Rohatsu Sesshin, Day 1
2019-12-06 09:00 - 21:00 (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 its true activity.” ~Suzuki Roshi
For the third year, Valley Streams Zen is offering a two-and-a half day non-residential sesshin. This is an opportunity to set aside daily concerns, giving all our attention to our sitting practice, and taking care of ourselves as we would a guest. The schedule for this retreat will be 9am – 9pm on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7, and 9am – 12pm on Sunday, December 8 (plus 1/1/2 hours cleanup). In addition to a schedule that includes sitting and walking meditation, break periods and Dharma talks, we will serve oryoki-style meals for lunch and dinner on the first two days of the retreat. Oryoki is the traditional practice of serving and eating meals together in silence. Please sign up by November 25, by completing the form below and returning it to Practice Leader Jim Hare.
Schedule: Friday & Saturday, 9 am – 9 pm.; Sunday, 9 am – 2 pm.
Cost: $60 for full sesshin; $30 per full day; $15 per half day (scholarships available)
Register using this form; on a Monday night; or email So-On Jim Hare at info@valleystreamszen.org
** Watch a short video demonstrating basic Oryoki forms
** Oryoki Instruction Booklet

Rohatsu Sesshin, Day 2
2019-12-07 09:00 - 21:00
“…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 its true activity.” ~Suzuki Roshi
For the third year, Valley Streams Zen is offering a two-and-a half day non-residential sesshin. This is an opportunity to set aside daily concerns, giving all our attention to our sitting practice, and taking care of ourselves as we would a guest. The schedule for this retreat will be 9am – 9pm on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7, and 9am – 12pm on Sunday, December 8 (plus 1/1/2 hours cleanup). In addition to a schedule that includes sitting and walking meditation, break periods and Dharma talks, we will serve oryoki-style meals for lunch and dinner on the first two days of the retreat. Oryoki is the traditional practice of serving and eating meals together in silence. Please sign up by November 25, by completing the form below and returning it to Practice Leader Jim Hare.
Schedule: Friday & Saturday, 9 am – 9 pm.; Sunday, 9 am – 2 pm.
Cost: $60 for full sesshin; $30 per full day; $15 per half day (scholarships available)
Register using this form; on a Monday night; or email So-On Jim Hare at info@valleystreamszen.org
** Watch a short video demonstrating basic Oryoki forms

Rohatsu Sesshin, Day 3
2019-12-08 09:00 - 14:00

Introduction to Zen Meditation
2019-12-09 18:00 - 18:40
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 methods for, and problems encountered when we try to corral our attention. This is for new meditators and those wishing to refresh their practice of meditative immersion. As time allows, we demonstrate forms of practice used in the meditation hall. The class meets in the Teacher Room in the West Lobby.

Full Moon Ceremony
2019-12-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2020-01-13 19:00 - 21:00
This ceremony is an affirmation of the vow to live for the benefit of all beings. In the Zen tradition we associate the full moon with the ideal of awakening. All are welcome.
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, practice circle or retreat night. There are no membership requirements to participate. We invite donations to support the room rental, visits by teachers, and other sangha activities. Valley Streams Zen Sangha is dedicated to the study of Buddha’s teaching and the practice of meditation. We invite newcomers and experienced Zen students to join us.

Meditation and Writing Retreat, led by Susan Moon
2019-12-14 09:00 - 16:30
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.
This event is sponsored by SBMG. Register on Eventbrite

Dharma Talk by Rev. Myo Lahey
2019-12-16 19:00 - 21:00
Rev. Myo Lahey is Abbot at Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco and our guiding teacher. He has previously served as Practice Leader at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He is a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson. Rev. Myo is available for individual practice discussion by appointment prior to our evening program at the Dharma Center.
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, practice circle or retreat night. There are no membership requirements to participate. We invite donations to support the room rental, visits by teachers, and other sangha activities. Valley Streams Zen Sangha is dedicated to the study of Buddha’s teaching and the practice of meditation. We invite newcomers and experienced Zen students to join us.

