Relinquishment Ceremony led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Speaker in Person)
2025-01-06 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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.
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.
*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. So’on Jim Hare (Speaker in Person)
2025-01-13 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.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Commemorating Dr. King calls for Inquiry (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-01-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
On April 14, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march to a government building in Birmingham, Alabama to protest the city’s ongoing refusal to eliminate segregation, including the denial of the voter rights of Black people. He was arrested during this march and placed in solitary confinement. During this dark time in jail, Dr. King wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” declaring the moral responsibility of citizens to take direct action, even if it means breaking unjust laws, to build a just and free society for all people.
This letter was a response to a letter, published 3 days earlier, written by 8 white clergy appealing to Dr. King to refrain from the march, as these demonstrations are “unwise and untimely.” A brief presentation of the context for these two letters will be offered as a frame for a discussion of how these differing perspectives between this pivotal Black leader and white leadership at the time, continue to shed light on the complex issues of racism today. We will begin by reading the excerpts provided and then break into small groups to talk together.
Attached are both excerpts from the Letter from the 8 clergy, King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the link to the entire King’s letter.
Facilitated by: Rev. Doralee Grindler Katonah
*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.
Rev. 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.

Retreat Night (Hybrid)
2025-01-27 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.
*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.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Taiga Ito (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-02-03 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.

Full Moon Ceremony (Hybrid)
2025-02-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-11 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. Mary Mocine (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-02-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., 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 Shōku Kathy Early (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-02-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., 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.

Dharma Talk by Bruce Fortin (Hybrid, Speaker on Zoom)
2025-03-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Bruce Fortin was ordained a Zen priest in 1977 at the San Francisco Zen Center. He is the founder and has been the guiding teacher at the Occidental Laguna Sangha in Sebastopol for twenty years. He has taught meditation in prisons, to Veterans, was the director of Hospice program in Sonoma country for many years, and is a psychotherapist in Private practice in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.
*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. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-03-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Topic: Keep your eyes closely on the boat and see that the boat moves – a call to deepen our practice lives in this time of crisis.
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
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.

Way Seeking Mind Talk by Shawn Hampton (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-03-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
*Zoom link to program
Shawn Hampton is originally from Texas. He moved to California in 2020 and began attending VSZS in 2023. He has been involved with Contemplative Christianity for many years and spent 12 years pursuing monastic life, 9 of which were spent with the Carthusian Order in France: a community of solitary hermit monks.
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.

Practice Talk by Shokan Clem Spring (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-03-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Shokan Clem 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. So’on Jim Hare (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-03-31 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States

Dharma Talk by Rev. Tova Green (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-04-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Tova Green, she/her, is a resident priest at San Francisco Zen Center. She was ordained in 2003 and received Dharma transmission from Eijun Linda Cutts in 2015. Tova is the Branching Streams Director, supporting and connecting the 75+ Zen Centers and sanghas in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She also writes blogs for SFZC’s online newsletter, Sangha News. Tova co-founded SFZC’s Queer Dharma group and has been involved in Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives during her twenty-four years as a resident. She has worked with those who are approaching death as a hospice social worker and as a priest. Tova 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.

Full Moon Ceremony (Hybrid)
2025-04-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States

Earth Day Event led by Shokan Clem Spring (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-04-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Our Earth Day celebration will begin with sitting meditation, followed by outside walking meditation and observation. Then we will return to the zendo for service to chant the Self-Receiving and Employing Samadhi, which includes these lines:
Grass trees and lands which are embraced by this teaching together radiate a great light and endlessly expound the inconceivable, profound dharma. Grass, trees and walls bring forth the teaching for all beings, common people as well as sages. And they in accord extend this dharma for the sake of grass, trees and walls.
In a practice circle following service, we will do a writing exercise and discuss our commitment to the great earth.
Shokan Clem 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
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.

Practice Talk by Malia McCarthy (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-04-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Malia McCarthy (Hō Etsu, Dharma Joy) will give a practice talk with reference to her recent experience sitting the 90-day Ango or practice period/winter rains retreat 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, 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.

Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-05-05 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-07-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States

"Clear Ethical Discernment" - Practice Circle Led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-05-12 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, 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 to program

Way Seeking Mind Talk by Allison Claire (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-05-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Allison Claire is both a lay-ordained Zen practitioner and a Unitarian Universalist. She has been a peace and justice activist, a lawyer for death row inmates, a longtime federal employee, and the single mother of triplets. Her practice is deeply rooted in the Dharma of the Green World and the principles of engaged Buddhism.
*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.

