North Star Dharma Refuge | A Minnesota Zen Temple

North Star Dharma Refuge is a temple in the Serene Reflection Meditation (Soto Zen) tradition of Buddhism, as Transmitted by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett (1924-1996). The priest of the temple, Rev. Bennet Laraway, trained for twelve years at North Cascades Buddhist Priory. He was ordained by the abbot, Rev. Master Koshin Schomberg, in 2003, received Dharma Transmission from him in 2007, and was named a Master in 2015. The temple is a member of the Serene Reflection Dharma Association.

Temples exist to provide a safe and quiet environment in the midst of the world dedicated to meditation and training in the Buddhist Precepts. The temple is located in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Click here for a weekly schedule. (First-time visitors are requested to contact the temple before attending.)

There are no fees for participation in any Priory activities; donations, however, are gratefully accepted. Please click here for information on how to donate.

Altar at North Star Dharma Refuge.

Altar in Meditation Hall.

Altar at North Star Dharma Refuge.

Navigators confidently orient themselves on the North Star because it is a fixed point in a night sky filled with billions of moving stars. So, too, in a world filled with a confusion of changing conditions do Buddhists orient themselves with confidence on Buddhist teaching and practice—the Dharma. It is the "still point of the turning world."

Shakyamuni Buddha, Offering the Teaching

Although the historical Buddha is not worshipped as a god, he is venerated as the Great Master who discovered the Path to the cessation of suffering and taught it to others.