Retreat Night
2019-12-23 19:00 - 21:00
This short Retreat Night offers an opportunity to settle into your meditation practice with two 25-minute periods of zazen, interspersed with walking meditation (kinhin). Turning the light inward, we explore the causes of suffering and what ends it. This invitation is extended to everyone.

Morning Zazen - CANCELLED
2019-12-26 06:00 - 07:30, 2020-04-02 06:00 - 07:30
Every Thursday we offer two early morning sittings (6-6:30 & 6:40-7:10) followed by a brief service (7:10-7:20). Following service, you are invited to share a cup of tea or coffee before continuing with the rest of your day. Early morning zazen is the practice of Zen students everywhere. Before engaging in life’s busy activity, we relax and wake up on the cushion. Come for all or part of the schedule.
6:00 Zazen
6:30 Kinhin (walking meditation)
6:40 Zazen
7:10 Service
7:20 Tea, Coffee & Conversation

Study Group - CANCELLED
2019-12-26 08:00 - 09:00
Study is one of the pillars of Zen practice. Please join us every Thursday morning for our ongoing study group to discuss ancient and contemporary texts.

Facilitated by Rev. So-On Jim Hare.
Readings from Mahayana Buddhism & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
Contact Rollin Ives (twl4148@gmail.com) for current readings.
Meet in the Board Room

SDC Volunteer Work Day (suspended)
2019-12-29 09:00 - 12:00
On the last Sunday of every month volunteers are invited to help with outdoor maintenance, indoor cleaning, and other tasks around the Sacramento Dharma Center. It is a great way to show your gratitude, with the added benefit of making new friends!

Sacramento Dharma Center Work Day

Winter Celebration & Refreshments
2019-12-30 19:00 - 21:00
Welcome the new year by celebrating the treasure of sangha with your sangha friends!
After meditation & service, join us for tea and conversation. Taking care of the Sangha is a treasure to appreciate along with Buddha and Dharma. Please bring a finger food offering, and poetry, story, or music to share (if you wish).

Half-Day Sitting led by So-On Jim Hare
2020-01-04 09:00 - 13:00
Zazen practice eases anxiety and fear, and brings forth our courageous spirit, strengthening our capacity to meet what comes with a calm mind. Please join us for a morning of sitting and walking meditation and a Dharma talk.

Please bring a bag lunch if you would like to join us for a social lunch after the formal program.
If this is your first time practicing with us or your first half-day sitting, please call Jim at 916-456-7752 so you can learn more about the day. $15

Register on Eventbrite.com – or sign up on a Monday evening.

Dharma Talk by So-On Jim Hare (at SBMG)
2020-01-05 18:30 - 20:30

Practice Talk by Doralee Grindler Katonah
2020-01-06 19:00 - 21:00
Topic to be announced.

Program Inspired by Martin Luther King
2020-01-20 19:00 - 21:00
Our discussion tonight will recognize and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Good Voyage of Nothing - One-day Zen Sitting led by So-On Jim Hare
2020-02-01 09:00 - 17:00
“I have discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color—something which exists before all forms and colors appear.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki, roshi
This theme will be explored in our practice and in the Dharma talk. The retreat will be led by So-on Jim Hare, Valley Streams Zen’s practice leader. This is a day-long sitting and walking meditation retreat for people with previous retreat experience, though not necessarily in Zen.

Please bring a bag lunch.
If this is your first time practicing with us or your first one-day sitting, please call Jim at 916-456-7752 or email info@valleystreamszen.org
Register on Eventbrite.com – or sign up on a Monday evening.
$20 or inquire about scholarship.
Our one-day and half-day sittings are held on the first Saturday of every month.

