Valley Streams Zen Sangha

"Realizing Non-Duality" - Half-day Sitting led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2025-10-04 08:30 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“The Way is not difficult, just avoid picking and choosing.” So said one of our ancient Chinese Zen teachers. The irony of this statement has not been lost over the centuries: as human beings we seem to be built for picking and choosing. Does that mean we will always be remote from the Buddha Way? That can’t be so! But how do we leap beyond our preferences, the strong habit falling into one side or the other? This question will be the theme of our retreat.
This half-day retreat will feature periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Dharma talk by So’on Jim Hare. A social lunch will follow the retreat; please bring your own. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If this will be your first extended sitting with us, please send us a note at info@valleystreamszen.org to introduce yourself.
Please register here.

Full Moon Ceremony (Hybrid)
2025-10-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The Full Moon Ceremony acknowledges the karma created by our intentional actions, and reminds us to renew our commitment to the ethical conduct expressed as the 16 Bodhisattva Precepts. These are guiding principles for our daily conduct in the world. This ceremony is rooted in a ritual from pre-Buddhist India. To prepare for the ceremony there are two 25 minutes meditation periods separated by 10 minutes of walking meditation. All are welcome to participate.
*Full Moon Ceremony Chants
*Zoom link to program
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, or practice circle. 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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Black Mountain Retreat (In Person Only)
2025-10-08 - 2025-10-12 | Black Mountain Retreat Center, 23125 Fort Ross Rd., Cazadero, CA, 95421, United States

Morning Zazen and Service (Hybrid)
2025-10-09 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-10-16 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-10-23 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-10-30 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-11-06 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-11-13 06:00 - 07:30, 2025-11-20 06:00 - 07:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Join us for two periods of zazen (seated meditation) and kinhin (walking meditation), or just the first or second second meditation periods, as your schedule allows.
6:00 am – Zazen (sitting meditation)
6:30 am – Kinhin (walking meditation)
6:40 am – Zazen
7:10 am – Morning Service
Please arrive a few minutes before the beginning of each period to take your seat in the zendo or, if arriving via Zoom, to allow the AV person time to admit you. If you arrive on Zoom after the beginning of the sit, the AV person will not admit latecomers until the beginning of the next period. Stay for a cup of tea after service if you join in person.
•Zoom meeting link
•Chants used in our morning service (SFZC website)

Study Group (Hybrid)
2025-10-09 08:00 - 09:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
No Study Group Today due to the Black Mountain Retreat. We will resume on October 16th.

The Zen Study Group meets at the Sacramento Dharma Center and on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So’on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary Mahayana Buddhist & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
• To join the Thursday morning study group, email the coordinator, Rollin Ives, twl4148@gmail.com

Introduction to Zen Meditation (In Person Only)
2025-10-13 18:00 - 18:40, 2025-11-10 18:00 - 18:40 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
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.
Following the instruction the Valley Streams Zen Sangha meets for a 30-minute meditation in the Dharma Hall followed by a 10-minute service and Dharma talk. You are invited to stay for these events after the instruction.
* Meets in the Library at Sacramento Dharma Center.
Sign up for Weekly Emails to receive current program information.

Short Retreat Night (Hybrid)
2025-10-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
On Retreat Night we offer an opportunity to settle into your meditation practice with two 25-minute periods of zazen (sitting meditation), interspersed with kinhin (walking meditation). Turning the light inward, we explore the causes of suffering and what can end it.
If you are new to meditation or just exploring the idea, the Introduction to Meditation Class on the second Monday of the month is recommended before attempting an extended evening retreat.
*Zoom link to program
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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Study Group (Hybrid)
2025-10-16 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-10-23 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-10-30 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-11-06 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-11-13 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-11-20 08:00 - 09:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The Zen Study Group meets at the Sacramento Dharma Center and on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So’on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary Mahayana Buddhist & Soto Zen texts and commentaries.
To join the Thursday morning study group, email the coordinator, Rollin Ives, twl4148@gmail.com

Sangha Annual Meeting & Potluck Brunch (In Person Only)
2025-10-18 10:00 - 13:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
You are invited to Valley Streams Zen Sangha’s Annual Meeting and potluck brunch. Spouses, partners, friends, and family—all are welcome. Gather in the West Lobby at 10 a.m. to share a meal and each other’s company. After the brunch, the 2025-2026 Board and officers will be introduced and give a report on the state of the sangha. You will get an update on the Sangha’s financial health, including the Maitreya Fund that was established last year to provide a resource for future Sangha leadership. We look forward to enjoyable conversations and hearing your thoughts about ongoing Sangha activities.
BONUS – A SILENT AUCTION of specialty items (at discount prices) will be offered in the Board Room!
Please RSVP here.

