Valley Streams Zen Sangha

3-day Rohatsu Sesshin
2017-12-01 09:00 - 2017-12-03 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“…when we practice zazen, it is not that big mind is actually controlling small mind, but simply that when small mind becomes calm, big mind starts it true activity.” ~Suzuki Roshi
For the first time Valley Streams Zen is offering a multi-day, non-residential retreat. This is an opportunity to set aside the concerns of daily life for two and a half days, giving all our attention to our sitting practice and taking care of ourselves as we would take care of a guest. The schedule will include sitting and walking meditation, breaks and Dharma talks. Vegetarian meals will be served in a modified oryoki-style for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday. Oryoki is the traditional 3-bowl way of serving and eating meals together in silence.
Schedule: Friday & Saturday, 9 am – 9 pm.; Sunday, 9 am – noon.
Cost: $60 for full sesshin; $30 per full day; $15 per half day
Please sign up by November 21 by completing the form and returning it to Jim Hare.
Sesshin Signup Form (pdf)
Sign up at the zendo, by email info@valleystreamszen.org or by US mail to
VSZS, 3111 Wissemann Dr., Sacramento, CA 95826

Tea & Discussion of SDC Envisioning
2017-12-04 19:00 - 21:00
After meditation & service, join us for tea and discussion. The evening will be devoted to responding to building plans envisioned for our home, the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Tea & Discussion of SDC Envisioning
2017-12-11 19:00 - 21:00
After meditation & service, join us for tea and discussion. The evening will be devoted to responding to landscape plans envisioned for our home, the Sacramento Dharma Center. Lynelle McNeil, landscape architect, will be joining us.
Study her design options from your own computer: SDC Concepts Slideshow (PDF)

Dharma Talk by Susan Moon
2017-12-18 19:00 - 21:00
Susan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the author of a number of books about Buddhism, including the humor book The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi and This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity. For many years she was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. Her short stories and essays have been published widely. Her most recent book is most recent book is The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women.
Sue has been a Zen student since 1976, practicing in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi at Berkeley Zen Center, Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery, Green Gulch Farm, and now with Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Everyday Zen sangha. She received “entrustment” as a lay teacher in 2005.

CLOSED for Christmas Day Holiday
2017-12-25 19:00 - 21:00