Zen Studies Circle, led by So-On Jim Hare
2020-02-03 19:00 - 21:00

Buddhist Studies Circle, led by Tanto So-On Jim Hare
2020-02-24 19:00 - 21:00
The Wheel of Liberation, as taught in the Upanisa Sutra, describes the conditions that lead to the end of suffering. This wheel of “liberating” conditionality corresponds to the third and fourth noble truths, the truths that there is an end to suffering and that there is a path to the end of suffering.
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, practice circle or retreat night. There are no membership requirements to participate. We invite donations to support the room rental, visits by teachers, and other sangha activities. Valley Streams Zen Sangha is dedicated to the study of Buddha’s teaching and the practice of meditation. We invite newcomers and experienced Zen students to join us.

Jizo Ceremony - For Loved Ones Who Have Died and Other Losses
2020-03-07 13:00 - 16:00
Jizo is the beloved Great Bodhisattva found within many Buddhist traditions, who carries us across the threshold of death and loss and safely accompanies us through the ‘hell zones’ of deep suffering.
Especially honored in Japan, Jizo (also known as ‘Earth Store’ or ‘Earth Womb’) brings to us the qualities of courage, fearlessness, and tenderness needed to enter into our experiences of grief and loss and to open our hearts to the mystery of life and death.
This will be a sacred time for us to come together to acknowledge and remember the death of someone dear to us or another kind of significant loss, whether recent or from long ago. We will take refuge in the safe container of our shared presence with each other for the sake of our healing.
We will be introduced to this ceremony by our facilitators and then in silence we will create hand-made offerings for our loved ones. In a ceremony of remembrance we will honor their lives and our relationship with them. We will complete the ceremony with a processional into our garden to offer prayer flag messages for the dying and for ourselves as we continue to live our lives.
In this sacred space we will together turn towards the complexity of grief and discover the strength that arises when we embrace our interconnectedness with all beings.
Everyone is welcome and there is no fee. Donations offered will be given to the Susan Orr Memorial Garden.
Registrer at Eventbrite.com
For further information contact: Doralee Grindler Katonah at grindkaton@icloud.com
This ceremony has been brought to us from Japan by Yvonne Rand and Jan Chosen-Bays and transmitted to Chris Forten and Sarah Emerson (all transmitted Zen Priests). Doralee Grindler Katonah will lead, assisted by Rev. Amie Diller. Doralee has received two years of training in preparation for guiding this ceremony.

CANCELED - Practice Circle: Ecodharma, Glimpses into David Loy’s Radical Vision for Buddhist Practice, led by Doralee Grindler Katonah
2020-03-16 19:00 - 21:00
Due to our concern for the well-being of Sangha members and the larger community, we have decided to cancel our Monday evening programs through the month of March. We will continue to monitor the health advisories and keep you posted about upcoming events scheduled in April. We of course hope to be able to resume our regular programs as soon as advisable. In the meantime you can listen to our archived Dharma Talks. You may also enjoy online programs offered by San Francisco Zen Center.
We hope to reschedule this event when health advisories allow it.

The topic of this Practice Circle is based on David Loy’s book, A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution, and Ethics in the Modern World. Ino, Doralee Grindler Katonah, will introduce the topic in anticipation of our upcoming retreat and public talks with David Loy: April 17, Public Talk; April 18-19, Retreat; and April 20, Dharma Talk.

CANCELED - Morning Zazen
2020-03-19 06:00 - 07:30, 2020-03-26 06:00 - 07:30

Study Group (meeting online via Zoom)
2020-03-19 08:00 - 09:00
Study is one of the pillars of Zen practice. Please join us every Thursday morning for our ongoing study group to discuss ancient and contemporary texts.

Facilitated by Rev. So-On Jim Hare.
Readings from Mahayana Buddhism & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
Contact Rollin Ives (twl4148@gmail.com) for current readings.

