Clouds in Water is one translation for Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota) and can be used as a kind of koan to consider impermanence, our practice in reflecting what is, and the interbeing of all things.

Clouds in Water Zen Center follows in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri Roshi, a Soto Zen monk who came to this country from Japan in the early 1960s. He worked with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi for ten years at San Francisco Zen Center and came to Minnesota in 1972 to found the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. We practice in the Soto Zen lineage.

As we move into the next season of our work as a sanctuary in the heart of the Twin Cities, Clouds is committed to being a thought leader in accessible, inclusive, and justice-oriented Zen practice as we walk the Bodhisattva path deeper into the twenty-first century. 

Core Beliefs

We value the core practice of zazen and the teaching of Soto Zen Buddhism.

We respect the traditional forms and honor them by expressing them in ways that are accessible and appropriate to our culture.

We value the pursuit of spiritual growth at all stages of life.

We provide training and its benefits as appropriate for all stages of life. The three bases of Buddhist training are virtue, meditative awareness, and wisdom.

We value the great diversity of our culture, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, creed, religious background, ability, income, family status, and level of practice.

We intend that there be no exclusion from our community or its training opportunities on the basis of arbitrary cultural factors. When it becomes apparent that there is an issue, we will address it.

We place a high value on community as an expression of our interdependence.

Following the Bodhisattva way, we nourish a community with a shared commitment to conscious, wise and virtuous action for the benefit of all beings.

We value our inter-relatedness with communities of the larger world.

We understand that our Bodhisattva vow commits us to actions that benefit the common life of the larger community. This includes the neighborhoods we practice in, other Zen centers, and the civic communities of which we are a part.