Prairyerth Zen Center

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Topeka, KS
Prairyerth Zen Center

Providing Zen practice and instruction in Topeka, Kansas. The Prairyerth Zen Center began informally in 1996 in a small office in Topeka, Kansas. Thank you.

Two aspiring Zen students from the Kansas Zen Center in Lawrence decided to sit together a couple of mornings every week. A third person joined, and the practice was moved to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Topeka where, over time, the sangha grew and Prairyerth Zen Center became a reality. Prairyerth Zen Center of Topeka is an affliate of the Kwan Um School of Zen in Providence, Rhode Is

land. Our purpose is to further the practice of Zen meditation in accordance with the teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn, a Korean Zen master in the Choyge Order of Zen in Seoul South Korea. Kwan Um means "perceive world sound" or to perceive the sounds of the suffering of this world. To really perceive how much unhappiness and hardship there is, we develop the compassion to help in whatever way we can. Prairyerth Zen Center is a 501-C3 Religious Non-Profit Corporation and is funded by member dues, donations, and program fees. We have no paid personnel. Please consider making a donation so that our Zen Center can continue to be a compassionate presence in the Topeka community. Your donation may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax professional. Prairyerth Zen Center runs off of membership and donations. If you would like to make a tax deductable donation please send it Bill Lucero, treasurer @ 1176 SW. Warren, Topeka, Ks 66604.

06/24/2026

Upcoming Events At Prairyerth Zen Topeka, KS
July 5, Sunday 3:00 pm
Regular Sunday practice will be held, but Senior dharma teacher interviews have been canceled for this month due to family commitments.

July 25, Saturday 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
- Sangha Meeting & Potluck at Dennis's house (more information to follow). Help us discuss our agenda and set dates for Winter events. Please bring a dish to share. Everyone is welcome.

July 28 - August 2
- Five-day retreat ("Gentle Prairyerth Zen" - Come and sit in meditation when you can. Leave when you must.)
The retreat begins Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, Temple Rules and a 30 minute sitting.
Wednesday - Saturday starting at 7:00 am, Rebecca will be doing prostrations and chanting meditation in the morning and then sitting meditation and walking meditation throughout the day. Please join her as your schedule permits. You may sit all day, every day or come just for 30 minutes for 1 day. The retreat is informal, but mostly silent. If you are coming over the lunch hour, bring a sack lunch with you. Each day ends at 5:00 pm with Kwan Seum Bosal chanting. Registration is not required and there is no fee, although donations are appreciated in person or on our website.

SAVE THE DATES
August – no retreats this month
September 5 - One-Day Retreat
October 16 - 18 YMJJ Two-Day Retreat

https://prairyerthzen.org/

06/23/2026

Just Now
By Rebecca Otte, JDPSN

Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story about a king who wanted to govern more wisely. He asked his wise men three questions: What is the best time to begin something? Who are the more important people? What is the most important thing to do? None of his wise men at court could answer these questions so the king decided to visit a hermit that was considered to be wise. When the king got there, the hermit was digging in his garden. The king begged him to answer these three questions, but the hermit just kept digging. The king saw that the hermit was old and tired and offered to dig his garden for a while. The hermit was grateful and the king dug up quite a bit of garden. As the king and the hermit were finishing up, a man staggered into the garden with a bloody wound to his abdomen. The king helped the man into the hermit’s hut and dressed his wound, gave him something to drink and then laid him down on the bed. The man fell asleep. The king was so tired, he laid down on the threshold of the hut and fell asleep as well. When he awoke the next morning, the wounded man was awake and dressed. He thanked the king profusely and told him, “I was your enemy. You executed my brother and I was so angry. I was going to kill you, but as I got closer your bodyguards saw me and wounded me. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have died. Please accept my apologies. From now on, I and all my descendants will serve you.” The king was happy that a sworn enemy was now a friend.

As he made ready to go back to the palace, he turned to the hermit and asked, “Why didn’t you answer any of my questions.?” The hermit replied, “ The events of yesterday already answered all your questions!.” The king looked confused. “ If you had not helped me dig my garden bed, but had gone away, the man would have attacked you. So the most important time was when you were digging and I was the most important man and to do me good was the most important business. When the wounded man came to us, the most important time was when you were caring for his wound, for if you hadn’t done that, he would have died without making peace with you. So he was the most important man and your kindness to him was the most important business. The hermit went on, “ Now is the only time you have and whoever you are with is the most important person and the most important business is kindness.”

