The paramita of Vigor. The Japanese word for paramita is Higan, which means “the other shore of enlightenment”. The practice of the six paramitas is said to help people cross over to this other shore.

Sign Up for Our Annual Rohatsu Sesshin

Register Here at this Link: https://rohatsuretreat.eventbrite.com

Our Rohatsu sesshin retreat is a time to connect deeply to our heart-mind and let the business of life fall away. As we practice something more essential and true emerges from within us.

This retreat will offer a hybrid online and in-person option. The in-person part of the retreat will be in Sebastopol Ca at our Zendo. We request that when you sign up you let us know if you plan to attend online or in person. We recognize that you might only be able to attend part of the retreat in person or online. Please let us know the days and times you are available when you sign up.

Instructions for Retreat: Once you have signed up you will receive instructions for either online, in-person, or both for retreat attendance.

When we practice in sesshin we wake up to our life as it is. We begin to see through who we think we are and who we are begins to emerge. The constant drone of thoughts fades and losses importance and what is most essential rises to the surface.

Join our YouTube Page
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSy4v8XEiYg4dX3Io0Beiw

Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage.

Link: https://www.vineobstacleszen.com/ He is the author of “Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,” “The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,” and “Going Through the Mystery’s One Hundred Questions.”

Ryushin Andrea Thach, Sensei Andrea began formal practice in 1994 in the Vipassana tradition. In 1997 she joined a Buddhist Peace Fellowship program for socially engaged study and practice and met Kushin Maylie Scott, who became her first teacher and lay ordained her in 2000. Andrea has practiced at BZC since 1999, was ordained in 2005, was shuso in 2009 and received dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 2015.

Link to other Talks by Ryushin Sensei: https://berkeleyzencenter.org/andrea-thach/

Rev. Sensei Katie Egart is a Diamond Sangha apprentice dharma teacher with Rocks and Clouds Zendo founding teacher Daniel Terragno, Roshi. Sensei, Egart leads a zen meditation group; teaches Buddhism; teaches mindfulness meditation; and coordinates meditation retreats with incarcerated women. She sits regularly w/ Yellow Springs Dharma Center & Zen on High, Columbus, Ohio.

Link to Other Talks with Sensei Egart: https://youtu.be/3mPOlqw96Ic?si=km1CwefpyF3pmdyl

Alan Gregory M.L.V. Wonderwheel, M.A., J.D., Water Dragon Sensei

Celebrating Life Ceremony

Alan Gregory M.L.V. Wonderwheel, M.A., J.D., Water Dragon Sensei

Alan Gregory Moon Lake Vulture Wonderwheel died peacefully at sunrise on Friday, August 11, 2023, at home in Santa Rosa, California, with loved ones by his side including his faithful cat Flowerpot. He was 73.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 30, 2023, Wischemann Hall, 465 Morris St, Sebastopol, CA, 10 am – 1:30 pm.

All are welcome. You are invited to bring flowers and a sacred object for the altar. You are also invited to bring a potluck item and stay for lunch after the ceremony. Program 10:30 – 12:30, with lunch following.

When: Sat. Sept. 30th 10 am PST to 1:30 am PST
(Two 90 Min Services: Program to Follow)
Community Lunch: 12:30 to 1:30
Physical Address: Wischemann Hall, 465 Morris St, Sebastopol, CA, 10 am – 1:30 pm.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6958475019?pwd=eitDNDlXZ1hZRDVnOVdicStCNWRKdz09
Zoom Password: gratitude
Contact: Mira Wonderwheel (541) 944-1428 or Carol Spooner (707) 526-2867.

All community members from international Sangha Mahasangha are welcome to join for the benefit of all beings whether you know Sensei Wonderwheel or not.

Alan Gregory M.L.V. Wonderwheel, M.A., J.D., Water Dragon SenseiNovember 15, 1949 – August 11, 2023

