Dharma Art Day: Zazen and SoulCollage® with Alexa Singer-Telles (in person)
2022-06-04 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Preparing a Sincere Offering to the Three Treasures: A Creative Exploration of Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook

Please join us for a day of mindful practice to explore Dogen’s teachings for cooking your life in a creative and experiential way. It is said that “bodhicitta is born of the smallest offering made with sincerity.” In our time together we will practice cultivating the mind of love by combining the ingredients of zazen, SoulCollage®, guided writing practice, collaboration, and ritual. Please bring your open heart, imagination and curiosity to see what unfolds in this transformational process. Our offerings will be honored in a closing ceremony.
The SoulCollage® process was developed by Seena B. Frost, M.Div. as a mixture of joyful art play and as a healing guide using the potentiality of images and symbols to access our own innate wisdom through journaling and sharing.
Alexa Singer-Telles, True Silent Action, is a dharmacharya (teacher) in the Plum Village tradition, receiving Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2014. She is the guiding teacher for several sanghas in California, Washington, Oregon and Calgary. She co-founded the River Oak Sangha in Redding, and led it for 30 years. She is a practicing psychotherapist, certified facilitator of SoulCollage® groups, and women’s spiritual ceremonialist. She recently founded the MotherRoot Sangha. Inspired by studying our Buddhist women ancestors, she aspires to be an old woman of no rank.
You don’t need artistic skill to attend this event, but you do need to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Mask wearing is optional and will be supported.
Register on Eventbrite.com Event Flyer

Sitting is True Reality: a half-day Sitting, led by So'on Jim Hare (In-Person)
2022-07-02 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Sitting with no agenda; putting nothing before the mind – this is the art of zazen. This practice is appropriate for people seeking relief from the vicissitudes of feelings and discriminating consciousness, and it is good for people seeking simply to sit in true reality.

This retreat will include periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Dharma talk. Both first-timers and more experienced students are welcome.
REGISTER at EVENTBRITE.COM

Half-Day Retreat (In-Person)
2022-10-01 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Everything is in Everything!
There is “Not One Single Thing.” (Shodo Harada)
Come sit, walk together, deeply entering the silence as we realize our lives are not our own.
Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah will lead a half-day retreat with sitting meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), and a dharma talk and discussion. Everyone is welcome.
Bring a lunch and join a social conversation in the newly landscaped Dharma Center north yard at the conclusion of the retreat.
Register on Eventbrite.
Sign up for VSZS Weekly News to learn the latest on program details.

There is no "you" to say "I" - Half-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In-person)
2023-01-07 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“What we call ‘I’ is just a swing door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. When your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no ‘I,’ no world, no mind nor body: just a swing door.” – Shunryu Suzuki roshi
Our morning will entail alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talk, and end with a chanting service. Please bring some previous meditation experience and, if you like, a bag lunch – there will be a social lunch following the sitting.
If this will be your first half-day sitting or you have questions, please contact us through our website or at 916-456-7752.
To register go to Eventbrite.

Half-Day Sitting led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In person)
2023-03-04 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“Communing with the Source, travel the pathways, embrace the territory, and treasure the road.”
Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi
Whether sitting, walk, sitting, standing, or lying down we open wholeheartedly to the Way and Buddha activity happens on its own. Come, sit, and walk together to support each other in continuous practice. The retreat includes periods of zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and a dharma talk with a social lunch to follow. Bring your own bag lunch. Hot water and tea are available.
Register on Eventbrite.
For more information contact us at info@valleystreamszen.org. If you have limited or no experience in sitting meditation, please email the teacher at grindkaton@ icloud.com
Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall at Valley Streams Zen Sangha. She studies 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 Sangha in 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.

Half-day Sit led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare & Buddha's Birthday Celebration
2023-05-06 08:30 - 12:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. So’on Jim Hare will lead a half-day sit in the morning with a special service at noon for the ceremonial washing of the Baby Buddha statue and the chanting of the Buddha’s Birthday Eko in gratitude for Queen Maya’s sacrifice.
Buddha’s birthday is celebrated in Japan on April 8th. In south and southeast Asia it is celebrated as Vesak or Buddha Day on May 5th. We will celebrate on May 6th, to honor the life of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. You are welcome and invited to join this sitting and ceremony. During the latter, we will chant the Heart Sutra and bathe the Baby Buddha. Please bring a lunch to enjoy with your Dharma friends following the ceremony. Birthday cake will be provided.
You are welcome to join the sangha at noon just for the service without participating in the half-day sit.
Register on Eventbrite.

