Calendar

Introduction to Zen Meditation

On the second Monday of each month, we offer a 40-minute introduction to Zen practice.  We focus on the art of sitting meditation, with emphasis on posture, breath and mental focus. This is for new meditators and those wishing to refresh their practice of meditative immersion. Sign up for Weekly Emails to receive current program […]

Dharma Talk by So-On Jim Hare (in-person & online)

So-On Jim Hare  serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, and was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period. He was priest ordained by Rev. Myo […]

Dharma Talk by Rev. Ben Connelly (in-person & online)

Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen teacher and Dharma heir in the Dainin Katagiri Roshi lineage. He also teaches mindfulness in a wide variety of secular contexts including police and corporate training, correctional facilities, and addiction recovery and wellness groups. Ben is based at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and travels to teach across the United States. […]

Annual Sangha Meeting – on ZOOM

It's a virtual event! Bring your coffee or tea and a pastry and spend a relaxed Sunday morning catching up with Sangha friends, hearing the latest news from VSZS Board members, meeting our two new Board members, adventuring into an ice-breaker game, and sharing ideas! President Doralee will review events of the past year, and Treasurer […]

Dharma Talk by Lama Rod Owens (online video)

Love and Rage - The Path of Liberation Through Anger - Lama Rod Owens interviewed by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz : an online video. All of us have many reasons to be angry and even enraged in this fractured world we are living in. Come listen to Lama Owens and participate in a discussion about how we practice […]

Sejiki Ceremony (in-person & online)

Our Sejiki, or food-offering, ceremony is an opportunity to call forth the spirits of those who have passed this way before, offering them solace and acknowledging our ongoing connection to them. If you would like the name of a loved one who has died during the past year, recited in the ceremony, please send the full […]

Yogacara: a One-day Virtual Retreat, led by Rev. Ben Connelly

Yogacara: Integrating Personal and Social Healing and Liberation (online retreat) How can we heal ourselves and our communities? How does our personal conduct, wellness, suffering, and trauma, relate to interpersonal and transpersonal systems? How can we give our lives to universal liberation without sacrificing our own well-being? These are the questions at the heart of […]

Recurring

Introduction to Zen Meditation (in person)

On the second Monday of each month, we offer a 40-minute introduction to Zen practice.  We focus on the art of sitting meditation, with emphasis on posture, breath and mental focus. This is for new meditators and those wishing to refresh their practice of meditative immersion. •Meets in the Library at the Sacramento Dharma Center. […]

Dharma Talk by So’On Jim Hare (in-person & online)

So'On Jim Hare  serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, and was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period. He was priest ordained by Rev. Myo […]

Jukai Ceremony

The ceremony of Jukai consists in receiving the precepts of the Bodhisattva and, by doing so, takes refuge in the three treasures: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

Retreat Night (in person & online)

On Retreat Night we offer an opportunity to settle into your meditation practice with two or three 25-minute periods of zazen, interspersed with walking meditation (called kinhin). Turning the light inward we explore the causes of suffering and what can end it. This invitation is extended to everyone. *Zoom link  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82008151977 Our Monday night programs begin […]

Recurring

Morning Zazen & Service (in-person and online)

Please join us for early morning silent meditation each Thursday before Study Group meeting. Contact Rollin Ives at twl4148@gmail.com for Zoom login and program information. Schedule: 5:45-Zoom room opens, 6:00-Zazen, 6:30-Walking Meditation, 6:40-Zazen, 7:10-Service   •Download  SFZC Chants in PDF.