Dharma talks from Clouds In Water Zen Center

Dharma talks from Clouds In Water Zen Center

by Clouds in Water Zen Center

Overcoming Hopelessness: Teachings From the Diamond Sutra

This talk was given on July 20, 2025 at Clouds in Water Zen Center by guiding teacher, Sosan Teresa Flynn. Sosan (she/her) has studied and practiced Soto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sosan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice. She has officiated at many ceremonies (daily & special liturgies, weddings, baby namings, and memorial services), and offers premarital and couples counseling. Sosan was raised Catholic and practiced Catholicism for many years before embracing Buddhism as her primary religion. She has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in both community mental health and staff training. Sosan and her husband of 37 years live a short distance from Clouds in Water.

The Four Bodhisattva Vows

This dharma talk was given on July 7, 2025 at Clouds in Water Zen Center by Myoshin Diane Benjamin. Myoshin Diane Benjamin (she/her) is a lay dharma teacher, a path that reflects her deep interest and engagement in the ways that Buddhist practice both permeates everyday work and family life, and supports engagement in social change. Myoshin began practicing Buddhism in 1996 and received dharma transmission in 2022 from Sosan Flynn. She taught for over a decade in the children’s program at Clouds in Water, and has practiced at Hokyoji and Ryumonji monasteries and attended numerous retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh and his community. She has worked for many years in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, and is also a musician. Additionally, she is fully certified to teach the Realization Process. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife and they are parents of a young adult.

Embracing All As It Is

This dharma talk was given on June 29, 2025 at Clouds in Water Zen Center by Kyoku Tracy Walen. Kyoku Tracey Walen resides at Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, MN. Kyoku was ordained as a Soto Zen priest by Byakuren Judith Ragir in 2008 and received Dharma transmission from Byakuren in 2015. She trained for three years at Great Vow Zen Monastery and also with Thich Nhat Hanh in France. She worked as a business consultant and financial executive in corporate America until she discovered the Buddha Way in 1997 and retired to take it up full-time. Kyoku is a member of the teacher ryo at Clouds.

DAIGO - Great Realization (Dogen Zenji)

This talk was given on June 15, 2025 by Flying Fish Barbara Murphy at Clouds in Water Zen Center. Flying Fish studied Zen at MZMC and was ordained by Diane Martin at Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL in 2004 and received dharma transmission from Byakuren Judith Ragir.. She currently practices at Dharma Rain in Portland, but continues to be a beloved part of the Clouds in Water community. She was trained at Abbott Northwestern Hospital as a medical chaplain and has worked as a hospice chaplain with Allina Healthcare system. Her background includes college degrees in both Architecture and Art History and she has worked both as a designer and art consultant in these fields. Her family with two adult children continues to be an important part of her life.

A Practice of Peacemaking

This talk was given on June 8, 2025 by Katto Laura Phillips at Clouds in Water Zen Center. Katto (she/her) started practicing Zen at Clouds in Water in 1997. After a few years, she stepped away to focus on her new family and explore other spiritual traditions. She eventually returned to Zen with renewed enthusiasm and became a member of Zen Bridge, a meditation community in Stillwater. She later re-engaged with Clouds, receiving jukai in 2014. In 2022 she was ordained as a priest by Sosan Theresa Flynn. In 2023, she entered the role of sensei at Zen Bridge after having been a member there for 17 years. She is a psychotherapist emeritus and draws on her 20 years of trauma-related work as she explores ways for people to build nurturing, respectful ways of connecting with vulnerability, authenticity, and curiosity.

The Origin of the Way

This talk was given by Kikan Mike Howard on May 25, 2025 at Clouds in Water. Kikan Michael Howard (he/him) 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.

Letting Go of the Fixed Sense of Self as a Ground and Resource for Action

This talk on letting go of the fixed sense of self was given on May 5, 2025 by Clouds in Water's guiding teacher, Sosan Teresa Flynn. Sosan has studied and practiced Soto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sosan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice. She has officiated at many ceremonies (daily & special liturgies, weddings, baby namings, and memorial services), and offers premarital and couples counseling. Sosan was raised Catholic and practiced Catholicism for many years before embracing Buddhism as her primary religion. She has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in both community mental health and staff training. Sosan and her husband of 37 years live a short distance from Clouds in Water.

Gutei's Finger Pointing - Showing Up

This talk on the koan "Gutei Raises a Finger" was given on May 11, 2025 by MyoOn Susan Hagler. Myo On Susan Hagler began her Zen practice in the autumn of 1980 at MZMC. She went there to find a place to meditate and hit the jackpot when encountering Katagiri-roshi and the MZMC sangha. From then to now Myo On has lived a life filled with the joys and sorrows one encounters on life’s journey. She has been married to Duane Peterson since 1986, has 3 adult children and 3 grandkids, who bring her great delight. 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 . Attending the first unit of chaplaincy training at Gunderson Hospital in LaCrosse informed her life both personally and as a Zen teacher. Myo On joined the teacher-ryo at Clouds in early 2019 as a transmitted teacher. For Myo On, life’s experiences and the people she has crossed paths with have been her greatest teachers. The triple treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha have been her greatest resources for aspiring to live life

What is Freedom? A dharma talk in honor of Juneteenth

A talk given on June 22, 2025 by Clouds in Water's guiding teacher, Sosan Flynn. Sosan has studied and practiced Soto Zen Buddhism since 1992, receiving dharma transmission (full teaching authority) from Joen Snyder O’Neal in 2012. Sosan's areas of teaching include body awareness in Zen, loving-kindness practices, and the intersection of Buddhist practice and racial justice. She has officiated at many ceremonies (daily & special liturgies, weddings, baby namings, and memorial services), and offers premarital and couples counseling. Sosan was raised Catholic and practiced Catholicism for many years before embracing Buddhism as her primary religion. She has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in both community mental health and staff training. Sosan and her husband of 37 years live a short distance from Clouds in Water.

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