Desert Rain Zen

Desert Rain Zen is located in Tucson, but almost all of our weekly activities take place on Zoom (some are hybrid with an in-person component). Exceptions are our annual spring retreat which is in-person only at the Redemptorist Renewal Center located in the Picture Rocks area of Tucson, and an annual fall retreat where we join the other Zen groups in our lineage (this coming fall we'll be in Jemez Springs, New Mexico). So, if you're interested in joining us, you can do so whether or not you are in Tucson.

Our practice is welcoming and user-friendly, grounded in traditional Zen forms and practices held, we hope, in a flexible and accommodating way. We are a koan-based practice; our engagement with koans includes group koan conversations as well as individual koan practice for those who wish to pursue it, and aims to foster individual engagement with the koan tradition, recognizing the unique ways each person responds to and benefits from the koans. The koans are plenty capable of holding their own in such a flexible atmosphere.

Our website describes us this way:

Desert Rain Zen is part of the Open Source, a lineage characterized by
innovative work with koans that aims to foster a deep engagement with awakening and individual transformation and a lively commitment to the Bodhisattva vow in a welcoming and encouraging practice environment.

The Open Source is part of the Pacific Zen School, a lineage that supplements individual koan practice with group koan work with an eye toward making the wisdom, richness, and transformative power of the koan tradition available to all who practice with us. Our koan conversations are lively, warm, and deep,
supported by our continuing commitment to Zen meditation.

And here's what Chat GPT came up with, with just a bit of human editing on our end. It's not a perfect description, and we would not say some of what it says in quite this way. But on the whole it gives a pretty good sense of the kind of thing we do and how it might feel to join us:

Desert Rain Zen: An Introduction for Potential Newcomers

Desert Rain Zen is a small, evolving Zen community rooted in the koan tradition and affiliated with the Pacific Zen School. Based in Tucson, Arizona, it offers a space for people to explore deep, transformative practice in a setting that is both intimate and spacious.

Rather than following a rigid or monastic model, Desert Rain cultivates a Zen that’s both serious and surprisingly fluid. The community works with koans—not as puzzles to be solved or hurdles to pass, but as invitations into direct encounter with life. Koans here are not answers but companions: they open something, stir something, help us meet the moment more fully, even when it’s strange or uncertain.

Meditation at Desert Rain is quiet and spacious, shaped by a spirit of listening. Sitting is often interwoven with poetry, brief teachings, and dialogue. The group leans into not-knowing, allowing insight to emerge rather than be forced. Questions are allowed to ripen in their own time. There’s no premium on polish, and real interest in what’s honest, awkward, or unexpectedly alive.

Desert Rain Zen is part of a broader movement of lay Zen—practice grounded not in monasteries but in everyday life. It’s relational, not remote; creative, not rote. Many in the community come from artistic or contemplative backgrounds, and sessions often weave together koans, poetry, and shared reflection in ways that blur the boundary between teaching and conversation.

Newcomers are welcome, regardless of experience or background. There’s no expectation to “get Zen right.” What matters is curiosity, a willingness to show up, and some affection for the mystery. Some come seeking stillness; others are drawn by a longing they can’t name. What many find is a quiet, open space where things begin to shift—where a kind of spacious clarity can arise, sometimes unexpectedly, right in the middle of the ordinary.

Whether you’re just beginning or have been sitting for decades, Desert Rain offers a path that’s ancient and contemporary, rigorous and relaxed, grounded yet open to the unexpected. It’s not a path that asks you to be someone else—just to arrive, as you are, and see what unfolds.

To learn more about us and see our schedule of activities, please visit the Desert Rain Zen website.