Recently on May 2, 2026, the Clear Way Zen Sangha held it’s first Agency General Meeting with 16 founding members present, and decided together to register the organization’s legal status as a Canadian Non-Profit Organization and Registered Charity. The first 8 members of the Board of Directors were elected, tasked with drafting the Vision, Mission and By-law of the Community.

Shortly after the AGM, on May 16, 2026, The sangha welcomed two people onto our Senior Member list with the taking of the 3-Gems and Precepts Ceremony for Michael Walker and Dan Radovanovic. We welcome brother Michael and Dan on taking their Zen Vows, the 3-Gems and Precepts.

On June 22, 2026, the Clear Way Zen Board had it’s first Board Meeting and the following board members officer’s roles were decided as follows:

1. President: John Agnew
2. Vice President: Patricia Boska
3. Treasurer: Marie Olinik
4. Secretary: Elizabeth Fournier
5. Special Events Director: Chrystal Norman
6. Communication Director: Dan Radovanovic
7. Asistant Communication Director: Michal Helbin
8. Our teacher Lotus Vu serves on the Board of Director as Ex-officio member.

Michael Walker was designated as the fundraiser committe chair at the AGM.

Our Sangha decided at the AGM that on Saturday, June 27, 2026, we will have our last Saturday Sitting in-person before a summer break from in-person meeting for the summer and enjoy a Potluck with each other at Knox-Met Church in Regina.

July Forest Retreat at Arrow River Forest Hermitage

On July 18 to August 1, 2026, a group of our sangha members with our teacher will be doing a retreat at Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Ontario, about an hour outside of Thunder Bay. Arrow River Forest Hermitage is a center with individual cabins spread throughout on a remote off-grid 92 acres forest. This retreat will give the sangha members a chance to practice living in the forest while practicing Zen in an environment that mirrors what the old forest Zen masters likely have lived in Vietnam or China. Vietnam has a rich tradition of forest dweling Zen practitioners in solitary retreats. Our members will have a chance to experience this practice this summer.

The Beginners Course

The Zen Beginners Course will be taught again this year starting on Jan 31, 2026. Yep, it’s pretty much around the corner. This course is designed for people that are new to Zen and want an understanding of the practice. But is also a good reminder of the foundations of the practice for seasoned practitioners.

There is a small fee to attend the course to cover the costs of advertising and the work put into it. Updates for this will be posted on the website when they becomes available.

The Weekly Podcast

This has not fizzled out. This is something I do in my spare time which I’ve had very little of this year. I do have the audio for all talks that were given by Lotus Vu. It does takes me anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to edit and publish each one. So I’m hoping in the near future I will have the time to start tackling these again. I do plan to publish all the talks that Lotus has give to the Sangha each Saturday. Stay tuned…

Retreats

For our senior members that are able to attend there are two retreat intensives that are planned for this year. The winter one will be hosted in Saskatchewan and the summer one in Ontario. Lotus Vu will be the teacher for both of these.

Since our Sangha is made completely of lay practitioners these retreats allow them to leaving the hustle and bustle of life for a short period of time and solely focus on the Zen practice. These are called an intensive for a reason but are an incredible way for re-enforcing and deepening the Zen practice.

The Up and Coming Year

The challenges facing us are going to be hard for many to say the least. We hope that we can some light, how ever little that may be, to everyone that we can. We hope that all sentient being may be able to find peace and contentment within whatever they may be facing.

The Zen Master Jingqing asked one of his disciples:
What's that sound outside?

Disciple:
That's the sound of rain.

Jingqing:
All beings are upside-down; They lose themselves in the pursuit of things.

Disciple:
How should I feel?

Jingqing:
I am the sound of the rain!

Unfortunately in this day and age, the majority of people don’t believe enlightenment is possible. People listen to the dharma to feel good or do charitable things to gain merits. But when it comes to meditation and practice people turn away and miss the mark leaving nirvana out of reach. Practice and diligence is the key to nirvana for everyone.

I want to include a poem from Hui-neng, The Sixth Patriarch of Zen, found in the Platform Sutra:

Deluded a buddha is a being
enlightened a being is a buddha
a foolish buddha is a being
a wise being is a buddha
a biased buddha is a being
an unbiased being is a buddha
as long as your mind is biased
the buddha dwells in a being
the moment you wake up unbiased
a being becomes a buddha
your mind contains a buddha
your buddha is the real one
if you didn't have the buddha-mind
where would you go to find a buddha?

If you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dike.

And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.

And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.