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.

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