Dharma talks from Clouds In Water Zen Center

Dharma talks from Clouds In Water Zen Center

by Clouds in Water Zen Center

The Purpose of Practice and the Practice of Purpose by Rev. Taizan Alford

Date: 2026/09/27. Speaker: Rev. Taizan Alford. At Clouds in Water Zen Center / Mexico. Taizan was ordained as a Soto Zen priest by Sosan Flynn in 2016, and completed shuso in 2021. He received Dharma Transmission from Sosan in 2024 and has full authority to teach in the Soto Zen tradition. Taizan's journey with meditation began on the yogic path in the early 1980s after getting sober. Taizan’s focus in Soto Zen Buddhism is on how zazen, taking refuge and loving kindness can heal old wounds and help create less suffering for individuals and their communities. He is a full member of the Teacher-ryo at Clouds.

Work the Problem by Rev. Fukutoku Morishita

Date: 2026/09/13. Speaker: Rev. Ann Fukutoku Morishita. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. Fukutoku has practiced Soto Zen Buddhism for the past 18 years, and is a member of the teacher-ryo (team) at Clouds. In May of 2026 she received Dharma Transmission from Rev. Myo-on, Susan Hagler. Prior to committing to Buddhism, Fukutoku was a member of the Evanston, IL, Quaker Friends' Meeting for ten years. She enjoy conversing with others concerning all things about Buddhism. One of her favorite things about Clouds is Water is the people who attend there.

Song of Zazen & Supporting Each Other in Community by Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn

Date: 2026/09/06. Speaker: Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. Sōsan has studied and practiced Sōto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving Dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sōsan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice.

Dharma Quests & Emergent Theologies by Rev. Jinzu Minna Jain

Date: 2026/08/30. Speaker: Rev. Jinzu Minna Jain. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. Jinzū is a novice priest, teacher, and Communications and Marketing Director at Clouds in Water Zen Center. They serve on the teacher-ryo (team). As a queer, trans, disabled, BIPOC priest, Jinzū believes that Sōtō Zen practice helps us cultivate the capacity for collective care and liberation, supporting us to meet ourselves, one another, and these harrowing times with a teeming ecology of community, and a deep well of stillness and courageous action.

Sitting With All Beings by Rev. Kikan Michael Howard

Date: 2026/08/23. Speaker: Rev. Kikan Michael Howard. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. The chant can be found on page 17 of the Clouds in Water Zen Center Chant Book. Kikan Michael Howard started practicing at Clouds in Water Zen Center in the late 1990s and was ordained by Sosan in 2018. He is an associate member of the Teacher Ryo at Clouds. Kikan is an independent app developer, a licensed consultant in Dynamic Emotional Integration®, and he transcribes Katagiri Roshi’s dharma talks at the Katagiri Transcripts website, katagiritranscripts.net. He lives in Northfield, MN with his wife and cats.

Reflections On Leading Teen Practice As a Koan and a Dharma Gate by Rev. Keika Karín San Juan and Jake Nagasawa

Date: 2026/08/16. Speakers: Rev. Keika Karín San Juan and Prof. Jake Nagasawa. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. Jake was born and raised on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and is Visiting Assistant Professor of American Studies at Macalester College. He received his PhD and MA in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his BA in Theology & Religious Studies and Asian Studies from the University of San Francisco. He is interested in ancient and medieval Tibetan Buddhism, and Asian American religions in the contemporary U.S. Keika came to Clouds in Water Zen Center in 2005 and served on the Board for more than a decade before being ordained as a novice priest by Sosan Flynn in 2024. Areas of interest include Buddhist liberation theology; Buddhist pedagogy; and the Daoist roots of Chan. One favorite thing about Teen Practice is when conversations take surprising turns. She and her wife live in St. Paul with a bevy of mismatched tropical plants.

Panel Discussion with Reckon With Participations

Date: 2026/08/02. Speakers: Rev. Sosan Flynn (she/her), Rev. Taizan Alford (he/him), Rev. Myoshin Diane Benjamin (she/her), Shishin Leonard Madsen (he/him), Steve Plachinski (he/him), Kaizen Julie Warner (she/her). At Clouds in Water Zen Center. Participants talk about how they are practicing with race and racism, and this practice can be a benefit to our community. Clouds in Water is now partnering with Reckon With, an organization that works to help white people learn to acknowledge, disrupt, and repair racial harm; and transform themselves, their white families and friends, and the institutions they're a part of.

The Practice of Cessation and Clear Observation by Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn

Date: 2026/07/26. Speaker: Guiding Teacher Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn. At Hokyoji Zen Practice Community. Sōsan has studied and practiced Sōto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving Dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sōsan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice.

Tomoe Katagiri 49th Day Memorial - What Is Bardo? by Rev. MyoOn Susan Hagler

Date: 2026/07/19. Speaker: Rev. MyoOn Susan Hagler. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. MyoOn began her Zen practice in 1980 at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (MZMC). She was ordained in 2003 by Tim Burkett and received Dharma transmission from Dokai Georgesen in 2018. She has had the opportunity to practice at all the MN Zen centers as well as Green Gulch in CA, with Hokyoji Zen Practice Community being her primary place of practice from 2010-2019. MyoOn joined the teacher-ryo at Clouds in early 2019 as a transmitted teacher. For MyoOn, life’s experiences and the people she has crossed paths with have been her greatest teachers.

Honoring Our Ancestors: Obon Dharma Talk, Singing, and Dancing Ceremony

Date: 2026/07/12. Speakers: Rev. Sōsan Theresa Flynn, Rev. Shozoku Nomura, and Prof. Jake Nagasawa. At Clouds in Water Zen Center. The ceremony included singing and dancing. Link to song: Sanbo Gowasan. Link to videos of the dances: Tankō Bushi (Mining Song/ Obon Dance) and Tokyo Ondo. Sōsan has studied and practiced Sōto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving Dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sōsan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice. Shozoku came to the US to study at a college and is now a proud Minnesotan. In 2008, she started learning mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh’s books, and coming to Clouds in Water. Challenges like chronic illness, being a parent, working as a civil engineer, and facing racism help her to continue to practice. Shozoku received Jukai in 2020 and was ordained as a priest in 2022 by Teacher Sosan Flynn. Seeing the truth, including seeing oneself as a bodhisattva in action, is a practice she is currently focused on, as a way to truly be kind and love oneself and all beings. Jake was born and raised on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and is Visiting Assistant Professor of American Studies at Macalester College. He received his PhD and MA in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his BA in Theology & Religious Studies and Asian Studies from the University of San Francisco. He is interested in ancient and medieval Tibetan Buddhism, and Asian American religions in the contemporary U.S.

1 of 7