher, Angie Boissevain, as a lay teacher of the Dharma.
Gene began his Zen practice at the Boulder Zen Center in the Rinzai Tradition with Gento Richard Barsky. In response to the Koan, "How does the Buddha manifest the ringing of the bell and the singing of the bird?" he founded the Bird and Bell Meditation Group at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne. Gene received Lay Ordination from Jodo Cliff Clusin at Bird and Bell on February 10, 2018. He is a member of Bird and Bell, Prairie Mountain Zen Center and Red Cedar Zen Center.
Meho Isabelle André started her journey in the early eighties at Taisen Deshimaru’s Zendo in Paris. She subsequently sought teachings that emphasized the feminine. She studied Vedanta and Tantric Goddesses, while continuing to practice with Thich Nhat Hanh, with whom she took the precepts, as well as with Roshi Sanchi of Boulder Morningstar Zen Center.
Isabelle has attempted to strike a balance between bearing witness to some deep suffering while addressing global AIDS and women’s rights, and finding solace in the plant world, and nature in general. She has worked in healthcare and horticulture.
Daitoku Rick Vosper has been practicing Zen since 1995. He took vows with Jodo Cliff Clusin in 2013. Recently retired, he has worked as an advertising copywriter and in the bicycle business, as well as with his one-person marketing services company. Rick lives with his family in South Arkansas.
Rev. Byakuren Judith Ragir is the Senior Dharma Teacher at Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin will speak about the Bodhisattva Precept Ceremony in anticipation for the ceremony on Sunday June 27.
Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie is a Soto Zen Priest, training under the supervision of his teacher, Rev. Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher at Red Cedar Zen Center located in Bellingham, WA .
He has practiced Buddhism for for decades, including residential practice periods, and has served as a key member of the Seattle Soto Zen Center for many years. He is currently a Professor of English at Morgan Community College in Fort Morgan, Colorado and participates as an active priest with Prairie Mountain Zen Center.
Paula is a long-term student and practitioner of massage, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, the Diamond Approach and for the last few years, Soto Zen with Prairie Mountain Zen in Longmont, Colorado. She does contemplative elder care along with wellness coaching and massage. She loves inquiring into the moment and following the threads of truth that reveal themselves and learning, sharing and growing with friends and her sangha.
The practice of mindfulness originates in the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. Although we begin the practice in zazen, we engage with mindfulness and apply it in ethical situations off the cushion. This talk explores some of the connections between mindfulness as contemplative training and its application in ethical situations.
Leslie Irvine has practiced meditation with Prairie Mountain Zen Center for years. She is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Animals and Society Certificate Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is author or co-author of a number of books, including My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and their Animals and The Social Self and Everyday Life. Her hobbies include genealogy and baking artisan bread.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin is the guiding teacher of Prairie Mountain Zen Center. In this talk he shares a teaching story from the Vimalakirti Sutra, one of the most influential sutras in Mahayana Buddhism.
Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie gives an introduction to his six-week class starting June 3, "Practicing in the Light of Death". Rev. Chikyo Ewan Magie is a Soto Zen Priest, training under the supervision of his teacher, Rev. Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher at Red Cedar Zen Center located in Bellingham, WA .
He has practiced Buddhism for for decades, including residential practice periods, and has served as a key member of the Seattle Soto Zen Center for many years. He is currently a Professor of English at Morgan Community College in Fort Morgan, Colorado and participates as an active priest with Prairie Mountain Zen Center.
Rev. Taiju Geri Wilimek, guiding teacher at Sokuji Zen Community, Bemidji MN. Geri received dharma transmission in 2015, so is pretty "new" to all of this! She began her dharma studies with a serious illness as her teacher in 1998. She is a wife, mom, grandma, clinical social worker, and dog lover. She is grateful for the wise guidance of her teachers, Shoshin Bob Kelly and Shoken Winecoff.
Nendo David Pavlacky began practicing at Prairie MountainZen Center in 2012, received lay ordination from Jodo-san in 2016, and recently completed a three-year term as board president. He works as a research scientist for a nonprofit conservation organization, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and is a faculty affiliate at Colorado State University. On a personal note, David can often be found on wild rivers, bird watching, reading poetry and contemplating our connections to the natural world.
Steve was ordained a Zen priest in 1979 by Katagiri Roshi. In 1989, he received formal endorsement to teach (Dharma transmission). He has been an instructor in Buddhism at St. Olaf College and in 1997 founded Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, where he continued to serve as head teacher until recently. He is the author of Buddhism Plain and Simple as well as several other books on religion, science, and philosophy.