Half-Day Sitting led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Hokyo Doralee Grindler Katonah : Cultivating Intimacy Within Open US to the World (In-person)
2023-07-01 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
A monk asked Dongshan: What is Buddha? Donshan replied, ‘Three pounds of flax.’
Whether sitting, walk, sitting, standing, or lying down we open wholeheartedly to the Way and Buddha activity happens on its own. Come, sit, and walk together to support each other in continuous practice. The retreat includes periods of zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and a dharma talk with a social lunch to follow. Bring your own bag lunch. Hot water and tea are available.
For more information contact us at info@valleystreamszen.org. If you have limited or no experience in sitting meditation, please email the teacher at grindkaton@ icloud.com
Rev. Parāvṛtti Hokyo Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall at Valley Streams Zen Sangha. She studies 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 Sangha in 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.
Register on Eventbrite.

The Mysterious Unfolding of Our Undivided Reality: a Half-day Retreat with Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In Person)
2023-11-04 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Come rest in the mystery, practice with great awareness, and experience the mystery unfolding amongst us. The retreat includes periods of zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and a dharma talk. Please bring a bag lunch and join us for an informal lunch at 12:30 pm. Hot water and tea will be available. Everyone is welcome.

For more information contact us at info@valleystreamszen.org. If you have limited or no experience in sitting meditation, please email the teacher at grindkaton@icloud.com.
Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall. She studies 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 Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the spring 2022 practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha. She offers practice interviews upon request.

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE

Knowing without Touching Things - Half-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In Person)
2024-01-06 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Hongzhi lived in 12th century China and is famous for his Zen poems, which are recorded the Book of Serenity and elsewhere. Eihei Dogen admired his poem called Zazenshin and commented on it in his own text of the same name. During this retreat we’ll look at Hongzhi’s Zazenshin, particularly the line, “Knowing without touching things, illuminating without facing objects.”
Our morning will entail alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talk, and end with a chanting service. Please bring some previous meditation experience and, if you like, a bag lunch – there will be a social lunch following the sitting.
If this will be your first half-day sitting or you have questions, please contact us through our website or at 916-456-7752.
To register go to Eventbrite.

Half-day Silent Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In Person)
2024-03-02 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This will be a silent meditation retreat (no Dharma talk). It is offered to simply to rest in samadhi (aka zazen), allowing silence and stillness to offer their blessings. The schedule will alternate six half-hour periods of sitting and walking meditation, with a short break mid-morning.
We’ll have an optional social lunch following the retreat. Please bring your own lunch.
Note that this sitting coincides with the Valley Streams women’s retreat at Green Gulch Farm, so our numbers may skew male. That said, everyone is welcome.
A donation of $20 is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds or donations of lesser amount.
If this will be your first half-day sitting or you have questions, please contact us through our website or at 916-456-7752.
Register on Eventbrite.

In Praise of the Middle Way: Half-day Sitting led by So’on Jim Hare (In Person)
2024-05-04 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that – producing vision, producing knowledge – leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that – producing vision, producing knowledge – leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.” (from Dhammacakkappavattana Sutra: Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dharma, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, translator.)
Please bring a bag lunch if you would like to join us for a social lunch following the sitting.
Registration below. If this will be your first half-day sitting, or you have questions, please contact us at Info@valleystreamszen.org or 916-456-7752.