Alan Gregory Moon Lake Vulture Wonderwheel died peacefully at sunrise on Friday, August 11, 2023, at home in Santa Rosa, California, with loved ones by his side including his faithful cat Flowerpot. He was 73.  Gregory was born Alan Gregory “Greg” Cravens to Marian Earle “Suzy” and Armon Irvin Cravens at Van Nuys Hospital in 1949. He grew up with his two brothers, Armon “Butch” and Arlen “Pat”, in Reseda and Canoga Park, graduating from Chatsworth High School in 1968. From a very early age he was a peace activist. He briefly attended UC Santa Barbara and Pierce Junior College where he often spoke out on social justice issues.  After leaving a year-long stay at Cimarron Zen Center in Los Angeles, he met his first wife, Sue Ellen Parkinson. In the early 1970s he bought 48 acres of land with a group of friends as part of the “back to the land” movement outside of Willits, CA. Initially, he lived in a tent and had little in the way of personal possessions but did bring Carl Jung’s complete writings. It was during this time that he delivered his daughter, Mira Wonderwheel, who was born at home in a converted chicken coop. Shortly afterwards, he legally changed his name from Cravens to Wonderwheel. After Sue Ellen and Gregory’s divorce, he moved to Sonoma County where he married his second wife, Rhonda Zinkel, and his blended family expanded to include his dear stepdaughter Tassara Hjerlied. Gregory and Rhonda’s son, Ahimsah Wonderwheel, was born in 1976. Gregory attended both Tassara’s and Ahimsah’s home births.  He received his BA from Sonoma State University in 1977, his MA in Psychology from Sonoma State in 1983, and his Juris Doctor from Empire College School of Law in 2002. Gregory met Carol Spooner at Thanksgiving dinner with friends in Sebastopol in 1986. They were married on the Autumnal Equinox in 1989 at 7:03 pm in a glittering twilight ceremony at Miwok Park in Novato. His blended family expanded again to include Carol’s son and daughter, Flavio and Elena Flaviani. All their children were present at their wedding and offered special blessings. They exchanged vows of mutual devotion, respect, and love that matured over the years and saw them through life’s hardships and sorrows, as well as its richness, depth, beauty, and joys.  Gregory’s 20-year career in mental health, with both private agencies and the County of Sonoma, included several years as Deputy County Mental Health Conservator. In their late 40s and early 50s, Gregory and Carol went to law school together. Gregory was a member of the winning 3-person Empire College “Moot Court” team, beating out all the prestigious California law schools, and he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002. His law career was low-key, mainly filling in for other attorneys at court appearances throughout the North Bay and occasionally helping friends or family members or nonprofit groups pro bono. He especially enjoyed talking with the court staff, clerks, and bailiffs, as well as making oral arguments to the judges.  Gregory was a Zen Buddhist from the age of 19, beginning with Joshu Sasaki Roshi at the Rinzai Cimarron Zen Center in Los Angeles and Mt. Baldy. Over the years, additional influential Zen teachers were John Tarrant Roshi, founder of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, Genjo Marinello Osho, Abbot of Chobo-ji Rinzai Zen Temple in Seattle, and Daniel Terragno Roshi of Rocks and Clouds Zendo in Sebastopol in the Diamond Sangha lineage. He was Head of Practice for 10 years at Rocks and Clouds and became Sensei/Teacher there in 2022 under the auspices of Terragno Roshi who gave him his teaching Dharma name–Water Dragon. On September 29, 2023, his name will be chanted in the lineage of Zen Ancestors by Abbot Genjo Marinello at Chobo-ji in Seattle in recognition of his translations and teaching.  Gregory was a self-taught translator of classical Chinese Buddhist texts including: The Sutra of Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar, The Gateless Checkpoint of the Zen Lineage (J. Mumonkan), The Record of the Temple of Equanimity, and The Treatise on the Great-Vehicle’s Arousing of Faith. Videos of his teachings and lectures on these texts are on YouTube at One Vehicle Zen. Some of his writings are on his blog “Turning the Wheel of Wonder” (www.Turning the Wheel of Wonder (wonderwheels.blogspot.com ) and at his The Gateless Checkpoint web page ( The Gateless Checkpoint (pon.net) .   He lived his values of kindness, generosity, and care for all beings. Gregory loved his blended family deeply and was there for all of his children when they needed him most. He attended the birth of his granddaughter Savanna, officiated at the wedding of his niece Sherry, and cared for members of his extended family during times of illness and trouble. He especially enjoyed helping with house projects.  