Who are we?

Joyful Mind Zen Community was founded in 2023 by Zen Teacher Martine Palmiter, who studied Zen for 18 years under Zen Teacher Rose Mary Dougherty.

Joyful Mind Zen Community exists solely to provide opportunities for anyone to experience or practice Zen as lay persons or householders . We provide Zen meditation training, instruction, and practice periods as well as retreats.

Our Board of Directors helps support our practice. We are governed by Bylaws, and a Grievance and Reconciliation policy and Code of Ethics including being a welcoming and affirming community

Our teachers have been trained in healthy boundaries and follow a code of ethics.

We are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, operating solely from volunteer dedication and donations.

Upon request, we will provide free of charge copies of our exemption application (IRS Form 1023-EZ) and our IRS Forms 990-N.

Photo: Rose Mary Dougherty, 1927-2019

Our Guiding teacher Sensei Martine Palmiter founded Joyful Mind Zendo after having studied under Sensei Rosemary Dougherty for 17 years. She served as the first President and as a co-Guiding Teacher with Sensei Bob Ertman of One Heart Sangha until 2023. Roshi Robert Kennedy of Morning Star Zendo encouraged Martine to set up a joyful place to practice Zen.

Rose Mary encouraged teaching zen to all people regardless of faith tradition, to have full trust in the love, compassion and wisdom of the Zen path.

Rose Mary was a Catholic sister and Zen Teacher, Sensei, as well as a program director of spiritual direction at Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation for 30 years. She studied under Charlotte Joko Beck.

She helped found the Companioning the Dying program which continues today for end-of-life caregivers.

Zen Master Dogen is one of the founders of Zen. His teachings on Joyful Mind, Big Mind, and Kindness support our practice.

Dogen wrote: “When interacting with others, maintain three minds of practice: joyful mind, caring mind, great mind. “

Joyful Mind is an attitude; it is the Zen spirit of practice. It is an attitude of resilience and opportunity, keeping our eyes and minds and hearts open, no fear, cultivating helpfulness, a sense of harmony and community.

Dogen: “We cannot practice just for ourselves, or it will not benefit others.”

…“Allow all things to come into and reside in this heart-mind, and let them function as a whole…Keep your eyes open. You should think of the best way to serve the community, having no fear of limitations, and not to grumble about the quality of the ingredients, but to cultivate a temper which sees and respects them fully for what they are.”