What a lovely cohort. Such a pleasure to witness "receiving the precepts" with our 7 participants! These 7 underwent our jukai training process for most of 2025. They participated in the annual 8-month study course, met with their teachers, and sewed their own rakusu (the bib-like representation of a formal Buddhist robe they receive in the ceremony). In addition to vowing to follow the precepts each person received a Buddhist name from their teacher and a spot on the formal Zen lineage charts.

Interested in learning more? Consider signing up for the 2026 Zen Precepts Studies - True Freedom Through Ethical Conduct program and speak with the teachers. You are warmly invited to study with the year's cohort whether or not your interested in this formal ceremony.

Here are the names received by this years lay ordainees!

Jeff McKenna: RyuSui SoSu  竜水 祖崇 Water Dragon Honoring the Ancestors

David Clark: ShiChi KuZen 地獅 空全 Earth Lion Boundless Completion

Heather Cunningham: SuiTo YuShin 水兎 勇 心 Water Rabbit, Courageous Heart

Aidan Fay: EnKa JiSeki 猿 風 地石 Fire Monkey Earth Stone

Kandis Susol: FuRi ToEn 風鯉 渡 川 Leaping Carp Crossing River

Colin Goggin: FuJan Inwa 風雀 因治 Sky Sparrow Root of Peace

Ariel Paulenich: MyoSen Zenki 妙川全機 Wondrous River Total Dynamic Functioning

Some thoughts from the participants...

"I was fasting for Sundance and the Cedar Tree spoke to me--"all living things on this planet make their living from Mother earth--from the smallest one cell creature to vast ecosystems all from the generosity of their Mother.  No wonder Buddhist precepts say "a disciple of Buddha is generous and not possessive of anything" ~RyuSui SoSu

"I was overwhelmed by Nomon Tim's joy" ~ David Shichi Kuzen

"Water shows me how to be still and deep, but also swift and steady...The humble rabbit, sustainer of the food chain, teaches me of impermanence, interbeing--and--how to transform into an eagle! A symbol of luck, rabbit reminds me of my great, good fortune to receive these teachings and practice with all of you.  In gratitude for being alive, I offer my courageous heart to stand upright, speak the truth, create connection, and spread kindness and healing throughout my community and beyond." ~ Heather Suito Yushin

"Ok--quite a surprise--"Aidan" means "little fire" in Irish and I was born in the year of the monkey!! The Jukai was wonderful--the anticipation was intense and I got quite jittery! The ceremony itself felt very alien in a good way and not at all like I expected.  The sense of responsibility transmitted was very noticeable" ~ Aidan Enka JiSeki

"I was very overwhelmed by my name!  I know that Kanho Chris worked some zen magic to bring so many things that are powerful and meaningful to me and in our work and study into just a few syllables--and I don't need to digest it all at once.  But it definitely feels a little intimidating--and like an invitation.  I guess I mean I feel humbled grateful and...maybe honor? reverence? --for the practice and the sangha and the lineage.  Lots to sit with and percolate on." ~ Ariel Myosen Zenki

Please note:

The Zendo will be closed with no meeting on Wednesday, December 24th. Morning practice continues at 7am with days off for December 25th and January 1st. Join us to welcome the new year on New Year's Eve

Please make a note that our mailing address has changed to our physical Sansui-Ji address:

2509 Cedarwood Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225

Members mailing in checks should now send them here, thanks!

Red Cedar Zen Community is currently welcoming new Board Members. We’re seeking individuals who feel called to deepen their practice within the sangha and contribute to its evolving structure. This is an exciting time of growth and transformation as we reorganize and refine our governance. If you’re inspired to support this process and help shape the future of our community, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Mari Ritalahti, President of the Board, at mtritalahti@gmail.com to express your interest or learn more.

Curious about the Board's work? You can read last month's Board of Directors Meeting Minutes here.  Members of Red Cedar can request access to Ananda, our online file sharing system, if you're interested in additional notes of the Board's doings.

Introducing Kevin Costa! A few years ago, while exploring Bellingham as a possible retirement site, Kevin happened to pass by our Red Cedar Zendo at our old location on Forest St.  He says that he made a quiet commitment at that time to connect, if things worked out and he settled here. Kevin moved to Bellingham in 2022 and found his way back to Red Cedar after settling in. He relates that his practice began many years ago where he sat at the San Diego Zen Center--with a much respected teacher, Charlotte Joko Beck. He participated there for some years, also attending offerings at San Francisco Zen Center, Green Gulch, and other Zen centers in CA and in NY. He had been inspired initially by the solid, no nonsense teachings of Joko Beck--and inspired anew by Nomon Tim Burnett, after hearing him speak at Village Books on Mindfulness. His "profound and flowing dharma" re-connected Kevin to our Red Cedar Community. Kevin is retired now, after many years as a speech/ language therapist and during those years, felt that the practice really informed his work and helped to bring skill to his interactions.   His aspiration is to commit to practicing with clarity and sincerity, to meet life directly, embracing the unfolding of reality not as a problem to be solved, but as the very path itself. Sansui-ji temple and the Red Cedar Zen Community now embody this vow. Thank you, Kevin, for your commitment to our Red Cedar Community!

