poetry – Rev. Inryū Bobbi Poncé-Barger, Sensei

February 7, 2026February 7, 2026

A favorite teaching from Japanese Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun

Last year I submitted a photo for the All Beings Zen Sangha Annual Art Calendar that ended up being used along with an Ikkyu saying which I love. I snapped the photograph while participating in a Forest Bathing class that Zen’etsu Clay Crowell was leading in the Tregaron Conservancy.

“Everyday priests minutely examine the Dharma

and endlessly chant complicated sutras.

Before doing that, though, they should learn

how to read the love letters

sent by the wind and rain, the snow and moon. -Ikkyu-

Retreats

A photo taken by Inryu of a retreat at Woodburn Hill Farm back in 2016

Photo of our post lunch walk at Woodburn Hill Farm taken by John Flanagan

Left to Right: Dairyu Michael Wenger and Dan Welch at the Dharma Sangha Zen Center, Crestone CO

Weddings

Contact Inryu Sensei to discuss officiating for your ceremony. She is available for Baby and House Blessings, Weddings, Memorials, Dedications and Funerals. She can help you write your wedding vows and plan for your event. Inryū Sensei is registered clergy for the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia and has been the legal officiant for weddings in California, Maryland, Louisiana and Georgia.

Stone Mountain Lodge in the Sugarloaf Mountains of Maryland, June 2013 and a home wedding in Washington DC in July 2014