Rohatsu Sesshin, One-day Sitting (online)
2020-12-05 06:00 - 20:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too.
Our Rohatsu is on Zoom this year and has a very different format. It will last a full week, but we’ll be sitting just the morning and evening periods, Sunday through Friday. On Saturday, December 5 we have a full day sitting, and we’ll close out the week with Sunday morning zazen, Dharma talk and ceremony.
Sat. & Sun. Sesshin Schedule
Chants for Rohatsu Sesshin

Practicing Kind Speech: a One-day Sitting
2021-01-09 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“Kind speech” means that when you see sentient beings you arouse the mind of compassion and offer words of loving care.
– Eihei Dogen
With a morning Dharma talk and afternoon discussion, we will explore the Bodhisattva’s practice of kind and compassionate speech. Our speaking will be bracketed by periods of sitting meditation. A detailed schedule will be sent to those that sign up. Tanto So On Jim Hare will lead this sitting.
• Register at Eventbrite.com

One-day Sitting with by Kokyo Henkel (Online)
2021-03-06 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Rev. Kokyo Henkel will offer a teaching on Buddha Nature with inspiration from the Book of Serenity, Case 93: Luzu’s Not Meeting
Luzu asked Nanquan, ” ‘People don’t recognize the wish-fulfilling jewel which is intimately obtained from the tathagata-garbha (heart/womb of buddha)’. What is the garbha?” Nanquan said, “It is that in me which comes and goes with you.” Luzu said, “What about that which doesn’t come and go?” Nanquan said, “It’s also the garbha.” Luzu said, “What is the jewel?” Nanquan called him “Teacher Luzu!” Luzu responded, “Yes?” Nanquan said, “Go – you don’t meet with my words.”

Kokyo Henkel has been practicing Zen since 1990 in residence at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (most recently as Head of Practice), Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, No Abode Hermitage in Mill Valley, and Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan.
He was ordained as a priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. Kokyo is interested in exploring how the original teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan can still be very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and openness to the minds of this troubled world.
Kokyo has also been practicing with the Tibetan Dzogchen (“Great Completeness”) Teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche since 2003, in California, Colorado, and Kathmandu.
Register on Eventbrite.com ($30-$80); To request a full or partial scholarship, email info@valleystreamszen.org
*To join via computer:

Download free Zoom Client for Meetings and
Download SFZC Chants in PDF.

*To join by telephone (audio only):

Dial 669 900 6833 (San Jose) and follow voice prompts for entering the Meeting ID and password.
Phone Controls: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = Mute/unmute

Half-day Sitting, followed by Jizo Ceremony (online)
2021-04-03 09:00 - 13:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This half-day sitting (9 am – noon) will be followed by a Jizo Ceremony to celebrate the arrival of McKinsey Shrader, Joshua and Laura Shrader’s soon-to-be-born second daughter. Rev. Doralee Grindler Katonah will offer the dharma talk and lead this special ceremony.
Jizo, known as the ‘Earth Store’ or ‘Earth Womb’ Bodhisattva, embodies and transmits the qualities of fearlessness, tenderness, and open heartedness – qualities that protect the mother and cradle the child during birth. Everyone is invited to participate by offering blessings and good wishes through a spoken prayer to Jizo. The prayers will be typed into the Zoom chat and later made into prayer flags for the family to hang.
Register on Eventbrite.com
A detailed schedule and Zoom Meeting ID will be sent to all who register.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we will meet online using Zoom video conferencing software. We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as it is safe to do so.
*To join a meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Sign Up for Weekly Emails to receive each Meeting ID and Password.
Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you Wait for the host to start the meeting click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Download the chants in PDF.
At 6:50 pm, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/[Meeting ID],[Password]
The program will begin at 7pm with this approximate schedule: 30 minute sitting; 5 minute chant; announcements; then a 30-40 minute Talk/Discussion.

