Valley Streams Zen Sangha

Morning Zazen and Service (Hybrid)
2026-01-29 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-02-05 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-02-12 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-02-19 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-02-26 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-03-05 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-03-12 06:00 - 07:30, 2026-03-19 06:00 - 07:30 (America/Los_Angeles) and 2 more dates | 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)
2026-01-29 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-02-05 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-02-12 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-02-19 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-02-26 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-03-05 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-03-12 08:00 - 09:00, 2026-03-19 08:00 - 09:00 and 2 more dates | 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

Full Moon Ceremony (Hybrid)
2026-02-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., 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.

Dharma Talk by Susan Moon (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-02-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
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.
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.
*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 Meikyo Bob Rosenbaum (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-02-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, PhD. received lay entrustment in Soto Zen from Sojun Mel Weitsman. He is also authorized as a senior teacher of the Taoist practice of Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong in the lineage of Yang Meijun by Master Hui Liu. In addition, he has received denkai in Ordinary Mind Zen from Karen Terzano. Bob teaches Zen and Qigong at the Meadowmind Center in Sacramento.
Bob is the author of several books including Zen and the Heart of Psychotherapy, Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with Tao Te Ching and most recently, That is not your Mind! Zen Reflections on the Sarangama Sutra.
*Zoom link to program
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.

Dharma Talk by Nyokai Kristin Diggs (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-02-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
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.
*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 Jisan Tova Green (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-03-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Jisan Tova Green, she/her, was ordained in 2003 and received Dharma transmission from Eijun Linda Cutts in 2015. During her twenty-four years as a resident of San Francisco Zen Center, she served as Branching Streams Director, supporting and connecting more than seventy-five sanghas in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She co-founded, and co-leads SFZC’s Queer Dharma group. In addition, Tova has worked as a hospice social worker and priest. She enjoys reading and writing poetry and playing the cello.
*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.

Practice Talk by Shokan Clement Spring (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-03-09 19:00 - 21:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Shokan Clement Spring is in his second rotation at Head Doan for Valley Streams Zen. He received Jukai (lay precepts) with Rev. Myō Lahey in 2010 and Shukke Tokudo (priest ordination) with Rev. Kyosho Valorie Beer in 2023. Preparatory to ordination, he completed two practice periods at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and he has recently returned from his first post-ordination practice period, again at Green Gulch Farm.
*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. Mary Mocine (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-03-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Reverend Mary Mocine, former abbess of Clear Water Zendo, trained at San Francisco Zen Center, Berkeley Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery. She was priest ordained by Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1994 and received dharma transmission from him in 2005. She also studied with Jikai Myo-ōn Yvonne Rand, former Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center.
Rev. Mocine graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1971. In 1988 she became interested in Zen Buddhism and took three months off in 1989 to do intensive residential practice at Green Gulch Farm, after which she never returned to practicing law.
In 1998 Rev. Mocine formed a meditation group in Vallejo California. The group grew and Clear Water Zendo was formally opened in January 2000. The name of the zendo, Clear Water, comes from a poem by Zen Master Dogen, “The Point of Zazen.”
Realization, neither general nor particular,
is effort without desire.
Clear water all the way to the bottom;
a fish swims like a fish.
Vast sky transparent throughout;
a bird flies like a bird.

*Zoom link to program
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.

Dharma Talk by So’on Jim Hare (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2026-03-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. 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, and was priest ordained by Rev. Myo Lahey in 2016.
*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.

Full Moon Ceremony (Hybrid)
2026-03-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States

"The Great Round Mirror turns our everyday life" - Practice Circle led by Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Hybrid, Speaker on Zoom)
2026-04-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., 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: Hymn to the Perfection of Wisdom, The Heart Sutra
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.