Bishal Karna is a spiritual student and a professor of comparative religion. He studies contemplative practices and positive states such as love, compassion, and joy. He lives in Rochester, NY, with his wife and dog.
"The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti" is considered one of the most influential of the Mahayana sutras. Vimalakirti is a layman whose understanding and teaching of the Dharma is unparalleled.
Rick has been practicing Zen since 1995. He took vows with Jodo Cliff Clusin in 2013. Recently retired, he has worked as an advertising copywriter and in the bicycle business, as well as with his one-person marketing services company. Rick lives with his family in South Arkansas.
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin is the Guiding Teacher at Prairie Mountain Zen Center. In this talk he discusses various translations of the dedication of merit chant and bodhisattva vows.
Judy Putnam worked for the City of Fort Collins in the Light and Power Department for 23 years in various positions from Meter Calibrator to Special Projects Coordinator. As a young student, she gained a Masters degree in Biology and in retirement became a volunteer Master Naturalist with the City of
Fort Collins, CO. She also had a Realtor’s license in the state of Colorado for three years. She is recognized as a Zen Buddhist Sewing Teacher in both the Suzuki Lineage and the Katagiri Lineage. She has been helping students sew rakusu since 2004 and has been helping students sew okesa since 2013. In 2019 she was recognized by her Guiding Teacher, Angie Boissevain, as a lay teacher of the Dharma.
Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen teacher and Dharma heir in the Katagiri lineage. He also teaches mindfulness in a wide variety of secular contexts including police training and addiction recovery groups. Ben is based at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, travels to teach across the United States, writes for Tricycle magazine, and is author for Wisdom Publications of Inside the Grass Hut, Inside Vasubandhu's Yogacara, and Mindfulness and Intimacy.
In the Avatamaska Sutra the girl Maitrayani teaches a realization she calls "facing in all directions". This talk will explore the implications of her wisdom for our day to day lives, our zazen, and our inherent engagement with the entire web of life.
Paula is a long-term student and practitioner of massage, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, the Diamond Approach and for the last few years, Soto Zen with Prairie Mountain Zen in Longmont, Colorado. She does contemplative elder care along with wellness coaching and massage. She loves inquiring into the moment and following the threads of truth that reveal themselves and learning, sharing and growing with friends and her sangha.
Rev. Kyosho Valorie Beer is a long-time teacher and leader with the San Francisco Zen Center. She will speak to us about about using our practice to meet both individual and social suffering.
Kyosho Valorie Beer has practiced Zen Buddhism since 1991. She was ordained as a Zen priest in 2005 and received Dharma Transmission in 2013 from her teacher, Edward Brown. She lived at Green Gulch Farm from 2003 to 2012, when she moved to City Center. After serving as the San Francisco Zen Center corporate secretary, she was the City Center Ino (Head of Meditation Hall), and is now supporting the Branching Streams sanghas as a visiting teacher. Before taking up monastic life, Valorie worked for two decades in corporate Human Resources at various high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. She is the author of four books, she is a private pilot, and she is the mother of a thirty-something daughter who works and lives in the Bay Area.
Rev. Nomon Tim Burnett is the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham, Washington. Tim was ordination teacher for our own Chikyo Ewan Magie.
Tim has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found the Bellingham Zen Practice Group in 1991. Tim was ordained as a Zen Priest by Norman in 2000, received Dharma Transmission in 2011, and was installed as Guiding Teacher of the sangha in April, 2017.
A person of wide-ranging professional interests, Tim has been a botanist, carpenter, elementary school teacher, writer, and computer programmer. In addition to his work at the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community, Tim is also Executive Director of Mindfulness Northwest where he offers the Dharma in the form of secular mindfulness to many in local communities and professions.
Rev. Dokai Georgesen began his study of Zen Buddhism at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center under the direction of Dainin Katagiri Roshi in 1974. He spent two years on pilgrimage studying Buddhism in India and Japan, and upon his return in 1982 he lived at Hokyoji until his ordination in 1984.
In 1989 he received Dharma Transmission from Katagiri Roshi, and since then he has made several trips to Japan for study under the late Ikko Narasaki Roshi, Tsugen Narasaki Roshi and the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi. He has also had the opportunity to study at Plum Village in France under the direction of Thich Nhat Hanh. He has been residing at Hokyoji since June, 2003.