*To join by telephone (audio only):

Dial 669 900 6833 (San Jose) and follow voice prompts for entering the Meeting ID and password.
The one tap string of numbers are included in the Weekly Email.
Phone Controls: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = Mute/unmute

One-day Sitting: Riding the (Mind) Donkey
2021-05-01 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This is a day-long meditation retreat with a Dharma talk by practice leader Rev. So On Jim Hare. “Riding the ox” or “riding a donkey” are phrases used in Zen stories to describe our responsive encounter with mind-consciousness during sitting meditation practice and in our daily lives.
We will look at a couple of these stories during our day of mostly silent sitting and walking meditation. Some experience with day-long sitting is recommended, but everyone is welcome. A schedule for the day and Zoom link will be sent to those who register. Your generosity makes these sittings possible. Thank you.
• REGISTER on Eventbrite.com

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we meet online using Zoom video conferencing software. We will continue to monitor local health advisories regarding group meetings. We of course hope to be able to resume our in-person programs as soon as it is safe to do so.
*To join a meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Sign Up for Weekly Emails to receive the Meeting ID and Password.
Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you Wait for the host to start the meeting click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Download the chants in PDF.
At 6:50 pm, join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/[Meeting ID],[Password]
The program will begin at 7pm with this approximate schedule: 30 minute sitting; 5 minute chant; announcements; then a 30-40 minute Talk/Discussion.

*To join by telephone (audio only):

Dial 669 900 6833 (San Jose) and follow voice prompts for entering the Meeting ID and password.
The one tap string of numbers are included in the Weekly Email.
Phone Controls: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = Mute/unmute

Allowing Emptiness to Fill the Page: a Sitting & Writing Retreat with Beth Jacobs (online)
2021-06-05 09:00 - 16:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
This workshop will be dedicated to writing practices that honor the Buddhist path. We will practice techniques that illustrate the overlap between mindfulness training and expressive writing. Using material from the Abhidharma, Mahayana sutras and writings of Eihei Dogen, we will demonstrate how personal writing can enrich our study of the dharma and provide a space where teachings can come to life in our creativity.
Beth Jacobs is a writer, transmitted lay teacher in the Soto Zen Buddhist lineage, and a clinical psychologist in private practice. She is the author of The Original Buddhist Psychology; Long Shadows of Practice, Poems; and A Buddhist Journal: Guided Practices for Writers and Meditators. She facilitates expressive writing groups for children, teenagers, and grandparents. She has taught Abhidharma classes at several sanghas and has co-taught “Abhidhamma and Buddhist Thought” through the Mid-American Buddhist Association and the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka.
Register on Eventbrite.com
Tickets: $20-$60 (or an amount that is right for you.)
For questions, email Doralee at grindkaton@icloud.com

*To join a meeting by computer, you must install Zoom software:

Register for the retreat to receive the Meeting ID and Password.
Prior to the meeting, download the free Zoom Client for Meetings (13 MB) As you Wait for the host to start the meeting click the Test Computer Audio button to make sure you can hear and be heard by others.
Download the chants in PDF.
Join the meeting at: https://zoom.us/j/[Meeting ID],[Password]
A detailed schedule will be emailed to those who are registered.

*To join by telephone (audio only):

Dial 669 900 6833 (San Jose) and follow voice prompts for entering the Meeting ID and password.
Phone Controls: *9 = Raise hand; *6 = Mute/unmute

One-day Sitting: Benefitting All Beings (at the Dharma Center)
2021-07-03 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
In Buddhism, the four unlimited mental attitudes are loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. These attiudes are unlimited because the benefits thay bring to self and other can’t be quantified; they are immeasurable.
In this day of in-person sitting meditation practice, we will focus on these four immeasurables that teach all sentient beings and bring us contentment.
This retreat will be led by Valley Streams practice leader So On Jim Hare. The day will include a morning Dharma talk and afternoon discussion.
REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE.COM (NOTE: because this is an all-day event, we will not be offering it online.)

