Dharma Talk with Rev. So'on Jim Hare (Speaker In-person)
2023-07-24 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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.

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.
*Zoom link for this program: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82008151977

Dharma Talk by Meikyo Bob Rosenbaum (Speaker in-person)
2023-07-31 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, 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 for this program: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82008151977

Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine (Speaker in-person)
2023-08-07 19:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Reverend Mary Mocine is Abbess of Clear Water Zendo. She trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and at Tassajara Zen 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 spend time in intensive residential practice at Green Gulch Farms never returning to the practice of law.
In 1998 Rev. Mocine formed a meditation group in Vallejo California. The group grew and Clear Water Zendo was formally opened in January of 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.
The 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. 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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us.
Click for zoom link to this program.

Dharma Talk with Rev. Kainei Edward Espé Brown (Speaker in-person)
2023-08-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Edward Espe Brown found his way to Zen practice in 1965 and dove in whole-heartedly. He was the first head cook, or tenzo, at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He was priest ordained by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1971 who gave him the dharma name Jusan Kainei (Longevity Mountain, Peaceful Sea).
Rev. Brown helped found Greens Restaurant in San Francisco and has written several cookbooks including The Complete Tassajara Cookbook, and Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings. He edited Not Always So, a collection of Suzuki Roshi’s lectures. In 2018 he published No Recipe: Cooking as a Spiritual Practice, a book about finding our own way in the kitchen – and in life. One of Rev. Brown’s students, Danny Parker, compiled 30 years of his dharma teachings in The Most Important Point, published in 2019.
The 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. Donations 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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us.
Click for zoom link for this program.

Retreat Night (Hybrid)
2023-08-21 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 three 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. This invitation is extended to everyone.
Click here for zoom link to program.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Renshin Bunce (Speaker on Zoom)
2023-08-28 19:00 - 21:00 | CA
Rev. Renshin Bunce was lay ordained by Myogen Steve Stucky in 1996, and priest ordained by Zenkei Blanche Hartman at San Francisco Zen Center in 2003. She served as Shuso (head student) with Myogen at Tassajara in 2008 and received dharma transmission from him in April of 2013. After completing the Sati Center’s Buddhist chaplaincy training and residency in 2010, she worked as a hospice chaplain until retiring in 2022. She has been affiliated with Norman Fischer and Everyday Zen since 2012.
Rev. Bunce has two books, Entering the Monastery, a record of her time at Zen Center, which was published in 2008; and Love and Fear, reflections on chaplaincy, which was published in 2020. She is a photographer. See flickr to view her images. Rev. Bunce also assists Zen students in the sewing of Buddha’s robe.
The 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. 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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are welcome to join in the zendo or on zoom.
*Click here for Zoom link.

CLOSED for Labor Day Holiday
2023-09-04 19:00 - 21:00 | CA

Dharma Talk by Rev. Myō Lahey (Speaker on Zoom)
2023-09-11 19:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, 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 as 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
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. Donations 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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us in the zendo or on zoom.
Click here for zoom link to program.

Retreat Night (Hybrid)
2023-09-18 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 three 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.
Click here for zoom link to program.

Dharma Talk with Rev. So'on Jim Hare (Speaker In-person)
2023-09-25 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.

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.
*Click here for zoom link.

Civil Rights Pilgrimage with Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah and Malia McCarthy (Hybrid)
2023-10-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
OUR CIVIL RIGHTS PILGRIMAGE TO ALABAMA
Facing Hate with Love – Beginning a new conversation.
Going on Pilgrimage can mean a journey to a sacred place….a seeking of a deeper connection to the larger truth guiding our lives through a visceral encounter with the tremendum. From Sept. 5-10 eight bodhisattvas traveled to Alabama to witness and learn from the ‘places’ in the South where the roots of the civil rights movement began; where the courage of Black people whose ancestors were enslaved changed the world, where these denied truths can be witnessed.

Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah along with Malia McCarthy will speak of their experiences with time for tender discussion amongst all of us.
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.
*Click here for Zoom link.

Medicine Buddha Meditation with Susan Farrar
2023-10-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Susan began practicing in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism in 2008 and took refuge with Lama Yeshe Jinpa in 2009. She competed the Buddhist Chaplaincy course of study through the Sati Center in 2019 and considers chaplaincy her “calling” after having spent 5 years as a hospice respite volunteer, 4 years as a volunteer hospital chaplain, and is now embarking on a path of hospice chaplaincy as a volunteer. Through Lion’s Roar Dharma Center, she has also taught beginners classes and facilitated discussion groups since 2015.
Susan also sits with Valley Streams Zen Sangha and serves on its Board of Directors as well as on the Board of Directors of Lion’s Roar Dharma Center.
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.
*Click here for Zoom link.

Civil Rights Pilgrimage with Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah and Malia McCarthy (Hybrid)
2023-10-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Cultivating Courage to Engage Calls for Justice.
Inspired by the courage of the Civil Rights Movement Doralee and Malia will continue unfolding their pilgrimage experiences (first presentation was October 9) through reflecting upon the many faces of courage and how our practice life informs us. Come participate in this inquiry in both the larger community and practice circles..

Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah along with Malia McCarthy will speak of their experiences with time for tender discussion amongst all of us in a practice circle.
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.
*Click here for Zoom link.

Dharma Talk with Rev. So'on Jim Hare (Speaker In-person)
2023-10-23 19:00 | 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.

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.
*Click here for zoom link.

Sejiki Ceremony (Hybrid)
2023-10-30 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.
Please bring bells, cymbals, drums, or other noisemakers with which 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.
*Click here for zoom link.

Dharma Talk by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (Speaker in Person)
2023-11-06 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.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Myō Lahey (Speaker on Zoom)
2023-11-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-01-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-03-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, 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
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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us in the zendo or online via Zoom.

Dharma Talk by Susan Moon (Speaker on Zoom)
2023-11-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, 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.

Practice Circle guided by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Speaker in Person)
2023-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
DRINKING FROM THE WELL-SPRING OF LIFE
WHERE SUFFERING AND ENLIGHTENMENT MEET
Come participate in the Practice Circle and listen to and share ways in which your Practice Life offers self-care and well-being for living fully in this ‘world on fire’.
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.
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.
*Chant for all beings
*Zoom link to program

Dharma Talk by Ryuko Laura Burges (Speaker on Zoom)
2023-12-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Ryuko Laura Burges, a lay entrusted dharma teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, teaches classes, lectures, and leads retreats in Northern California. She received monastic training at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and is in long-term recovery. Laura co-founded the Sangha in Recovery Program at the San Francisco Zen Center and is the abiding teacher at Lenox House Meditation Group in Oakland. Shambhala Publications offers her Buddhist children’s books, Buddhist Stories for Kids and Zen for Kids. Her most recent book from Shambhala is The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction. Laura lives in San Francisco.
Laura Burges has recently published a new book, The Zen Way of Recovery, which reflects her long experience working with people in recovery. In her Dharma talk at Valley Streams she will offer a teaching based on this line from the Hokyo Zanmai, the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi: “When erroneous imaginations cease, the acquiescent mind realizes itself.” She writes: “When we loosen the grip of our self-created suffering, our flowing, flexible, Big Mind is able to shine forth. Perhaps our most pervasive erroneous imagination is, ‘I am alone, a stranded individual in my own tiny boat.’ Actually, we are deeply connected to all things and all beings.”
*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.

Winter Solstice Celebration (Hybrid)
2023-12-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Celebrate the winter solstice with sangha friends.
After a 35-minute meditation and service, we will gather to entertain each other on this long winter night with instruments, song, favorite poetry new and old, stories and skits. Bring your creativity and share your hidden talents. Bring a treat to share after the entertainment.
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.
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.

