Other Local Dharma Centers & Groups

Buddhist Sangha
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City

Cedar Rapids Zen Center
The Cedar Rapids Zen Center is an independent Zen community affiliated with the Japanese Soto Zen school.

Des Moines Tergar Practice Group
We meet on Mondays at the Franklin Library in Des Moines from 6:15-7:45 and practice according to the teachings of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Phone: 515-243-3800 | Contact Tina Manbeck atckmanbeck@ecity.net

Iowa City Zen Center
The Iowa City Zen Center is an independent Zen community affiliated with the Japanese Soto Zen school.

Ryumonji Zen Monastery
Ryumonji is a Soto Zen Buddhist temple located in the beautiful rolling hills of northeast Iowa.

Saraswati Bhawan
Saraswati Bhawan was founded by Acharya Dawa Chhodak Rinpoche and is dedicated to the practice and preservation of the ancient Buddhist Tantric tradition as held by the Nyingma sect of Tibet.

In general, the main point to be established by all the tenets is the ultimate nature of phenomena. As the Prajnaparamita Sutra states:

The dharmata is not an object of knowledge; It cannot be understood by the conceptual mind.

In addition, Ngok Lotsawa, who is considered the crown jewel of Tibetan intellectuals, agrees with this understanding when he says:

The ultimate truth is not only beyond the dimension of language and expression, it is beyond intellectual understanding.

So, the ultimate nature cannot be established by the samsaric mind, no matter how deep that mind may be.

~Jamgön Kongtrul