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
|