Half-day Sitting led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In Person)
2024-07-06 08:30 - 12:30 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
When two arrow points meet, this has nothing to do with the power of skill!
(Jewel Mirror Samadhi)
In our practice together we will consider this Truth of practice realization – that realization comes spontaneously and is not within the realm of consciousness (Genjo Koan) – it does not appear in the realm of perception – because it is unconstructedness in stillness (Self-Receiving and Employing Samadhi)
It matters that we come to practice together! Bring a sack lunch to enjoy sharing a meal.
Half-day retreat (8:30 am-12:30 pm) includes sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence.
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 bring a bag lunch if you would like to join us for a social lunch following the sitting.
Registration below. Suggested donation is $20 -$30. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org

Half-day Sitting (In Person)
2024-08-03 09:00 - 12:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Join the sangha for a half-day of shikantaza or just sitting with alternating periods of zazen (sitting meditation) and kinhin (walking meditation), In the “grass-roof hermitage we “just sit” followed by a social lunch at noon (please bring a bag lunch).
Registration is requested, but not required. Dana is appreciated. Donation can be made below. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org

Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage
Shih-t’ou (700-790)
I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in – covered by weeds…
Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here they no longer work to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Shitou Xiqian was an early Chinese Zen master. He was called one of Zen’s two ‘great jewels’ For some years, he meditated continually in a hut built on a rock at Nan Monastery, and was thus called Shitou (“Priest Rock Head”)

The path of Zen: Half-day Sitting led by So’on Jim Hare (In Person)
2024-09-07 08:30 - 12:30 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The path of Zen: Can you get there from here?
In many Zen texts and teachings, the path of Zen is described as what not to do, such as “don’t take the mind road” or “cease all the movement of the conscious mind.” What is the reason for this? How does it help us in our practice? We will consider these questions through sitting zazen and hearing a Dharma talk at our half-day sitting on Saturday, September 7th, 8:30 -12:30.
Led by So’on Jim Hare. A social lunch will follow this sitting – please bring your own.
Tickets can be purchased below with suggested donation $10 -$30. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org

Women's Group Retreat (In person)
2024-11-23 13:00 - 16:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This group is CLOSED AT THIS TIME.
For more information please contact Doralee Grindler Katonah at grindkaton@icloud.com

Rohatsu Sesshin Half-Day Sitting and Buddha’s Enlightenment Ceremony (In Person)
2024-12-08 08:30 - 12:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Half-day Sitting – In Person – 8:30 am – 12 noon.
Today concludes the seven days of intensive practice with a half-day sitting and the Buddha’s Enlightenment Ceremony.
We will gather after the ceremony to share a buffet lunch.
Register for week-long program on Eventbrite
Full 7-Day Rohatsu Schedule
This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and for celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too.

Half-day Retreat with Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In Person Only)
2025-01-04 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Entering the seasons/the movement from day to night/the swirling of earth around the sun/the faces of the moon/the new year’s dawn.
Come practice together at the dawn of the New Year, sensing freshly the interconnectednes of all of life and our unique places in the universe. Periods of zazen, and kinhin, a Dharma talk, and service. This half-day retreat will be led by Paravritti Doralee Grindler Katonah, Valley Streams Zen Sangha’s leader of the meditation hall. At the conclusion, we will enjoy our bag lunches and sharing gentle conversation.
This retreat is offered by donation. Please consider a donation between $20 – $40. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please contact Ino@valleystreamszen.org if this will be your first retreat day with Valley Streams Zen or if you would like a scholarship.

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall. She studies 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 Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the spring 2022 practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha. She offers practice interviews upon request.

Please register here.

Once in a Blue Moon - Half-day Sitting and Sponsored Lunch. Led by Rev. Myō Lahey (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-03-01 08:30 - 14:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Myō‘s second Dharma name is Seigetsu or blue moon, pointing to his unique expression of Buddha nature. Since the pandemic, Myō has made few personal appearances in Sacramento, so we are happy to offer this opportunity to practice with him and hear his Dharma talk. The morning will include an Eye-Opening Ceremony for the garden Jizo statue. Valley Streams Board members and volunteers will offer lunch. Please honor the teacher with a gift of Dana at the retreat.
If you want to attend the sitting, but not the lunch, please send a message to info@valleystreamszen.org. Everyone is welcome!
Tickets can be purchased below with suggested donation $20 -$40. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org
Please register here.
*Zoom Link to program

"Letting Go of Self-Concern" - Half-day Sitting led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2025-06-07 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Join us for a half-day of sitting and walking meditation with a Dharma talk focusing on the practice that releases us from self-obsession.

