Tucson, Arizona
"What is Zen?"
"The heart of the one who asks is Zen."

please support Desert Rain Zen

Some Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 9, 3:30-5:00:
Sunday Sit on Zoom

Tuesday, November 11, 5:30-6:30:
Tuesday evening study group on Zoom
we're working with Joan Sutherland's new book Through Forests of Every Color: Awakening with Koans

Thursday, November 13, 6:30-7:30:
Thursday Evening Meditation, in person at Little Chapel
--a hybrid event; you can join us via Zoom

for more upcoming events please visit our program page
what's new:


Desert Rain Zen is now
podcasting
you can find us by searching for
"Desert Rain Zen"
on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
New episode posted 9/6/25, second night talk (by Tenney)from the Open Source retreat in Fall 2025.
You can find recent talks at
https://tenneynathanson.com/soundfiles-of-zen-talks
and older talks here on this website on our talks page


you can learn more about about our teacher
Tenney Nathanson Roshi
at his website tenneynathanson.com
& you can find some new writing by Tenney at 
tenneynathanson.com/zen-writings
including "The World of Dew," "Rolling In and Rolling Out"
and "Mujako and William Carlos Williams"
you can also listen to soundfiles of recent talks



you can listen to dharma talks
by Tenney and Megan
from our recent March retreat
here on our "talks" page
where you can also find more talks by Tenney
and other Open Source teachers
(you can also download the files)

&
Thursday evening in-person sits at Little Chapel on the UA campus
are now hybrid events: you can join us via Zoom
Desert Rain has returned to Little Chapel on a weekly basis
we're sitting together each Thursday evening
6:30-7:30
all are welcome!
current Covid vaccinations strongly encouraged

*

Desert Rain Zen
is part of
the Open Source
a lineage founded by Joan Sutherland Roshi
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

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



Desert Rain Zen
on Zoom

All are welcome!

Here's an outline of our current program of events:


Sunday Sit: We sit each Sunday on Zoom from 3:30-5:00 (one sitting period, then conversation about a koan, then a short sitting period, then closing activities)

Tuesday Evening Study Group: meets on Zoom each week from 6:30-7:30

Thursday Evening Meditation is a hybrid event:
we meet in person at Little Chapel, & on Zoom,
each week from 6:30-7:30

Desert Rain Zen
residential retreat
March 3-8
with Tenney Nathanson Roshi and Megan Rundel Sensei
at the Redemptorist Renewal Center
out at Picture Rocks
in Tucson

*

for links to our zoom events or to be added to our email mailing list
please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]

Our Resident Teacher is Tenney Nathanson Roshi
Our Head of Practice is Jennifer Sellers.

*

some Open Source news:


Fall 2026
Open Source Mahasangha Residential Retreat
with Sarah Bender Roshi, Tenney Nathanson Roshi, Megan Rundel Sensei
check back soon for dates and location

*

In May 2023 our teacher Tenney Nathanson received transmission as an Open Source Roshi
from Joan Sutherland Roshi and Sarah Bender Roshi

Joan Sutherland Roshi, the founding teacher of The Open Source, published a new book,
Through Forests of Every Color: Awakening with Koans
from Shambala in June 2022. It's available from Shambala (or from Amazon)

the Desert Rain Tuesday Evening Study Group on Zoom
is currently focusing on Through Forests of Every Color

for related material about Through Forests of Every Color
and some of Joan's other recent activities
including a series of Zoom interviews about the book available online
you can look at this page on our website
or go to
Cloud Dragon: The Joan Sutherland Dharmaworks



*

there are Open Source groups in Colorado and California as well as here in Tucson
all Open Source groups and teachers are holding Zoom events open to everyone
for contact information and some scheduling information, see our Open Source page.

Dharma talks by Tenney and some other teachers are available for listening and download here on our Talks page

& don't  miss our page on Working with Koans.

Desert Rain Zen is sustained entirely by individual contributions
Please consider donating to DRZ.

Where to find us (when we're not on zoom . . . )

The Little Chapel is located at 1401 East First Street, on the University of Arizona campus:
For our weekend and evening events, you can park for free in any of the spaces in the Little Chapel parking lot.  When you arrive, please check with us about how to enter a parking code on your phone. Questions? text or phone 520-235-1267 or 520-977-3983, or email [email protected].
photos: Lynda Zwinger
this page last  modified November 8, 2025
You can use the "Donate" button to make a one-time donation or to set up a recurring donation.
DRZ is a federally-recognized 501c3 non-profit corporation: all donations tax deductible to the extent allowed by law