Awakening Bodhi Mind - A One-day Zen Retreat, led by So-On Jim Hare
2021-10-02 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Zen master Dogen speaks of “raising an aspiration to escalade the very sky.” What is the place for such audacity in our practice?
Many of us begin Zen practice with the hope that it will relieve the pain and grief we feel much of the time. Later, we learn that relieving suffering is just part of the work. The Buddhas point the way toward complete liberation, not only for ourselves but for all beings. The aspiration for such liberation is called Bodhicittapada.
We will explore the aspiration for enlightenment in our one-day sitting, through multiple periods of zazen, a morning Dharma talk and afternoon discussion.
Please note this is an IN-PERSON retreat. All who attend must be vaccinated against Covid-19. In addition, masking and social distancing protocols will be practiced.

If this is your first time practicing with us or your first one-day sitting, please call So-On Jim at 916-456-7752 to learn more about the day.
Please bring a bag lunch.
Fee is by donation.

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE.COM

Yogacara: a One-day Virtual Retreat, led by Rev. Ben Connelly
2021-11-06 08:30 - 15:30 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Yogacara: Integrating Personal and Social Healing and Liberation (online retreat)
How can we heal ourselves and our communities? How does our personal conduct, wellness, suffering, and trauma, relate to interpersonal and transpersonal systems? How can we give our lives to universal liberation without sacrificing our own well-being? These are the questions at the heart of Yogacara Buddhism, which brings Early Buddhist and Mahayana practice into an integrated approach to joyful, compassionate, altruistic living.
This retreat will focus on the practices upheld in the Indian Yogacara master Vasubandhu’s Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only. We will move towards a deeper knowing of the fact that in every moment we are participating in the whole of the world in all its beauty and harms, and that in every moment we can act for the liberation of all.
Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen teacher and Dharma heir in the Dainin Katagiri Roshi lineage. He also teaches mindfulness in a wide variety of secular contexts including police and corporate training, correctional facilities, and addiction recovery and wellness groups. Ben is based at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and travels to teach across the United States. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of: Inside the Grass Hut: Living Shitou’s Classic Zen Poem, Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara: a Practitioner’s Guide, and Mindfulness and Intimacy.
This event will be ONLINE ONLY via Zoom. • REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE

Rohatsu Sesshin, One-Day Sitting (online)
2021-12-03 06:00 - 21:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
One-Day Sitting – ONLINE – 6 am – 8:45 pm
The Zoom link and schedule will be sent to those who have registered at Eventbrite.com.
Full Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule

This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and for celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too. This sesshin is a combination of in-person and online. It will last a full week, but we’ll be sitting only morning and evening periods, Sunday – Thursday. Friday will be online only; Saturday we offer a full day of sitting in person at the Dharma Center. We close out the week on Sunday, Dec. 5, with a half-day, in-person program of zazen, a Dharma talk, followed by a closing ceremony.

Rohatsu Sesshin, One-Day Sitting (in person)
2021-12-04 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
One-Day Sitting – in person – 9 am – 5 pm
This sitting will be in person at the Dharma Center and will not be offered on Zoom. The schedule will be sent to all who have registered at Eventbrite.com
• Please remember to bring a lunch.
Full Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule
This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and for celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too. This sesshin is a combination of in-person and online. It will last a full week, but we’ll be sitting only morning and evening periods, Sunday – Thursday. Friday will be online only; Saturday we offer a full day of sitting in person at the Dharma Center. We close out the week on Sunday, Dec. 5, with a half-day, in-person program of zazen, a Dharma talk, and closing ceremony.

"Who Am I?" - A One-Day Sitting, led by So'on Jim Hare (online)
2022-02-05 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Settling the body-mind in stillness and ease, opening to the ineffable wisdom of Dharma, the deepest questions may arise.
This online retreat will be led by Valley Streams practice leader So’on Jim Hare. The day will include a morning Dharma talk and afternoon discussion.

