Mt Adams Buddhist Temple

08/29/2026

https://www.meetup.com/mt-adams-buddhist-temple-meditation-group/events/316200004/?eventOrigin=group_events_list&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=event_card_savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link&utm_version=v2&member_id=217818433

Life is challenging. Come join us for pizza, silent meditation, fellowship, and a Dharma teaching and discussion. No experience necessary. This group is participation orien

08/11/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/8jN9AShDlD0?si=YO1QckHwyYpw2T7C

Ajahn Brahm shares a funny story of when he was sure he'd reached f...

08/01/2026

https://youtu.be/Hb8LUqfWc6Y?si=p5xqXqM727vU0NwA
From the recent Vietnamese retreat ♥️

Khai Phật Thất lần 3 tại Núi Tuyết Sơn Thiền Tự Washington Oregon 1...

04/20/2026

There’s a well-known story, often shared in both Taoist and Zen circles, about a farmer and his horse. An old man lived in a small village with his son. One day, his horse ran away, and the neighbors came by to offer their sympathies.

“What bad luck,” they said.

The old man simply replied, “Maybe.”

A few days later, the horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses from the hills. The neighbors returned, praising the good fortune.

“What good luck," they said.

Again, the old man responded, "Maybe."

Soon after, the man’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses. He was thrown and broke his leg.

“What bad luck,” the neighbors lamented.

Once more, the old man said, "Maybe.”

Not long after, soldiers came through the village, drafting young men into the army. Seeing his son’s injured leg, they passed him by.

“What good luck," said the neighbors.

And again, the old man only replied, "Maybe.”

The story keeps turning like this, over and over.

What seems fortunate can turn out to be unfortunate. What looks like a loss might reveal something different over time.

Nothing remains fixed or certain.

What stands out isn’t the events themselves but our tendency to rush to judge their meaning too quickly.

Most of the time, our minds jump to conclusions—this is good, this is bad—and then everything else follows from there.

But the story suggests something else: that we don’t see the full picture. Time often shows what the moment cannot. What we label as “good” or “bad” might just be a small piece of something still unfolding.

The old man doesn’t deny what happens. He simply leaves it open.

In Zen, this is sometimes called not knowing—not confusion, but a kind of clarity that isn’t in a rush to judge.

It’s about being willing to meet life as it comes before it hardens into certainty.

The story is straightforward. A horse runs away, then returns. A son falls, then heals. A war comes, then goes.

Nothing extraordinary. And yet—the moment we decide what something means might be the very moment we stop seeing it clearly.

04/20/2026

If you come to the Zen Center, nobody asks what you believe, and nobody tells you what to believe. We tell you our practice forms: how to meditate, how to chant and so on. What you believe is your own business.
When I was growing up, my Orthodox Jewish relatives didn't ask what I believed or tell me what to believe either. They told me to go to services, to keep kosher and to observe the Sabbath.
More important than belief is practice, and more essential to practice are what in Zen are called great faith, great courage and great doubt.
Great faith doesn't mean faith in something, or faith that things will turn out your way. Faith needs no object. It's living life in the way your foot meets the ground in walking. Your foot never wonders if the ground is there for it.
Great courage means not giving up. Changing course is no problem, but you have to keep going. Great courage doesn't have to be dramatic either. Every time you do something that's a little difficult or a little unpleasant, and do it without complaining, and do it until you're finished, that's great courage, right there.
Great doubt is most important. People think religion is about belief, but it isn't. What am I? What is this universe? What should I do? These are not questions that can be answered once and for all. Don't evade them. Find a spiritual practice that helps you look at them steadily, and then practice with great faith and courage.
Belief comes and goes. Even if you believe in God your whole life, your idea of God is always changing. But spiritual practice is not dependent on belief, and it can last a lifetime. —Zen Master Bon Hae (Judy Roitman) (Photo by Sven Mahr.)