Clouds In Water Zen Center

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In-person only
Saturday, June 6
9 am - Noon
By donation: $5 - $105
No one turned away for lack of funds

With Rin LaJoy and Joanna Hill

Participants in the Dharma of Plants workshop will learn about select central Buddhist teachings through the lens of our inseparable connections with nature. Participants will learn about the historical and cultural importance of the Bodhi tree, Ficus religiosa, the tree that Siddhartha Gautama was said to have meditated under when he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. Participants will also learn about local connections with nature and sacred trees.

The Cedar tree is a very sacred tree to the Anishinaabe People. It is known as Nookomis Giizhik, Grandmother Cedar. Joanna will share about the medicinal uses and properties of Eastern White Cedar (Thuja Occidentalis).
Stinging Nettles is rich in many nutrients, a great food source, and has been used as a utility for Indigenous people to make cording for nets for fishing and other uses. We will learn about these two plants. It is noted in some texts that Milrapea, the Tibetan Buddhist, was sustained on nettles during his long retreats in mountainous caves. The class will have opportunities to participate, ask questions, and have hands-on activity with the plants.

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In-person only

Sunday, June 7, 11 am - Noon
By donation: $5 - $30
No one turned away for lack of funds
With Sosan Flynn

Are you a person whose gender identity matches the gender you were assigned at birth? Are you worried for your friends, family, and sangha members who are trans, nonbinary, intersex, and/or gender-expansive? Are you confused about the terms and issues, and hesitant to ask? Please join us for a little bit of education and discussion on how we can support trans, nonbinary, and intersex individuals, including promotion of acceptance, awareness, and equal rights. The fight for trans rights is everyone’s responsibility.

As you may know, The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has released a third Red Flag Alert for the USA related to the Trump Administration’s anti-trans initiatives, which have continued to expand nationwide.

They write:
The Administration has moved from identifying transgender people as a threat to the family and to the nation’s military prowess to claiming that transgender people constitute a cosmic threat to the spiritual health of the nation and the greatest direct threat to U.S. national security in the world. Given these ideological developments, especially coupled with the increasingly hostile and draconian legislation against trans identities, the Lemkin Institute believes that the United States is squarely within the early to middle stages of a genocidal process against trans people, the goal of which is to completely erase transgender people not only from public life but also from existence in the U.S. and globally.

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In this 2-hour workshop, you receive all the tools you need to get started on your personal journey in Zen practice.

Instruction will be given in zazen meditation, basic Buddhist philosophy, developing a home practice, as well as practicing as part of a community.

There will be plenty of time for questions and conversation!

All are welcome and no one is turned away for lack of funds.

This is a monthly offering. It is Zoom-only every other month. Upcoming schedule:
April: Zoom
May: In-person
June: Zoom

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Friday June 26, 7-9pm
Masks encouraged
By donation: $5 - $30
No one turned away for lack of funds
With Jinzu, Betzi and Koji

Soft gentle space to land, and an alternative to Pride Month alcohol-centric events.

Join us for a chill, low-stakes evening of ease and connection. This retreat is a soft-space, an opportunity to celebrate what brings you euphoria and nourishment during these bonkers times.

We will expand into the gentle knowing that we are enough, and we are not alone. We will be centering support for our trans, nonbinary and intersex community members, and/queer identities welcome. Refill your fuel tank so you can keep showing up for yourself and your community through protest, non-cooperation, mutual aid and joy.

• Eat snacks and lay on a bed of cushions
• Drink tea and share your favorite playlist
• Collage yourself as a tarot archetype card for your altar
• Write yourself or your found family members love letters/poems
• Add to a community altar of survivance and delight
• Join in yoga/movement/meditation practice
• Make a euphoria adventure zine
• Make a friendship bracelet