"The Jewel of Sangha - Awakening the Power of Sangha Life" - Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-10-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall. She studied in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Center in Sunnyvale, California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
*Zoom link to program
Chants: Loving Kindness Meditation
We offer a Well-Being Ceremony on the third Monday of every month to remember friends, family, neighbors, pets and people of the world who are ill, facing a recent loss, or struggling with some difficulty in their lives. Please send the names of those you wish to be remembered to: Parāvrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Ino@valleystreamszen.org) by the Sunday evening prior. Or you may add a name Monday evening in the Zoom Lobby before zazen. Please consider speaking with the person(s) you want to name for their permission or to know their wish to not be named.
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, or practice circle. 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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Sejiki Ceremony (Hybrid)
2025-10-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
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 name of that person (and pronunciation) to info@valleystreamszen.org.
We provide bells, cymbals, drums and other noisemakers which are used by the assembly to call the hungry ghosts into the Dharma Hall to eat our food offerings. Everyone is invited to stay for treats and conversation after the ceremony.
*Zoom link to program

"Living the Way in Tumultuous Times" - One-day Retreat led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In Person Only)
2025-11-01 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Manifesting the promise of liberation becomes our legacy for future generations.

This one-day retreat will feature periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Dharma talk by Paravritti Doralee Grindler Katonah, Valley Streams Zen Sangha’s leader of the meditation hall. Lunch will be silent; please bring your own bag lunch.
Attendance is available on a sliding scale from $10 to $100. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If this will be your first extended sitting with us, please send us a note at info@valleystreamszen.org to introduce yourself.
Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall. She studied in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Center in Sunnyvale, California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.

Please register here.

Dharma Talk by Kristin Diggs (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-11-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Kristin Diggs is a Soto Zen priest in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She trained residentially for eight and a half years at Green Gulch, Tassajara, and the San Francisco City Center, beginning in 2014. She was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 2017 and priest ordained by Eijun Linda Cutts in 2021. She served at Shuso (Head Student) for the spring 2025 practice period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.
*Zoom link to program
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, or practice circle. 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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Dharma Talk by Kokai Shalamah Yahchove (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-11-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Kokai Shalamah Yahchove is a Soto Zen priest in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She was lay-ordained in 2019 and became a priest in August 2025, with both ceremonies conducted by her Root Teacher, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, at the Berkeley Zen Center. Kokai has practiced with the Still Breathing Sangha and at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.
*Zoom link to program

Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, or practice circle. 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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Myō Lahey (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-11-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Myō Lahey is Abbot at Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco and Valley Streams’ guiding teacher. He previously served as the monastic Prior (Tantō) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Rev. Lahey is a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson.
Raised in an observant Roman Catholic home, Myō was drawn to religion and spirituality at an early age and found Zen Buddhism in his teens. Rev. Myō began sitting practice in 1969 while still in high school, and attended zazen-kai at Haiku Zendō in Los Altos, which had recently been established and which hosted Suzuki-roshi from time to time.
*Zoom link to program
Chants: For All Beings
We offer a Well-Being Ceremony on the third Monday of every month to remember friends, family, neighbors, pets and people of the world who are ill, facing a recent loss, or struggling with some difficulty in their lives. Please send the names of those you wish to be remembered to: Parāvrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Ino@valleystreamszen.org) by the Sunday evening prior.
Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, or practice circle. 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. If this is your first visit please arrive at least 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

Gratitude Dinner for the Sangha (In Person Only)
2025-11-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
As an expression of our deeply felt gratitude for the Sangha and the myriad ways its members support us and each other, the Valley Streams Board will offer dinner to all those who can join us on Monday, November 24.
Dinner will be provided by the board. What better way to enjoy Thanksgiving week than with one less meal to prepare? We’ll begin at 6:00 p.m. with a short sit and chant/dedication. Dinner in the break room will follow.

CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holiday
2025-11-27 | CA
Thursday morning zazen and Study Group will not be meeting today. We will gather again next week.

Rohatsu Sesshin – Opening Evening Program (Online Only)
2025-11-30 19:30 - 20:45 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
During Rohatsu sesshin we celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightment by dedicating ourselves to zazen practice. As the darkest days of the year approach, we sit together with the principle of awakening, fully opening to the ‘wisdom beyond wisdom’ that becomes bright in sitting meditation.
This year’s Rohatsu will be co-led by So’on Jim Hare and Paravritti Doralee Grindler Katonah. The teaching will be based on the Sattipatthana Sutra, the sutra on the four establishments or foundations of mindfullness.
This retreat is offered partly online and partly in-person. The in-person days include formal Oryoki meals for lunch and dinner. There will be Dharma talks on days 2, 6, 7, and 8. For more information or to request a reduced fee or scholarship, please contact us at info@valleystreamszen.org.
Note that this retreat is intended for experienced practitioners. Participants should have a regular sitting practice and have attended several one-day retreats at Valley Streams or elsewhere. There will be instruction in Oryoki meal practice for those not familiar with it.
Register for week-long program on Eventbrite

Sunday Schedule:
7:30 pm Welcome and Orientation
8:00 pm Zazen
8:30 pm Refuges (PDF)
