ABOUT US
Mission
Prairie Mountain Zen Center offers the Buddhist practices of meditation, dharma discussion and sangha (community). We provide meditation opportunities in Longmont and Fort Collins, Colorado. During the pandemic, please join us via Zoom!
History
Our history traces to 1989 when founder Jodo Cliff Clusin moved to Boulder, Colorado, after practicing with Dainin Katagiri Roshi in Minneapolis for 12 years. At first, Cliff practiced with many different Zen groups in Boulder. After his priest ordination with Shoken Winecoff Roshi in 1995, Cliff began to offer practice opportunities in the Soto Zen tradition, under the name Prairie Mountain Zendo.
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The name came to Cliff while sitting in the foothills above Boulder, gazing east across the vast expanse of prairie towards the Great Plains. Prairie symbolizes diversity, the many details of our lives, and mountain symbolizes oneness, the panoramic view of life that is open to all.
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Reverend Jodo Cliff Clusin
At that time, Shoken visited Colorado once a year to lead weekend retreats, and other practice events were held throughout the year. In 2002, students who had been coming from Fort Collins to sit with Prairie Mountain in Longmont, decided to establish a weekly practice at Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Collins. This weekly practice has continued uninterrupted (except for the pandemic) for 22 years now.
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​In 2010, PMZC opened The Meditation Place in Longmont which provided a wonderful zendo space. However, in 2020, the pandemic put an end to the business model of a shared space.
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​Our participation has grown slowly over the years, and now we have a 7-member board of directors. We meet on zoom four times a week and offer in person sitting at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Ft. Collins on Tuesday evenings, with an in-person one day sit there on the second Saturday of every other month. Cliff is remodeling the two-car garage at his residence in Longmont into a zendo, which will be available for in person practice, for those who have attended an orientation.