There is a movie playing in the untrained consciousness. This movie stars me, is produced and directed by me. The plot of the movie features my interests, my problems, and my desires. Other people are the supporting cast.
The direction of Zen practice is toward a more inclusive, less self-centered awareness. How do we make that movie? Arousing the spirit of awakening is to imagine and realize a more panoramic vision of the self.
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. For more information, please email us at info@valleystreamszen.org.

Please register here.

Freedom and Independence: Half-day Sitting led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2025-07-05 09:00 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
For this retreat we’re keeping it simple with no Eventbrite registration, no Dharma talk and no service. We will chant the refuges at the end. We’ll start at 9 and end at 12:30, followed by a social lunch for those who want to stay. Just show up enough before 9 a.m. so we can start on time. Please bring a bag lunch.
If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org

"Realizing Non-Duality" - Half-day Sitting led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2025-10-04 08:30 - 12:30 | 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.

Rohatsu Sesshin Half-Day Sitting and Buddha’s Enlightenment Ceremony (In Person Only)
2025-12-07 08:30 - 12:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Half-day Sitting – In Person – 8:30 am – 12 noon.
Today concludes the seven days of intensive practice with a half-day sitting and the Buddha’s Enlightenment Ceremony.
We will gather after the ceremony to share a buffet lunch.
Register for week-long program on Eventbrite
This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and for celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too.

"When arrow points meet head-on" - Half-day Sitting led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2026-01-03 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Our January half-day retreat will include zazen, walking meditation (kinhin), a Dharma talk by So’on Jim Hare, and a social lunch to follow.

In his Dharma talk, Rev. So’on will discuss the ancient Chinese story referenced in the line, “When arrow points meet head-on, what has this to do with the power of skill” (from Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi) and its meaning for our practice. At the conclusion, we will enjoy our bag lunches and conversation.
Attendance is available on a sliding scale from $10 to $50. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please bring a bag lunch if you intend to stay for lunch.
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.

"Zen Freedom, Zen Enjoyment" - Half-day Sitting led by Nyokai Kristin Diggs (In Person Only)
2026-03-07 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This half-day retreat will include zazen, walking meditation (kinhin), a Dharma talk by Nyokai Kristin Diggs, and a social lunch to follow.
Nyokai Kristin Diggs joined our sangha as Teacher in 2026. Prior to moving to Sacramento, she trained residentially at all three San Francisco Zen Center temples (2014-2025), holding a number of senior positions, including Ino, Tenzo, and Work Leader. Lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson and priest ordained by Eijun Linda Cutts, she served as Shuso during the winter 2025 practice period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, led by Eijun Linda Cutts.
In her Dharma talk, Nyokai Kristin Diggs will discuss “Not ignoring causation and not falling under its yoke.” Suzuki Roshi said, “Real freedom is to not feel limited when wearing this Zen robe, this troublesome formal robe. Similarly in our busy life we should wear this civilization…without ignoring it, without being caught by it. Without going anywhere, without escaping it, we can find composure in this busy life.”
A social lunch – bring your own – will follow the sitting.
Attendance is available on a sliding scale from $10 to $50. 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.

"Cultivating the Mind of Equality" - Half-day Sitting led by So’on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2026-05-02 08:30 - 12:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Our practice of observing thoughts and feelings without getting involved in them cultivates the mind of equality.
As we go through life, we learn that it is not possible to control circumstances so that everything always goes smoothly; not possible to make it so that there are never any deviations from our plans, our hopes, and our desires. Zen practice is teaches us how to meet pleasant and unpleasant circumstances with the mind of equaity.
“There is a power which you cannot grasp with your rational mind. It operates freely, according to the situation, in a more natural way. At the same time, this power functions in our lives to clarify and settle activities and is beneficial to all living beings.” Dogen
If this will be your first extended sitting with us, please send us a note at info@valleystreamszen.org to introduce yourself.
A social lunch – bring your own – will follow the sitting.
Attendance is available on a sliding scale from $10 to $50. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Please register here.