Relinquishment Ceremony led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Hybrid)
2024-01-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
We are entering a New Year – an auspicious time to ‘commune with the “source”‘ and deepen our Practice life. Our practice of relinquishment is our practice of liberation.
A RELINQUISHMENT CEREMONY invites us to receive a message from our Buddha Nature, after asking: ‘what life pattern or habit do I need to be released, something that I hold onto tightly, something no longer needed in my life, a need to detach from what constricts me, each for the sake of our enlightenment, for sustaining our growth as bodhisattvas‘.
This evening, after sitting together in silence, we will each consider this question and make a scroll that expresses our Relinquishment Vow. Paper, and drawing utensils will be provided.
There will be time to share and reflect upon our drawings. You may take your scroll home for your altar or find a ritual time to burn your scroll, a symbol of letting go.
REMEMBER – Letting go is a vast teaching. When we let go we lift our burdens; we open into this amazing interdependent field of being where possibilities for liberation are always arising.
People coming on zoom will bring their own paper and drawing utensils. For questions contact: Ino@valleystreamszen.org
Rev. Parāvrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah serves as Ino, or head of the meditation hall. She studied in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski in California. She was priest ordained in 2019 by Sojun Diane Martin.
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.
*Zoom link to program

Dharma Talk by Rev. Liên Shutt (Speaker on Zoom)
2024-01-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is the author of Home Is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path and a priest lineage holder in the Shunryu Suzuki tradition. Born to a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she received her meditation training in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions in the United States, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. She was a founding member of the Buddhists of Color in 1998 and currently is the guiding teacher of Access to Zen, an inclusive, anti-oppression sangha and nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area. She lives on Oblone land, currently called San Francisco, with her partner, exploring waterways and forests as often as they can. Visit AccessToZen.org for ways to connect and practice together.
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.
*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)
2024-01-22 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.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Taiga Ito (Speaker in Person)
2024-02-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Our guest, Rev. Taiga Ito, trained at Daihonzan Sojiji, one of the head monasteries of Soto Shu (Soto Zen in Japan). In 2016, Taiga Ito became Kokusaifukyoshi (international teacher of Soto Shu). He served as secretary of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center between 2016 and 2018, and has served as its Assistant Director since 2019.
*Zoom link to program
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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us in the zendo or online via Zoom.

Interview with Tim Burkett by Berry Crawford (Speaker in Person)
2024-02-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Since 2021, Valley Streams sangha member Berry Crawford has been recording interviews with Zen teachers and practitioners for his Simplicity Zen Podcast. This evening’s program will feature a recorded interview with Tim Burkett.
Tim Burkett is Zen priest, Zen teacher and retired licensed Ph.D. psychologist. Tim was the Guiding Teacher of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center from 2002-2019 and the retired CEO of one of Minnesota’s largest non-profit mental health agencies, People Incorporated. He was among Suzuki Roshi’s and Katagiri Roshi’s first students and received dharma transmission from Sekijun Karen Sunna in the Katagiri lineage in 2000. He is the author of “Enlightenment Is an Accident: Ancient Wisdom and Simple Practices to Make You Accident Prone” published by Shambhala in 2023.
*Zoom link to program
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. Newcomers and experienced Zen students alike are invited to join us in the zendo or online via Zoom.

Dharma Talk by Berry Crawford (Speaker in Person)
2024-02-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Since 2021, Valley Streams sangha member Berry Crawford has been recording interviews with Zen teachers and practitioners for his Simplicity Zen Podcast. This time Berry will talk about what he has learned in the process of creating the podcast.
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.
*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 Shōku Kathy Early (Speaker on Zoom)
2024-02-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
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 Francisco Zen Center for 16 years. She was priest ordained by Tenshin Anderson in 2005. Shōku also spent a year and a half in residence at Toshoji International Training Monastery, in Okayama, Japan, including four angos (90 day training periods).
*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 in-person or on zoom.
