Many of us seek peace, composure, and resilience, but it can be hard to find. If you’re looking for some guidance, Bellingham’s friendly neighborhood Zen community is waiting with a warm welcome at their newly- opened temple.
Red Cedar Zen Community was founded in 1991 and practices Soto Zen, a school of Japanese Buddhism with a focus on meditation and mindfulness in all areas of life, according to the Soto Zen Buddhist Association website.
The need for a new home materialized after Red Cedar Zen Community closed Red Cedar Dharma Hall, which they’d operated out of for 13 years, due to rent increases and complications from the Pandemic. After fundraising for and finding their new space at 2509 Cedarwood Avenue in August 2022, three years of planning, construction, and renovation followed. In a 2024 message, Red Cedar Zen Community Co-Founder and Guiding Teacher Nomon Tim Burnett poignantly notes:
“After over 30 years of doing our formal practice in shared and rented spaces, we’ll be the proud owners of our own practice space once we move into Cedarwood…With that fact, and our general deepening of our community over the years, it’s clear to me that this new space should properly be considered a Zen Buddhist Temple.”
That’s how Sansui-ji Temple, or Mountains and Waters Temple, was developed and finally opened in September 2025, featuring a meditation hall, a kitchen, and more. Red Cedar holds in-person practices at Sansui-ji on Wednesday evenings, supplemented by weekday morning practices over Zoom and other classes, workshops, retreats, and special events. Visit their website to learn more about visiting or getting started with Zen. 2509 Cedarwood Ave., Bellingham, 360.389.3444, redcedarzen.org