NOTE: If this will be your first day-long sitting with Valley Streams Zen, please contact us at info@valleystreamszen.org for an orientation or call us at 916-456-7752. Register at Eventbrite.com

Sitting in the Midst of Self-fulfilling Samadhi: One-Day Sitting (in person)
2022-04-02 09:00 - 17:00 | 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Join with others in person for a day of sitting and walking meditation and Dharma talk, making the effort that refreshes both body and mind, becoming a shining golden buddha! The sitting will be led by So On Jim Hare.
Please bring a lunch to support your efforts on the cushion, bench or chair. For questions, please email Jim Hare at info@valleystreamszen.com.
REGISTER on EVENTBRITE.com

The Possibilities of Life: One-day Sitting, led by So'on Jim Hare (In Person)
2022-08-06 09:00 - 17:00 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
When sitting zazen we sit in the wellspring of life. Come practice together to further awaken our abilities to listen to the activity of wisdom that emerges from living intimately in stillness and receiving what comes.
This retreat, originally scheduled to be led by Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah, will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and silent lunch (bring your own). Masks are optional, but encouraged. All participants must be vaccinated against Covid-19.
REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE.COM

"Just This Person" - One-Day Retreat, led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In-person)
2022-11-05 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Sitting still in the company of others is the heart of Zen practice. Please join us for this day of inner work, being “just this person.”
Just before leaving a practice period, a student asked his teacher, “If, after many years, someone should ask me what you were like, how should I respond?”
After remaining quite for a while, the teacher said, “Just this person.”
We’ll explore this story during our one day sitting, in silence and in dialogue. Please bring your own lunch. If you have questions about this retreat, please contact the retreat leader, So’on Jim Hare, at info@valleystreamszen.org
Register on EventBrite.

Hidden in the Moonlight: One-day sitting, led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In person)
2023-02-04 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“Hiding a heron in the moonlight” is a line from the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, a Zen poem written in 9th century China. The phrase (and the whole poem) describes the activity of a person practicing the Buddha Way, merging the particular and the universal. This is the everyday and consequential affair of Zen practice.
Our day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and discussion period, and silent bag lunch. Please bring your own lunch.
This event is in-person. Register on Eventbrite.
If you have questions about this retreat, please contact the retreat leader, So’on Jim Hare, at info@valleystreamszen.org

Riding in the Same Boat with All Beings: One-day Sitting led by Rev. Kokyo Henkel (Speaker in person)
2023-04-01 09:00 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The theme of this sitting is the essay Zenki (the Whole Works),
Zen master Dogen’s vision of realization manifested in both life and death
Guest teacher Kokyo Henkel will lead this one-day retreat, which will include alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, punctuated by morning and afternoon Dharma talks and discussion. The theme of this retreat is Dogen’s essay Zenki
Kokyo Henkel was ordained as a Zen priest in 1994 by Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi, receiving the Dharma name Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解). He received Dharma Transmission from Tenshin Roshi in 2010, becoming a lineage-holder authorized to guide others on the path. From 2010 – 2020 Kokyo was teacher at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. He is currently Tanto (Head of Zendo practice) and a Dharma teacher at Green Gulch Farm. He has also been practicing with the Tibetan Dzogchen (“Great Perfection”) Teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche since 2003, in California, Colorado, and Kathmandu.
Register on Eventbrite.

Entering the Door of Liberation ~ One-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare
2023-08-05 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Sitting in stillness and silence is an excellent method for entering the door of liberation; this door is open to everyone. The first chapter of the Flower Garland Sutra recounts the myriad insights, understandings, realizations and visions that have allowed enlightening beings to enter the Dharma door of liberation. In this retreat we will engage sitting and walking meditation – the fundamental Dharma doors of Soto Zen. The day will include a Dharma talk and opportunities for individual practice discussion.
Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
Register on Eventbrite. Suggested donation $20 -$60.

