We will sit two zazen periods accompanied by the ringing of 108 bells. Each hit represents one of the delusions/desires that anchor our lives in the world of birth and death. This is a sobering practice that reminds us of the importance of practicing for the welfare of suffering beings. Sangha members will be invited […]
Our practice of relinquishment is our practice of liberation. Our Way of liberation is to release all that is in the way of our full aliveness and our capacity to express the dharma in the situations that come to us. This Monday evening, we will reflect on letting go of patterns and ‘habits of being’ […]
This Monday's program will vary from our usual format. We will begin with a 15 minute sit and then move into a large circle and break-out groups. During the first half of the evening we will be discussing our guest teacher structure as it is now: what you value, what you find limiting, and what […]
To honor Martin Luther King's legacy, we will be listening to his "I Have a Dream" speech and reflecting on how this affects our life now. This will include small group discussions. *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 […]
Guest teacher Shōku Kathy Early came to zen practice in 1994 through classes with Tenshin Reb Anderson at the Yoga Room in Berkeley while working as a semiconductor engineer in Silicon Valley. She then practiced for several years with Keido Les Kaye at Kannon Do Zen Center in Mountain View, after which she trained at San […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]