Sonoma Mandala

THE SONOMA MANDALA PROJECT: EXPRESSING OUR DEEPEST SELF
The word “Mandala,” meaning “circle” in Sanskrit, actually conveys many other ideas as well. It can also suggest the way time and space manifest in a single instant of creative energy. For Kwong-Roshi there is “a true Mandala that fully exists within ourselves, and that can help guide us to our own original stillness, which is always there. ”

Roshi has long envisioned creating a Mandala of buildings on Sonoma Mountain to continue Suzuki-roshi’s lineage and support authentic practice, dedicated to the protection and awakening of all beings, for the next three hundred years. Recently it’s become clear that the existing zendo (meditation hall), which does not meet county code requirements, must be replaced. Since the cost of renovation and retrofit would be nearly the same as building a new zendo, Roshi, with his Advisory Board, has begun the process of designing a Mandala master plan, which will also eventually include a kitchen, an office, a dining hall, and accommodations for staff as well as guests. The new zendo will be the first, central step. The complete Mandala will follow.

The process of realizing this Sonoma Mandala is already underway. Of course it will involve energetic, ongoing fundraising, on a unique scale for Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, coordinated by former residents and long-time sangha members, that could last many years. Renowned Master Temple Builder, Paul Discoe, a student of Suzuki-roshi’s, has offered to work with Roshi on the distinctive design and traditional artisan construction of the Mandala buildings on Zen Center grounds.

Roshi often refers to the challenge he and his sangha faced when they first came to Sonoma Mountain thirty years ago. Now he understands that developing this new Mandala will be the second major challenge of his career.What will be most meaningful to him, he claims, will not only be the work of raising money, but the intimate commitment of numerous people cooperating on a complex, long-term task. As always, he says, it’s the authentic practice, the specific, focused, whole-hearted efforts of the Sonoma Mountain Sangha that will give this project its real significance. Their labor will be more than a matter of creating wood and concrete shelters; it will involve creating buildings that are actively living things. “We will make them live by how we practice in them,” Roshi observes.” And how we care for them will show exactly how we care for our true selves. That is the basic meaning of Mandala.”

There will be many opportunities for well-wishers and sangha members to come together in support of this powerful vision. Key events to launch and sustain the Sonoma Mandala project will be announced regularly on this website. If you have ideas or expertise that you would like to contribute, please don’t hesitate to let us know.