"My Teacher's Gifts" - Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-06-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
May you have a constant pulsation of availability so that the Vow of the Universe – that all beings realize inherent enlightenment – may meet your personal vow to be a magnificent human being. This is our practice.
—- Sojun Diane Martin
Life IS relationship. The Dharma is transmitted through intimacy. The preciousness of the student-teacher relationship cannot be measured. This evening, I will offer a window into the gifts I have received from my root teacher Sojun Diane Martin, Ph.D., founding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL. and now guiding teacher for the Buddhist Educational Institute at Indian Creek Zen Farm, Ottawa, IL. Her transmission embraces her dual lineages – Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and Dainin Katagiri Roshi.
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
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)
2025-06-09 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.
•• Come early and join us for a social Brown Bag Supper, 5:30-6:30 pm.
(Bring your own food.)

Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin (Hybrid, Speaker on Zoom)
2025-06-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This evening we welcome guest teacher, Chris Fortin, a Soto Zen teacher who began practicing Buddhism in 1976 while living at the San Francisco Zen Center. After many years of practice she received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer of Everyday Zen, in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.

Chris founded Dharma Heart Zen to share the path of wholehearted living and awakening with others. She leads the Dharma Heart Zen Sangha in Cotati and the Woman’s Lotus Sangha in Sebastopol. She is a senior teacher in the Everyday Zen community and leads workshops at SFZC. She is guiding teacher of Sky Island Zen in Tucson, Arizona and leads retreats in ancient Aravaipa Canyon. She was the co- founder of Veterans PATH (formerly Honoring the Path of the Warrior), offering retreats and meditation and mindfulness practices for returning veterans. She offers Jizo Bodhisattva trainings and ceremonies for those who have lost children, loved ones and those who are grieving the pain and suffering of the world. Chris is actively engaged in the dharma of social and racial justice and the climate crisis. She co-leads a monthly Racial Literacy and Dharma Group and serves on the Soto Zen Buddhist Association’s Diversity Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA) Committee.

*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, 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.

Dharma Talk by Rev. Vivian Grenenfelder (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-06-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Vivian Gruenenfelder was ordained in the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives in 1998, and was given Dharma Transmission by her Master in 2003. On 25 January 2023, Rev. Master Haryo Young, who was then the Head of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, named her a Master of the Order (Roshi). She is Still Flowing Water Hermitage’s resident monk and serves the Bear River Meditation Group, which meets on Monday evenings in Applegate, California.
*Zoom link to program Chant: Universal Gateway Of Guanyin
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 WaDen Eido Barbara Baccei (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-07-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
WaDen Eido Barbara Baccei, an ordained Soto Zen Teacher, received Lay Entrustment from Kyōshō Valorie Beer Roshi. She is also a Soto Zen sewing teacher lineage holder of Suzuki Roshi. An alignment-focused yoga teacher, she is a graduate of the Berkeley Yoga Room Teacher Training. A contemplative artist and book artist, she works on paper and fabric embellished with findings from the natural world.
*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 Eli Brown-Stevenson (Hybrid, Speaker on Zoom)
2025-07-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Eli Brown-Stevenson has spent the past decade living at Tassajara and City Center (SFZC). He is currently a resident priest in the city and serves as the Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for the three temples.
Prior to joining SFZC, Eli worked in the secular world, most notably in for-profit education and as a benefits liaison for employee wellness programs. After a decade of exploring various practices, he decided to leave the corporate world and immerse himself in formal residential practice.
Eli’s Zen practice is deeply influenced by his main teacher, Maya—his daughter whom he met when she was born in 2017. In 2019, Eli received priest ordination from Abbot Ed Sattizahn and was given the Dharma name So-On Gen Kan, which means “Ancestor Warmth Present Completely.” Eli was the shuso (head student) for the Fall 2022 practice period at City Center.
*Zoom link to program
Chants : For All Beings ; Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo
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.

"What can you do about the world?" - Practice Circle Led by Rev. So’on Jim Hare (Hybrid, Speaker in Person)
2025-08-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“What can you do about the world?” This phrase comes from a dialogue in the Book of Serenity (Case 12). In response the teacher asks: “What do you call the world?” In my copy of the text I wrote: “There is nothing it does not include.” In our practice circle this evening we will offer each person the opportunity to answer these questions in the light of each one’s awareness, practice, ethical concerns and sense of priority.
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.