ONLINE PROGRAM: Zazen, Service, Dharma Talk & Discussion
2020-03-23 19:00 - 20:00
This is our first online meeting using the Zoom video conferencing app. The meeting will be hosted by Doralee Grindler Katonah in her “Personal Meeting Room” using her Zoom account. The software for attendees is free. The entire program will be about 1 hour.
Our chant will be the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra (PDF).
**To join the meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you “Wait for the host to start the meeting” click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Meeting ID# 8724696709
At 6:50 pm, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/8724696709
If you cannot download or run the application, you can join from your browser. (We have not tried this option yet.)
We will start at 7pm with this schedule: 20 minute sitting; 5 minute chanting service; 10 minute Dharma talk by So-On Jim Hare; 25 minute Q&A/discussion/sharing – about 1 hour.

To join by telephone:

call +1 669 900 6833 (San Jose)
At the voice prompt, enter the Meeting ID: 8724696709

We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as advisable.
You may also enjoy listening to our archived Dharma Talks, or online programs from Hartford Street Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center

Study Group (ONLINE)
2020-03-26 08:00 - 09:00
During this time of separation, please join us online for our ongoing study of ancient and contemporary texts. Our current readings are taken from Zen master Kaizan’s Denkoroku, Record of the Transmission of the Light. If you do not have the paper edition, you can read it online, chapter by chapter, at SotoZen-Net. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So-On Jim Hare, with readings from Mahayana Buddhism & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
Contact Rollin Ives (twl4148@gmail.com) to be added to the mailing list and receive the meeting ID number for each week.
**To join the meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you “Wait for the host to start the meeting” click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Meeting ID# : Obtain the number from Rollin at twl4148@gmail.com
At 7:50 am, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/ [enter meeting number here]
If you cannot download or run the application, you can join from your browser. (We have not tried this option yet.)

**To join by telephone:

call +1 669 900 6833 (San Jose)
At the voice prompt, enter the Meeting ID#
Controls by phone: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = mute/unmute

We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as it is safe to do so. You may also enjoy listening to our archived Dharma Talks, or online programs from Hartford Street Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center.

ONLINE PROGRAM: Zazen, Service, Dharma Talk & Discussion
2020-03-30 19:00 - 20:00
During the current health crisis, we will meet online using Zoom video conferencing software. The meetings will be hosted by Doralee Grindler Katonah. The software is free.
Tonight’s Chant is Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo
*To join the meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you “Wait for the host to start the meeting” click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Meeting ID: 368405457
At 6:50 pm, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/368405457
If you cannot download or run the application, you can join from your browser. (They say using Chrome works best.)
We will start at 7pm with this approximate schedule:
20 minute sitting; 5 minute chanting service; announcements; 10 minute Dharma talk & 25 minute Q&A/discussion/sharing – about 1 hour total.

*To join by telephone (audio only):

call 1 669 900 6833 (Milpitas)
At the voice prompt, enter the Meeting ID: 368405457
Controls for phone: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = Mute/unmute

We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as it is safe to do so.
You may also enjoy listening to our archived Dharma Talks, or online programs from Hartford Street Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center.

Study Group (ONLINE)
2020-04-02 08:00 - 09:00
During this time of separation, please join us online for our ongoing study of ancient and contemporary texts. Our current readings are taken from Zen master Kaizan’s Denkoroku, Record of the Transmission of the Light. If you do not have the paper edition, you can read it online, chapter by chapter, at SotoZen-Net. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So-On Jim Hare, with readings from Mahayana Buddhism & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
Contact Rollin Ives (twl4148@gmail.com) to be added to the mailing list and to receive the meeting ID number each week.
**To join the meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you “Wait for the host to start the meeting” click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Meeting ID# : Obtain the number from Rollin at twl4148@gmail.com
At 7:50 am, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/ [enter meeting number here]
If you cannot download or run the application, you can join from your browser. (We have not tried this option yet.)

**To join by telephone:

call +1 669 900 6833 (San Jose)
At the voice prompt, enter the Meeting ID#
Controls by phone: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = mute/unmute

We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as it is safe to do so. You may also enjoy listening to our archived Dharma Talks, or online programs from Hartford Street Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center.