The practice of Zen meditation helps us to learn the art of being present in each moment. We learn to trust the wisdom of our “don’t know” mind, bringing forth our own natural kindness. So what is the most important time, the most important person and the most important thing to do? Look up from your computer screen and you’ll find the answer to those questions right in front of you!
prairyerthzen.org

06/18/2026

UPCOMING EVENTS: PRAIRYERTH ZEN TOPEKA, KS
June 21, 3:00 pm - 4:30 ***This Coming Sunday***
- Kong An interviews with Rebecca Otte, JDPSN will be held in private during regular Sunday practice.

July 25, Saturday 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
- Sangha Meeting & Potluck at Dennis's house (more information to follow). Help us discuss our agenda and set dates for Winter events. Please bring a dish to share. Everyone is welcome.

July 28 - August 2
- Five-day retreat ("Gentle Prairyerth Zen" - Come and sit in meditation when you can. Leave when you must.)
The retreat begins Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, Temple Rules and a 30 minute sitting.
Wednesday - Saturday starting at 7:00 am, Rebecca will be doing prostrations and chanting meditation in the morning and then sitting meditation and walking meditation throughout the day. Please join her as your schedule permits. You may sit all day, every day or come just for 30 minutes for 1 day. The retreat is informal, but mostly silent. If you are coming over the lunch hour, bring a sack lunch with you. Each day ends at 5:00 pm with Kwan Seum Bosal chanting. Registration is not required and there is no fee, although donations are appreciated in person or on our website.

SAVE THE DATES
August – no retreats this month
September 5 - One-Day Retreat
October 16 - 18 YMJJ Two-Day Retreat

prairyerthzen.org

06/17/2026

When Suffering and Love Become One
By Rebecca Otte, JDPSN

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
Doesn't make any sense.

Rumi

The slightest distinction splits heaven and earth.
To see the truth, don’t be for or against.
Likes and dislikes are the mind’s disease.
If you miss the deep meaning, it is useless to still your thoughts.

Tseng Ts’an, Third Patriarch

I have always found it interesting that different spiritual paths seem to come up with the same teachings. Rumi was a 13th century Sufi mystic. Tseng Ts’an was a 6th century Chan master, a student of Hui K’o, descended from Bodhidharma. Two different masters, two different spiritual paths, one teaching - both of them pointing to this space before we decide in ourselves what is good or bad, right or wrong, clean or dirty, deep or shallow, up or down and all the other ways in which we judge and categorize.

I am reminded of a story told by Zen Master Seung Sahn about a famous work of art shown in Paris. When he got close to what he thought was a painting, he discovered it was a pair of dirty socks with holes in them hanging within a gilded frame. Everyone was impressed with this work of art and someone had paid quite a bit of money for it. Don’t we usually think of art as beautiful? Why dirty socks? If we let go of our distaste, we can see that these socks reveal the life of the person who wore them - the hard work, the fatigue at the end of the day, the sweat and toil. These socks conveyed the suffering of a human life. Letting go of our judgement, we can feel empathy for the human who wore these socks. We understand their life, their work, their suffering. This is connecting to that mind before thinking - the field beyond ideas of right and wrong - that field of empathy and deep compassion. I’ll meet you there.
prairyerthzen.org

06/11/2026

UPCOMING EVENTS @ Prairyerth Zen, Topeka, KS
Correction: June 11, Friday 9:30 am This Friday!
- Monthly Cleaning Practice - Please join us to help clean the Dharma room so it will be in good shape for our 2-day retreat on June 12-14. If we use our "together action" it won't take long at all.

June 12-14
– Yong Maeng Jong Jin - 2 day retreat led by Rebecca Otte, JDPSN. This event begins Friday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, reading of the Temple Rules and an encouragement talk. On Saturday, we'll begin practice at 7:30 am and continue throughout the day with rest periods. Meals are provided. Late entry times are 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Fee for the retreat is $35/day or $70 for the full retreat. Limited accommodations are available. If you need a place to stay please let us know. No one is ever turned away from our practice for an inability to pay. Scholarships are available. Please let us know if you need one. Please register ASAP at our website so we know how much food to purchase and whether to expect people on Zoom, etc.

Buddha's Bookclub and regular Sunday practice are canceled this week due to the weekend retreat.

- June 21, 3:00 pm - 4:30
Kong An interviews with Rebecca Otte, JDPSN will be held in private during regular Sunday practice.

July 25, Saturday 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
- Sangha Meeting & Potluck at Dennis's house (more information to follow). Help us discuss our agenda and set dates for Winter events. Please bring a dish to share. Everyone is welcome.

