Dharma Rain Zen Center - Stratetic Planning

Strategic Planning 2010

Mission and Draft Vision Statement

The Mission of DRZC

This is set forth in the Bylaws and the Articles of Incorporation.

Primary Purpose
To provide for the Transmission of the teachings and practice of Soto Zen Buddhism. To be a sanctuary of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in such a way as to cultivate compassion, love, wisdom and understanding within the members. To preserve the Transmission lineage. To promote lay practice first, but also provide for priest training. To provide the facilities and support the priests necessary for these ends, and to meet the religious needs of the members, their families and the community at large. To provide the traditional religious services, counseling and instruction of a Soto Zen Temple, and to provide additional facilities such as retreat centers, affiliate temples, etc. as deemed necessary by the membership to fulfill these purposes.

Secondary Purposes
To provide a framework for other activities as may be deemed useful by the Sangha for their development in practice, e.g., the study of psychological matters and family issues, the promotion of social or charitable works, education, etc. These purposes should be an adjunct to the Primary Purpose, and support that purpose without outweighing or obstructing it.

Draft Vision Statement

Vision (How do we carry out our purpose)

  • Acknowledge the importance of Way-seeking mind by making the Dharma available to all;
  • Respond skillfully to those who ask for the Dharma;
  • Make the rigor of monastic forms accessible to lay people;
  • Provide a visible example of the transformative power of practice through committed ordained and lay practice;
  • Operate in an ethical, environmentally sustainable, and fiscally responsible manner;
  • Model practice as integrated with all aspects of life;
  • Nurture depth in the Sangha by:
    • Recognizing the central place and transformative power of zazen in our practice;
    • Encouraging courage and intimacy within the Sangha, deep commitment to Zen practice, and the release of suffering;
    • Recognizing and fostering the transformative power of the student-teacher relationship.
  • Make the Dharma widely available by:
    • Providing an array of doorways into the Dharma, offered in ways that are appropriate for a diverse spectrum of people;
    • Offering programs that are living expressions of love, compassion, and wisdom;
    • An explicit commitment to inclusion and openness;
    • Minimizing obstacles by offering the Dharma at low or no cost, and without requirements or commitments where appropriate.
  • Teach and demonstrate the interdependent nature of ordained and lay practice by:
    • Honoring the ordained and lay paths as equally valid and worthwhile, and as both having the potential to lead to the same awakening and liberation;
    • Honoring the ordained and lay paths as different, and as two essential components of the Sangha mandala;
    • Ensuring that lay practice does not become marginalized, resulting in lay practitioners observing or primarily supporting practice financially rather than participating in it fully;
    • Ensuring the presence of ordained practitioners within the Sangha, though they will always be a small minority, is valued not just because of their work in service of the Sangha, but also because of their monastic experience and their rigorous training in the lineage tradition.

top