He was a lifelong vegetarian and an opponent of wars, fascism, imperialism, capitalism, consumerism, environmental extraction and destruction, ecocide, and all manner of oppression and injustice. Cats loved Gregory. He rarely slept without at least one beside him. He had a booming laugh, and he grew a great belly for a while, then let it go. He played Go and chess. He enjoyed wearing bright flowered Hawaiian shirts that Carol made for him, watching the birds at the feeders he kept full at the front and back of the house, gardening with Carol, growing flowers, fruits and vegetables, walking on the beach, road trips, buying knick-knacks and being a tourist, going to the movies, watching science fiction & detective series on streaming video, and political podcasts. His favorite movies were: Roshomon, Wizard of Oz, Moby Dick, Jacob’s Ladder, A Christmas Carol, Dracula (Bela Lugosi version), The Go Masters, King of Hearts, Blade Runner, Serenity, The Day The Earth Stood Still (Michael Rennie version), Dr. Strangelove, The Princess Bride.  As a Conscientious Objector during the Vietnam War, he loved to tell the story of his dealings with the Draft Board much like Arlo Guthrie’s famous “Alice’s Restaurant” song. He protested the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, for which he was arrested, and launched a lawsuit against the pollution of the Russian River in the 80s creating public awareness of the need to protect natural resources. He served as Vice-President of SEIU Local 707 for a while in the mid-1990s; co-sponsored a 1996 ballot initiative attempting to prevent the privatization and lease of the old Sonoma County Community Hospital to Sutter Health; and he ran for Sonoma County Supervisor for the 4th District in 1998. Supporting his wife, Carol, he was an activist and occasional legal adviser in the struggle to prevent corporatization of the Pacifica Radio Network, including KPFA in Berkeley, on and off for 20 years beginning in 1999.  Gregory was proud of never having cast a vote for a winning presidential candidate! His first presidential vote was cast in 1972 for Shirley Chisholm.  He was thrilled to be able to do the last thing on his bucket list – going with his son, Ahimsah, to the live Jimmy Dore Comedy Show in San Francisco on July 23rd, where he was greeted with deep courtesy and warmth by Jimmy who said, “We will meet again.”  Gregory, together with Carol and supported by their extended family, friends, and Zen Sangha, met his final illness and death with courage, tenderness, and faith. He was laid out at home for a 3-day vigil, during which time two chanting services were carried out by Rocks & Clouds Zendo at his home and watched via Zoom by friends on three continents. Gregory’s cremation coffin was hand-decorated with drawings, paintings, photos, and messages arranged in a beautiful collage which Gregory contributed to and was profoundly moved to see before he died. Cremation took place at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park in Sebastopol. His cause of death was complications of colon cancer.  Gregory is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 34 years Carol Spooner of Santa Rosa, CA; his daughter Mira Wonderwheel; son Ahimsah Wonderwheel and his partner Christy Young; stepdaughters Tassara Hjerleid and Elena Flaviani; stepson Flavio Flaviani; grandchildren Savanna Wonderwheel, Halliana Wonderwheel, Xavante Wonderwheel, Dalton Pence, and Kyrston Pence; brothers Armon Cravens and Arlen Cravens; former wives Sue Ellen Parkinson and Rhonda Zinkel; and nieces Sherry Tuggle, Elsa Fox Finazzo, Amanda Cravens Leader, and Colleen LaMotte.  A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 30, 2023, Wischemann Hall, 465 Morris St, Sebastopol, CA, 10 am – 1:30 pm. All are welcome. You are invited to bring flowers and a sacred object for the altar. You are also invited to bring a potluck item and stay for lunch after the ceremony. Program 10:30 – 12:30, with lunch following. Contact: Mira Wonderwheel (541) 944-1428 or Carol Spooner (707) 526-2867.  Gregory’s bumper sticker reads “Born Again, and again, and again.” He had hundreds of them printed for sale in the 1980s. Some will be available as giveaways at his Celebration of Life.  Memorial contributions to Rocks and Clouds Zendo are greatly appreciated. 618 South Main Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472  Gregory Wonderwheel’s legacy will live on through the memories of those who knew and loved him, in his contributions to the world of Buddhist teachings and translations, and in the breeze as it moves across the beautiful world. Born again, and again, and again…

Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is the author of “Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,” “The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,” and “Going Through the Mystery’s One Hundred Questions.”

Link to Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/v3nj65r9
Passcode: gratitude

For More About Roshi Dosho Port’s Sangha: Vine of Obstacles Zen

Vine of Obstacles Zen supports householders in developing and deepening wholehearted practice through creative and engaging online modalities. We emphasize the importance of kenshō (literally, “seeing nature”) as the foundation of applying the truth of nonduality to the nitty-gritty details of daily life in order to actualize the Great Vows of a Bodhisattva.

This online program offers Zen practice under the guidance of Dōshō Rōshi and Tetsugan Sensei. The Vine is designed for those who are determined to awaken and actualize the great matter of life and death (aka post-kenshō training) – and who aren’t shy about it!

Dear Rocks and Clouds Community,

Rocks and Clouds would like to extend a deep Gassho of gratitude to each of you for showing up for Sangha at this challenging time. Sensei Water-Dragon is a pivotal and powerful community member who we have deep gratitude for both his steady generous practice and his encyclopedic knowledge of the Dharma.

We had a three-day vigil over this weekend many of you participated in-person and many participated online. Thank you! It has been important and powerful to be connected to Sangha and you during this time of transition for us as a community, for Sensei Water-Dragon, Carol, and the wider chosen and birth family.

We will continue to celebrate and deepen from the wisdom offered by Sensei Water-Dragon. It is traditional in Buddhist practice to recognize that birth and death both are a transition. Death is often marked for 49 days as a time of deep transition. Please continue to offer practice, meditation, chanting, incense, and others in support of Sensei and his family over the next days and weeks.

With generous compassion, just a reminder that we meet life on life’s terms and grief has lots of different faces. Sometimes it hits like a ton of bricks, sometimes it inspires, sometimes it just feels numb and tired. Whatever your reality is don’t make it a barrier to practice but bring that spirit of deep compassion to it and let it whatever it is wake you up.

Not a bad time to remember that old adage of how with practice we get more simple, more true, and more direct that states, ‘when hungry eat, when tired sleep.’ And how difficult it is sometimes to be that compassionate and simple. But that is the direct practice of the way.

I am reminded of the old, important and beautiful Koan “Satsujo Weeps”

KOAN CASE: When Satsujo, a great disciple of Hakuin, was old, she lost her granddaughter, which grieved her very much. An old man from the neighborhood came and admonished her: “Why are you wailing so much? If people hear this, they’ll all say, ‘the old lady once studied with Hakuin and was enlightened, so now why is she mourning her granddaughter so much?’ You ought to lighten up a bit.”

Satsujo glared at her neighbor and scolded him: “You baldheaded fool, what do you know? My tears and weeping are better for my granddaughter than incense, flowers, and lamps!”

The old man left without a word.

Article on Case: https://www.lionsroar.com/satsujo-weeps-an-excerpt-from-the-hidden-lamp-stories-from-twenty-five-centuries-of-awakened-women/

Gassho, may true dharma practice continue and we all support the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Yours in Practice,

Michael Changaris

Gregory Wonderwheel, Sensei left this body at sunrise this morning.  He will be laid out at home for 3 days. Gregory Wonderwheel, Sensei is long-time Zen student of Terragno, Roshi’s.

He is a core part of Rocks and Clouds Zendo as our head of practice has made many many retreats possible over the last decade. Sensei Wonderwheeel was given authority or teach as an apprentice teacher by Terragno, Roshi last year and a new dharma name of Water Dragon.  

Join us for
1) Sitting Vigil Practice and 2) Community Meditation and Chanting Times

Many of you may know him directly. Many may not. As sangha mates, we wanted to include you and ask for your chants, dedication of practice, and connection to our community in this time. 

Gregory has been treating his cancer for many years and after a significant rebound from cancer treatment, it resurged. He began the full transition of this current embodiment. 

If you are local and want to stop by and sit with him awhile, let me know by PM.  You will be welcome.  All your prayers and thoughts and energies these past days, weeks, months, and years have been felt and gratefully received.

Vigil Sitting Times
Pick a Time from List and Sit or Chant

Our hope is that we can have as much as possible round the clock sitting for the next few days. We are asking for people in our global Sangha to consider taking one of these time slots and sitting where ever you are on behalf of Gregory Wonderwheel, Sensei. Sign up for one or more of these time slots to bring presence into this deep moment of transition.

What to do to Join Sitting Vigil…

1. Click link below.
2. Sign up for one or more sitting slots.
3. When it is time to sit either sit independently or
   join community open zoom link below.

Link to Sit Times Sign Up: https://www.slottr.com/sheets/18278438

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/86285071242?pwd=T3U1STQ3ckUrakJDWFp4eHNESTBiZz09#success

Zoom Password: gratitude

Inspired by the initiative of “Awakening for Earth”  (Awakening For Earth) Rocks and Clouds Zendo, in collaboration with PAEAN (Peoples’ Alliance for Earth Action Now PAEAN – Peoples Alliance for Earth), is sponsoring weekly sitting demonstrations for Climate Action Now.

Our goal is to grow this protest that seeks to bring attention to the current climate crisis by a simple act of silent meditation. We also sometimes chant and walk.  We bear witness to the destruction of our world and in doing so strive to awaken others to engage in a monumental nonviolent effort to reverse climate change.

For more information see flier below. 
Contact us at wildrose@pon.net

Terragno Roshi
Buddha’s Birthday Celebration 2023