Meet Joe Garvin!  Joe has been a regular at Red Cedar for awhile but slowly and happily continues to get to know more and more folks. Joe came to us through the suggestion of Seattle Soto Zen members when he was living in Seattle around 2 1/2 years ago. He is originally from just outside of Chicago and came to Buddhist practice from taking classes at Loyola University.  The classes happened to be with Taigen Dan Leighton--which many of you may know of from his well-known and much respected teachings and commentaries. Joe enjoyed his classes so much that he ended up taking several while he was attending the university.  Joe's current focus is integrating practice with home life--and raising a 3 year old..."patience, tenderness, and humility" come to mind, he says! (good timing with our Shuso class on practicing as a layperson!)  Also, Joe is very interested in how Buddhist practices and principles can be integrated with recovery from addiction. He is celebrating 15 years of sobriety and is the facilitator of a Buddhist Recovery group "Recovery Dharma", which currently meets at our new Sansui-ji temple on Thursday evenings!--This natural fit has been wonderful, he says. Lastly, Joe wanted to share his impressions of the Red Cedar Community.  At first glance, he found that it is a very tight-knit community--but as he has kept coming back, he has noticed a very down-to-earth quality about our sangha--with a lightness and sense of humor about it. He feels that this is balanced by this commitment and earnestness.  "It has a sense of accessibility--committed but not taking ourselves too seriously" which he sees as the tone set by Nomon Tim and Kanho Chris. Joe expresses that he is enjoying getting to know the individual folks here at Red Cedar, so, if you have a chance to stop by and say hello to Joe, please do! Thank you so much, Joe!

Volunteers needed for indoor and outdoor projects at Sansui-Ji on November 15, from 9am-4pm. No need to stay the whole time but please bring a lunch if you plan to stay the whole day. Projects are as follows:

Spreading mulch (bring garden clothes)
Goodwill run
Dump run
Deep cleaning indoors
Labeling and organizing tasks

Sign up below so we know how many to expect, many thanks to our volunteers!

November Work Party

We had a very nice ceremony to bring in our new Shuso, Junka Ken Oates in our new zendo on Wednesday, September 24th.  

Then, on Saturday morning, Ken delivered an honest and revealing Way-Seeking-Mind talk. It was vulnerable and authentic. These talks are always so enlightening to hear; they reveal a part of the complex conditions and circumstances that lead us all to where we are just now; thank you for your transparency and honesty, Junka Ken!

And it's not too late to join us for Junka Ken's 6 session class! He will be leading us through an exploration of the Path of the Committed Lay Person on Zen.  Join us for that if you haven't already (see listed under events) and, welcome to our new Shuso!

And, what a marvelous novice ordination for Myoki Raizelah Bayen it was!! With a packed house in person--and on Zoom, and with her formal teacher Hoka Chris Fortin and our guiding teacher Nomon Tim, we participated in her deep and moving ceremony before she heads off to Green Gulch. There she will enjoy a taste of monastic life as a new Novice Priest in the Soto Zen tradition.  We will look forward to hearing from her about her adventures as she deepens her understanding and commitment.

For those of you who were unable to attend Raizelah's ordination ceremony on September 28th, please find the recorded session at the link below:

https://redcedarzen.org/event-6376367

The Library Committee is almost ready to get off the ground! Thank you to folks who have expressed interest in the past, we will be contacting you soon. If you are still interested in shelving/sorting/organizing books and/or developing and managing an efficient lending system for our library let us know! Can you help us care for our new space? The Property Management Committee will be responsible for maintenance and general stocking of our building plus caring for the temple grounds. Everything from shopping to building repairs to mowing the lawn will be involved in this dynamic committee.

 

...As we take up residence in our new space there will be an evolving set of volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in volunteering to be part of management and maintenance type tasks for care of our new Zendo there will be many opportunities! You can email volunteering@redcedar.org or talk to Ariel Paulenich to learn more about opportunities for regular/ongoing volunteer opportunities or one-time help/events where your presence and participation will be appreciated.