Welcome to the Zen Community of Oregon
The primary purpose of ZCO is to express and make accessible the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teachings, as transmitted through an authentic, historical lineage and to support and maintain Zen Buddhist practice in order to realize our true nature and actualize the Buddha nature in everyday life.
Great Vow Zen Monastery
A residential Zen community of lay and ordained people practicing and evolving spiritual community in response to our times. Grounded in our lineage inheritance, with an eye open to perspectives and methods that serve our vow for Awakening, we aspire to create and uphold a dynamic and connected community and practice life.
We are accepting applications for residency. Email the director of training, training@zendust.org for an application.
The Zen Community of Oregon welcomes everyone. We study together and practice for the benefit of all beings and this living earth. We recognize the suffering caused by biases, prejudices, systems of power, privilege, and oppression based on race, sex, class, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression. We aspire to do no harm and to dismantle barriers that cause separation and suffering, recognizing that our liberation is interconnected with the liberation of all.
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
Located in northeast Portland, Heart of Wisdom is a sanctuary of serenity and community where a spectrum of Buddhist teachings are offered ranging from daily meditation to social action initiatives.
The Resilient Heart
With Hogen Bays, Roshi
April 2 - 5, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery
This retreat is one in which Hogen Roshi often experiments with dharma teaching and practice. So, please come with a flexible mind, open to possibilities. This retreat/workshop is (as are all of our events) an opportunity to hear the teachings of liberation, to reflect and verify them and to apply them to our lives. As the truths of dharma penetrate our hearts they relieve our dissatisfaction and enable us to help others. Our practice is a continual invitation to expand our view. As our view expands, we no longer live tethered to our preferences, judgements and beliefs about how we think the world should be.…
Love & Spaciousness: A Loving Kindness Weekend Retreat
With Patrick Bansho Green and Myoyu Haley Voekel
April 30 - May 3, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery
With wonderment on our side, and in relationship with all that is, we recognize the inherent compassion that naturally arises from deep and sustained presence. Held in a container of zen forms and the vibrant dance of a monastery waking up to spring, we will explore the nature of being anything at all! During this silent retreat our day will unfold within the practices of zazen, chanting, formal meals and a short work practice. Much of the day will be spent in the meditation hall practicing seated meditation together. For more information please Click Here: Attending an Event at Great Vow
Inner Critic Workshop
With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei
May 23, 2026
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
This retreat will bring together parts work modality (i.e. IFS, Voice Dialogue) with Buddhist meditation practices to amplify understanding, empathy and dis-identification from parts, specifically the inner critic and perfectionist, that hinder our unfolding. Sessions will be a mix of silent and guided sitting meditation and group facilitations where participants directly explore parts of themselves such as those listed above. This is for anyone with an aspiration for a liberated heart or who wishes to address obstacles to Dharma practice and self-understanding. First time and experienced meditators are welcome and will find insight and nourishment. In-person only. Saturday May 23rd from 9 am - 5:30 pm (Lunch will be provided.)
Holding Power Wisely: Ethics, Boundaries, and Care in Buddhist Teaching Relationships
With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi, Lama Lekshe, Laura Jomon Martin and Patrick Bansho Green
May 28 - 30, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Holding Power Wisely is a two-day, residential applied ethics workshop for Dharma teachers, teachers-in-training, and others who hold positions of spiritual teaching authority within Buddhist communities. Teachers may also send students with possible teaching responsibilities on their development horizon. Since teaching relationships carry inherent power, even when grounded in sincere intention and deep practice, the asymmetry of teacher–student roles creates conditions where vulnerability, projection, emotional dependency, desire, grief, or confusion can arise—overtly or subtly—often during challenging periods of personal difficulty or transition. Without shared language, training, and trusted peer support, these moments can escalate into boundary violations that cause real…
Swords into Blossoms: The Alchemy of Stopping and Seeing
With Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei and Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei
June 4 - 7, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
On the night of his enlightenment, the Buddha was confronted by Mara, a trickster figure embodying forces that sought to pull him away from awakening. Remaining firmly seated, the Buddha met these forces with stillness and awareness. Mara dissolved, and the Buddha awakened to his true nature. Why does this ancient story remain central to the Buddhist path? It reveals the two essential aspects of meditation practice: stopping and seeing. In Zen, stopping is cultivated through the stillness of zazen—steady presence and non-reactivity. Seeing is the capacity to notice thoughts and emotions as they arise without becoming entangled in them. When we meet…
Five-Day Silent Chan Retreat led by Guo Gu
With Guo Gu
June 23 - 27, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Tuesday June 23 – Saturday June 27, 2026 In the Chan tradition, there are two main approaches to awakening: the method of silent illumination (mòzhào) and investigating a critical phrase (huàtóu). The former is a settling method of serene reflection on the nature of awareness; the latter is an explosive approach that aims to concentrate and shatter all mental states so awakening manifests. Retreat practice is an excellent way to deepen our practice, as it allows practitioners to engage with the meditation method in a sustained, focused way under a protected environment with a retreat teacher. Practitioners receive guidance on…