July 28 - August 2
- Five-day retreat ("Gentle Prairyerth Zen" - Come and sit in meditation when you can. Leave when you must.)
The retreat begins Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, Temple Rules and a 30 minute sitting.
Wednesday - Saturday starting at 7:00 am, Rebecca will be doing prostrations and chanting meditation in the morning and then sitting meditation and walking meditation throughout the day. Please join her as your schedule permits. You may sit all day, every day or come just for 30 minutes for 1 day. The retreat is informal, but mostly silent. If you are coming over the lunch hour, bring a sack lunch with you. Each day ends at 5:00 pm with Kwan Seum Bosal chanting. Registration is not required and there is no fee, although donations are appreciated in person or on our website.

SAVE THE DATES
August – no retreats this month
September 5 - One-Day Retreat
October 16 - 18 YMJJ Two-Day Retreat

06/09/2026

A Tiny Wind
By Rebecca Otte, JDPSN

Su Dongpo was a famous calligrapher and poet in the Song Dynasty and he was friends with Zen Master Foyan who lived some ways away. Su Dongpo, believing himself enlightened, wrote a message to Zen Master Foyan saying that he was no longer moved about by the Eight Winds ( in Buddhism the eight winds are loss and gain, praise and blame, fame and shame, pain and pleasure), but could maintain equanimity in all circumstances. Zen Master Foyan, upon receiving this message, took a brush and ink and wrote “FART” across the message and sent it back to Su Dongpo. When Su Dongpo received it, he was furious! Containing himself no longer, he picked up the message, marched out the door and headed to Zen Master Foyan’s temple. He bursts through the door ready to shout at his friend for such an insult! Zen Master Foyan looked up and calmly said, “You said the Eight Winds could not move you, but a tiny little wind brings you to my door!”

A number of years ago I was giving a talk at our Buddha’s Enlightenment Day ceremony. There were quite a few people there and I was trying to make an impression and so I was being quite solemn and serious with my talk. At that time, there was a family with 5 children who came occasionally to the zen center and they were at the ceremony that day. So here I am, speaking with great seriousness about the enlightenment of the Buddha, when one of the children farted and then giggled slightly. I ignored it and went on, but the next child started giggling. I continued to ignore it, thinking they would settle down in a moment or two. Besides, they were ruining the seriousness of my talk! The next child started giggling. Someone in the sangha started laughing which of course started the rest of the children to start laughing and then everyone was laughing!!! I gave up all the seriousness and began laughing with them.

Sometimes farts bring wonderful zen lessons.

06/03/2026

The Wholeness of Each Moment
By Rebecca Otte, JDPSN

One by one, each thing is complete.

It and dust interpenetrate.

It is already apparent in all things.

So, without cultivation, you are already complete.

Ananda was a cousin of the Buddha and his right hand man. It is said that he had a meticulous memory and could recite all the Buddha’s teachings without difficulty. He practiced diligently and yet, it wasn’t Ananda that became the Buddha’s dharma heir. It was Mahakashyapa. After years of study with the Buddha and then after, Ananda still didn’t understand the fundamental point.

Ananda finally asked Mahakashyapa, “The Buddha transmitted the golden brocade robe to you. What else did he transmit to you?” Mahakashyapa called out, “Ananda!” “Yes?” “Knock down the flagpole in front of the gate!!”

In ancient India and China, a flag was often raised to announce some event, such as a teaching or dharma talk. But Mahakashyapa was referring to the flagpole at the gate that was preventing Ananda from seeing into his own nature. Ananda was so smart, so well-versed in the teaching that he had ceased to have faith in his own standing. When Mahakashyapa told him to knock down the flagpole, he was, in effect, telling Ananda to give up all the intellectual understanding, to clear his mind of all the cognitive reasoning that he was so good at, to finally let go of all his learning, all his memorization. In that moment, Ananda woke up to his own completeness.

Many times, people come to the zen center to “fix” themselves, feeling that something is missing. But the teaching of the Buddha and all the ancient masters is that we are already complete. There is nothing missing. We’ve just covered up this completeness, with thoughts of should and should not, of good and bad, of this is here and that is there, of “I” like and “I” dislike, of judgements and opinions. In knocking down the flagpole of our discriminating mind, we can see our wholeness and the wholeness of each moment.
prairyerthzen.org

05/27/2026

Prairyerth Zen Center Upcoming Events In Topeka, Kansas

June 7, 3:00 pm - 4:30
Consulting Interviews with Richard Brown, Senior Dharma Teacher, in private and during regular Sunday practice. Feel free to bring your questions about Zen.