Sitting in the Light of Buddha's Wisdom ~ One-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare
2023-10-07 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Each and every thing is equally illumined in the light of Buddha’s wisdom. So, there is no wisdom to get ahold of. Just sitting is enough.
In the second chapter of the Flower Adornment Sutra, the Buddha responds to a set of questions from his followers by emitting rays of light in every direction. This kind of awesome, magical display seems far from the precincts of grounded Zen practice, yet it may have something to teach us.
This one-day retreat will consist of alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Dharma talk. The retreat will be led by So’on Jim Hare, practice leader at Valley Streams Zen. Please bring a bag lunch. If this will be your first one-day retreat with us, please send a message to info@valleystreamszen.org to introduce yourself.
A donation (Dana) of between $20 and $60 is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Register on Eventbrite.

Practicing Patience - One-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare
2024-02-03 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The stream of sorrow is cut through by patience: so teaches an ancient Buddhist text. Practicing patience with the many ideas and feelings that arise in our sitting meditation trains our body/mind to more wisely respond the many situations in life that don’t align with our wishes or meet our expectations.
Our retreat day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and afternoon discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
The suggested donation is $20 -$60. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org
Register on Eventbrite.

The Mother of All Buddhas and Celebrating Buddha's Birthday: One-day Retreat led by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (In Person)
2024-04-06 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Prajna Paramita, the mother of all Buddhas, invites us to participate in the continual birthing of living spiritual energy in each moment.

Come, put aside all worldly affairs, sit zazen and walk together in community. We will touch the ground of Mother Earth, open our heart/minds to the spiritual energy ready to penetrate and awaken our love for all living beings. Our expressions will spontaneously arise in each moment. These potentials do not arise from our self-effort. The awakening of the Wisdom Body comes by itself. We will rest, open, listen, and receive.

There is a power which you cannot grasp with your rational mind. It operates freely, according to the situation, in a more natural way. At the same time, this power functions in our lives to clarify and settle activities and is beneficial to all living beings. ~ Eihei Dogen

In the afternoon, we will enter the Ceremony of Bathing the Baby Buddha – celebrating the Birth of our Buddha nature arising from the Baby Buddha. If you can only sit half the day, please arrive at 1:30 p.m., to sit the afternoon periods and participate in the ceremony at the end of the day.

If you are new to this practice, please email Ino@valleystreamszen.org, and we will arrange an introduction to zazen at the beginning of the day.

Please bring a bag lunch.

The Illusion of Separate Self - One-day Retreat led by Kokyo Henkel (In Person)
2024-06-01 08:30 - 16:30 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
In morning and afternoon discussions, we will explore the Buddha’s teaching of the discontent that arises from the unconscious belief in separate self, and the freedom that comes from not holding this belief.
Kokyo Henkel was ordained as a Zen priest in 1994 by Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi, receiving the Dharma name Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解). He received Dharma Transmission from Tenshin Roshi in 2010, becoming a lineage-holder authorized to guide others on the path. From 2010 – 2020 Kokyo was teacher at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. He has also been practicing with the Tibetan Dzogchen (“Great Perfection”) Teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche since 2003, in California, Colorado, and Kathmandu.
Our retreat day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and afternoon discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
Tickets can be purchased below with suggested donation $20 -$100. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. If this will be your first retreat day with us or you have questions, please email: info@valleystreamszen.org

Knowing who you are: One-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In Person)
2024-11-02 08:30 - 16:30 | Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
“Practicing zazen is a way of knowing beyond perceptions of a self, a soul, a living being or a person” – a Zen reading of the Diamond Sutra.
One-day retreat (8:30 am – 4:30 pm) which includes sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
Suggested donation is $10 – $80. No one will be excluded for lack of funds. Please write to info@valleystreamszen.org to request a scholarship or if this will be your first extended sitting with us. You are welcome!
Please register here.

Rohatsu Sesshin Full Day Sitting (In Person)
2024-12-06 08:30 - 20:45, 2024-12-07 08:30 - 20:45 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Full-Day Sitting – In Person – 8:30 am – 8:45 pm
This sitting will be in person at the Dharma Center and will not be offered on Zoom. Traditional oryoki meals will be served at noon and for the “medicine meal” in the evening.
Register for week-long program on Eventbrite
Full 7-Day Rohatsu Schedule
This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our original teacher in India, Shakyamuni Buddha. Rohatsu sesshin is a time for bringing light into the dark time of the year and for celebrating Buddha’s awakening, which is our awakening too.

