History

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.

Early History: 1994 - 2015

The Clouds in Water sangha began meeting in Minneapolis, first at the home of a member and then shared space with the First Unitarian Society. From 1998 until 2015, we rented space in the Northern Warehouse building in Lowertown St. Paul.

From the very beginning of Clouds in Water, those eager to hear and learn the Buddha’s dharma teachings showed up for sesshins, classes, and workshops. Many people have volunteered their time to the Center and continue to do so to this day. As the sangha, they are the lifeblood of Clouds in Water Zen Center.

When the St. Paul Saints stadium and light rail transit arrived in Lowertown, the Board of Directors of Clouds in Water decided to purchase our current building at 445 Farrington Street in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul. We moved in April 2015.

In 2015 Clouds in Water purchased its own building at the site of the former St. Paul Builders' Exchange at 445 Farrington St. in the historic Rondo District of St. Paul.

After relocating to our new home, we continued to offer the dharma to any who wished to study and practice it. Clouds in Water offered classes, sesshins, preparation for Jukai, and ordinations for priests, to name a few. Our Youth and Family practice was developed more fully with the support of parents and priests on the teacher ryo.

Anti-Racism and Social Justice As Practice

Over the years, we have centered social justice and efforts to repair harm down to BIPOC practitioners. We have increased our efforts to practice Engaged Buddhism. Some of these included standing up for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ rights. BIPOC people at Clouds in Water have come together to deepen their Buddhist practice and find solidarity together.

We are proud of our Statement on Non-Harming which was crafted with much thought and care, as well as the work of our Ethics and Reconciliation Committee to make every effort that our sangha is a refuge for all. 

White-bodied people have formed awareness groups to examine their role in perpetuating racial injustice. We as Buddhists and Twin Cities residents lived through the death of Philando Castile, the murder of George Floyd, and the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. As a sangha, we continue to work to diminish violence and hatred and encourage kindness and joy. This is difficult and heart-opening work. 

COVID

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we shut down in-person offerings in March 2020. All staff worked from home, we became experts in Zoom and constantly adjusted to new information and changing circumstances. We became more nimble, adaptable, and resilient by necessity. Having struggled financially during the pandemic, we are now moving from surviving to thriving.

Founders and Guiding Teachers

Katagiri’s dharma heir, Dosho Mike Port, founded Clouds in Water Zen Center in 1994 and was the Guiding Teacher and executive director until 2004.

Thanks are due to Joen O’Neal and Dokai Georgesen for serving as interim Guiding Teachers in 2005. Byakuren Judith Ragir stepped into the role of Guiding Teacher in 2006 and was instrumental in developing the center. She stepped down in 2015 and was succeeded as Guiding Teacher by Sosan Theresa Flynn (at right) who still serves in that role.

We are grateful for many priests and lay teachers who have served over the years in the teacher ryo, for our current priests-in-training, for our Senior Dharma Teacher Emeritus Byakuren Judith Ragir, and for Senior Dharma Teacher Emeritus, Ken Keiyu Ford (deceased).

Celebrating 30 Years: 2024 and Beyond

As we enter our 30th year, we look forward to living and sharing the dharma through our robust offerings of programs, dharma talks, student-teacher practice meetings, action groups, and more. Clouds in Water offers the Friday Night Zen group for young(ish) folks, the 12-step mindfulness group and a vibrant Youth and Family practice program.

We will continue to offer jukai ordination every two years; we are ordaining priests and lay teachers regularly; we have a plan for two or more shuso ceremonies per year in the next few years; and we will have a dharma transmission ceremony before the year is done. We are sustaining the next generation of teachers through individual and group training in ethics, ongoing pastoral care training, and the development of a strong study curriculum. The teacher ryo is now stronger than it's ever been, with six dharma-transmitted teachers and four priests-in-training.

Our board of directors is also strong, with seven devoted members, plus our Guiding Teacher and new Executive Director. The board, staff, members, friends, and many devoted volunteers and donors have contributed towards our greater financial stability. We expect that to continue. 

Our Gift Economics model keeps the dharma open to all with no financial barriers while at the same time honestly stating the actual costs of operations and asking those who can pay more to consider doing so. In 2024 and beyond we will work to better communicate what Gift Economics means so that everyone can feel free to receive the gift of the dharma.  

We are proactively exploring ways to ensure that our center is a welcoming place for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and people of diverse cultural and gender identities. This includes a commitment to support BIPOC folk in leadership roles as priests and teachers, on our board of directors, and in other staff and volunteer roles. In November 2022, we ordained two BIPOC priests and will ordain one more in March 2024.

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.