June 12-14
– Yong Maeng Jong Jin - 2 day retreat led by Rebecca Otte, JDPSN. This event begins Friday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, reading of the Temple Rules and an encouragement talk. On Saturday, we'll begin practice at 7:30 am and continue throughout the day with rest periods. Meals are provided. Late entry times are 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Fee for the retreat is $35/day or $70 for the full retreat. Limited accommodations are available. If you need a place to stay please let us know. No one is ever turned away from our practice for an inability to pay. Scholarships are available. Please let us know if you need one. Please register at our website so we know how much food to purchase and whether to expect people on Zoom, etc.

Buddha's Bookclub and regular Sunday practice are canceled this week due to the weekend retreat.

- June 21, 3:00 pm - 4:30
Kong An interviews with Rebecca Otte, JDPSN will be held in private during regular Sunday practice.

SAVE THE DATES
July 28 - August 2 - Five-day retreat ("Gentle Prairyerth Zen" - Come and sit in meditation when you can. Leave when you must.)
August – no retreats this month
September 5 - One Day Retreat

prairyerthzen.org

05/26/2026

Bowing To The Buddha Within
By Richard Brown, Senior Dharma Teacher
Bowing is a bit of Asian tradition that is foreign to many beginning American Zen students. It is one of our practices that provokes a lot of questions. “Who are you bowing to? Why do you bow? Are you worshiping the Buddha? The short answer is that we bow to the Buddha within us all. Our Buddha nature.

A Zen master and his student were walking along the bank of a stream. The teacher spotted a scorpion struggling in the water in fear of drowning. He bent down to help the insect. But, as soon as he was close enough the scorpion stung him on his hand. He recoiled from the pain and stood up. As he bent down again toward the scorpion his student cried out, “Master, why bother that animal? It will only hurt you again!” The teacher replied, “It is the scorpion’s nature to sting. It is my nature to help. If I allowed its behavior to change my heart I would lose myself. Then who would be the one truly suffering? He placed a leaf next to the scorpion, it crawled onto it and he lifted it to safety.

According to the Buddha, we are all born enlightened, but we don’t recognize what we possess. It would be like a lion who was raised by sheep and so believes that it is also a sheep. This nature that the Buddha and the Zen master above spoke of is the ability to be fully present without drifting off into memories of the past, dreams of the future, expectations, opinions, and desires. Just open to the present moment. When we are this present we see there is no difference between our mind and the minds of all beings. This helps to create a strong sense of compassion for all. Zen Master Hae Kwang, referring to this true nature, once told me that “enlightenment only makes you more like who you already are.” Like your true self.

When we meditate thinking that we have to strive to change something fundamental about ourselves by becoming enlightened, every time our mind wanders or some feeling comes up we might feel a sense of failure. But, when we meditate from a place before thinking, knowing that our nature is already whole, we recognize that awareness which is already present. This takes work, practice and time. But, when we meditate with this awareness, each time we become lost in thought we realize that we are not fixing a mistake. We are simply teaching our mind to recognize our true inborn nature. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, “Each thing is complete. Each thing has it.”

Regardless of whether we bow to the Buddha when entering the dharma room, or when we perform 108 prostrations as a part of morning practice, we do so as a recognition of our own inherent Buddha nature and the Buddha nature of all. Each time we rededicate ourselves to our “big I”, rather than to our “small I”, so that we can help save all beings from suffering and help this world.

05/21/2026

UPCOMING EVENTS
June 7, 3:00 pm - 4:30
Consulting Interviews with Richard Brown, Senior Dharma Teacher, in private and during regular Sunday practice. Feel free to bring your questions about Zen.

June 12-14
– Yong Maeng Jong Jin - 2 day retreat led by Rebecca Otte, JDPSN. This event begins Friday evening at 6:30 pm with special chanting, reading of the Temple Rules and an encouragement talk. On Saturday, we'll begin practice at 7:30 am and continue throughout the day with rest periods. Meals are provided. Late entry times are 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Fee for the retreat is $35/day or $70 for the full retreat. Limited accommodations are available. If you need a place to stay please let us know. No one is ever turned away from our practice for an inability to pay. Scholarships are available. Please let us know if you need one. Please register at our website so we know how much food to purchase and whether to expect people on Zoom, etc.

Buddha's Bookclub and regular Sunday practice are canceled this week due to the weekend retreat.

- June 21, 3:00 pm - 4:30
Kong An interviews with Rebecca Otte, JDPSN will be held in private during regular Sunday practice.

SAVE THE DATES
July 28 - August 2 - Five-day retreat ("Gentle Prairyerth Zen" - Come and sit in meditation when you can. Leave when you must.)
August – no retreats this month
September 5 - One Day Retreat

Address

1701 SW Collins Avenue
Topeka, KS

Website

http://prairyerthzen.org/, https://www.instagram.com/prairyerthzencenter/

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