Taking Refuge in the Body: One-day Retreat Led by Rev. So'on Jim Hare (In Person Only)
2025-02-01 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
In sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talk and discussion we will consider “one essence in three bodies,” aka the triple body of Buddha.

The Platform Sutra says: “One’s skin and flesh is the physical body… but you can’t take refuge in it. Just be enlightened to the three bodies of the self-nature, and this will be to recognize the Buddha of the self-nature.” How do we recognize and enjoy the Buddha body within our ourselves and others? This inquiry will be the subject of our retreat, which will consist of sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talk and discussion.
Please bring a bag lunch. A donation of $20-$80 is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If this will be your first one-day sitting, please contact us before registering at info@valleystreamszen.org
Please register here.

One-day Retreat (CANCELED)
2025-04-05 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
We have had to cancel our one-day sitting for April 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope to see you at our next retreat on Saturday, May 3.

"Your Original Face" - One-day Retreat led by Kokyo Henkel (In Person Only)
2025-05-03 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
The Sixth Ancestor of Chinese Zen awakening his Dharma brother by asking “without thinking of good and bad, what is your original face?”
This daylong retreat will focus on the 24th case in the koan collection known as the Mumonkan, or the Gateless Barrier. There will be morning and afternoon talks, zazen, and optional dokusan (private interviews). A donation of between $30 and $100 is requested to support our guest teacher and the ongoing activities of Valley Streams Zen Sangha. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Contact info@valleystreamszen.org to request a scholarship or if this will be your first retreat with us.

Rev. Kokyo Henkel has been practicing Zen since 1990 in residence at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, No Abode Hermitage in Mill Valley, and Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan. He was a resident teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center from 2010 to 2020. Most recently, he led the Spring Practice Period at Green Gulch Farm.
Kokyo was ordained as a priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. He is interested in exploring how the original teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan can still be very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and openness to the minds of this troubled world.
Kokyo has also been practicing with the Tibetan Dzogchen (“Great Completeness”) Teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche since 2003, in California, Colorado, and Kathmandu.
Our retreat day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and afternoon discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
Please register here.

"In Front of the Door is the Land of Stillness and Light" - One-day Retreat led by Danan Wark (In Person Only)
2025-08-02 09:00 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
These lines beckon us to meet the clear, still, nature of reality as our own intimacy and immediacy.

This day-long retreat led by guest teacher Danan Wark will feature morning and afternoon talks, zazen, and optional dokusan (private interviews). Your registration on a sliding scale offers support to our guest teacher and the ongoing activities of Valley Streams Zen Sangha. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Contact info@valleystreamszen.org to request a scholarship or if this will be your first retreat with us.
Danan is a teacher in the Single Flower Sangha line that descends from the Kwan Um School of Zen, which in turn derives from the Sudeoksa mountain lineage of the Jogye Order of Korean Zen (Seon). Danan received precepts in 2009 and Inka in 2019 from Zen Master George Bo Mun Bowman, the founder of the Single Flower Sangha. Danan has practiced in the Rinzai tradition and studied koans with Bo Mun for over 20 years. He has also practiced in the Soto tradition with Tenshin Reb Anderson roshi at No Abode Hermitage for more than a decade. In 2014 Danan established Cloud Zendo, a sangha that presently meets each Saturday (except this one!) at 8:30 a.m. in Auburn.
Our retreat day will include sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks and afternoon discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.

Please register here.

“Becoming Yourself” – One-day Retreat led by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler (In Person Only)
2025-09-06 08:30 - 16:30 | Sacramento Dharma Center, Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, United States
Our retreat day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk and afternoon discussion period. Outside the meditation hall we will maintain noble silence. Please bring a bag lunch.
Please register here.
