Getting ordained at the Mississippi The Great River wouldn’t let me go. Harold Fisk’s Map of Meander Mississippi (1944), PD GOV, no any rights reserved, source: US Army Corps of Engineers The Great Dharma River wouldn’t let me go. We were so close, yet so distant. And we were so distant, yet so close – ever since I had left Winona, Minnesota in December 2019. The spot right by the Maiden Rock on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi witnessed our conversation that kept resonating long after it had actually taken place. No way I could have remained unaffected standing there; facing th ..read more

Why Tai Chi? Why do Tai Chi? Maureen tells us what Tai Chi has taught her… Dharma River Programs Kung Fu Kids’ Kung Fu Qi Gong Yoga Workshops Community Outreach Children & Youth Support Dharma River – Manitou Center Your donation will help provide programming for the community. Learn more about supporting us Find Us 686 W. 5th St., Winona, Minnesota (507) 961-5665    |    info@dharmariver.org Get in Touch with Us Ask us questions. Share ideas. Send us a message. Set up a time to meet with us. Tell us your story. Hidden Addressed by: Name(Require ..read more

The New Light Reveals What is Needed This is such a strange and unforgettable time to be alive. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that less than 2 months ago (and less for many of us) our daily lives had a sense of (what seemed to be) normalcy. We could (pretty much) plan to go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning to a day where we (somewhat) knew what we’d be doing and who we’d be seeing.  Most of us probably didn’t think about the number of feet we were standing from one another or if we had adequate supplies of hand sanitizers and gloves.  I would also ima ..read more

Sewing To Save The World “To know yourself is to forget yourself to forget yourself is to become enlightened by all things” The famous phrase by Dogen Zenji, and one that is featured on the Zen Garland website says: “To know yourself is to forget yourself to forget yourself is to become enlightened by all things” As I was sewing my rakusu (a garment worn around the neck of Zen Buddhists who have taken the precepts) preparing to take the Zen Garland Vows, it soon became obvious to me that I was starting to get to know myself. My relationship with sewing is a complicated one. As a kid, I was ..read more

​We all do terrible things to each other… by intent, by neglect, and by ignorance. Up until recently I would have said that mostly this happens unintentionally. These days though, I think cruelty, rudeness, and contempt, in the name of “being real” is celebrated. What to do about it has most of us defeated as we try to find a way to fix it. Some of us have said forget it… let’s get it on, battle to the end. That sort of thing. Pyrrhic victories and all that. Some of us are on the edge of despair, thinking about the future, the children’s future (whether or not you have kids), the world’s fut ..read more

For the past 3 years, I’ve been actively engaged in Manitou Center programming, centered mostly in the Dharma River Zen Community and Paul Kisho Stern’s qigong classes. All these practices have enriched my life, both body and mind. Through qigong and zazen practice, I’ve found myself better able to cope with the stressful demands of career and other aspects of daily life in our sometimes-chaotic world. Unexpectedly, both practices have helped lower my blood pressure to healthy levels. Qigong has increased my body’s flexibility and energy levels and has helped improve my overall balance. I’ve ..read more

I think that we’re on the earth to do good – good for the largest number of entities possible. I say entities because I don’t think it should stop at just people – the entire world needs us to do good. It’s easy to do good for yourself, easy to do good for your beloved ones, a bit harder to do it for strangers, and damned difficult to do it for those who you perceive as enemies or those who view you as an enemy… But doing good saves us. I don’t mean that in the way that some religions mean. I don’t have a religion, per se – not in the traditional western way – what I believe in is far more ..read more

Everything we do matters.  Even the smallest of activities play a significant and cumulative role in shaping our individual lives and further all of these activities weave into the tapestry of this fantastic and wondrous world we move in and through.  This manifests in a dance that weaves the fabric of living and being woven as part of that same tapestry.  Each kind word, every moment where our breath is taken away, each time we lose our temper and lash out in anger, each time we play with our kids or post within the interweb…each of these are the expressions and activities th ..read more

“… in joy and sorrow, we are equals.” Photo by Anna Myosen Nacher The Ukrainian Refugee Relief Fund: April through June   A notice: as a non-native English speaker, I’m always concerned about language issues and do my best to write in proper English. Nevertheless, some irregularities may happen.] [All photos are slideshows, so there is more to see than just one photo displaying under the text]  I’m writing this report in June, around the Summer Solstice in Northern hemisphere; a time of the year when we’re starting reaping what was sowed and celebrating Nature’s abundance. Fo ..read more

Dharma for the crises of young people This week’s dharma talk, Dharma for the crises of young people, is offered by Sensei Wolfgang Okami Schmachtenberg. Sensei Okami is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Eternal Way Temple in Essen, Germany. Sign up for our newsletter Our newsletters and updates will keep you informed of local and regional classes, workshops, and retreats as well as online study opportunities, blogs, information, and inspiration to continue nurturing, healing, and caring for yourself and the world. We will not share your information with anyone else. See you soon ..read more