Morning Rohatsu schedule for Thursday – HYBRID 6:00 am Zazen 6:30 am Kinhin 6:40 am Zazen 7:10 am Service Register for week-long program on Eventbrite 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 […]
Evening Rohatsu schedule for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday – ONLINE 5:00 pm Zazen 5:30 pm Service Break/Dinner 7:30 pm Zazen 8:00 pm Kinhin 8:10 pm Zazen 8:40 pm Refuges (PDF) 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 […]
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 This traditional week of intensified […]
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 This traditional week of intensified […]
Half-day Sitting – In Person – 8:30 am – 12 noon. Today concludes the seven days of intensive practice with a half-day sitting and the Buddha’s Enlightenment Ceremony. We will gather after the ceremony to share a buffet lunch. Register for week-long program on Eventbrite This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of […]
Our January half-day retreat will include zazen, walking meditation (kinhin), a Dharma talk by So'on Jim Hare, and a social lunch to follow. In his Dharma talk, Rev. So’on will discuss the ancient Chinese story referenced in the line, "When arrow points meet head-on, what has this to do with the power of skill" (from […]
Following up on January's half-day, we'll explore the next lines in the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi and their guidance for our practice. This retreat day will be led by So'on Jim Hare. The day will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, morning Dharma talk and afternoon Q&A/discusson. Jim will be available for […]
This half-day retreat will include zazen, walking meditation (kinhin), a Dharma talk by Nyokai Kristin Diggs, and a social lunch to follow. Nyokai Kristin Diggs joined our sangha as Teacher in 2026. Prior to moving to Sacramento, she trained residentially at all three San Francisco Zen Center temples (2014-2025), holding a number of senior positions, […]
In this Dharma poem we hear how to build a thatched hut and to practice zazen by turning the light around. Our daylong retreat will focus on the classic Zen poem, Song Of The Thatched Hermitage by our lineage ancestor Shitou, who also wrote the Sandokai or the Harmony of Difference and Equality. There will […]
Be part of our Sangha of Embodied Women Co-creating Our Future. Our weekend together at Green Gulch Farm will include dharma teachings, meditation, mindfulness practice, yoga, conversation and sharing, communal living and eating. There will be generous free time for walking in nature or whatever your heart desires. Plus, the merriment of art making and […]
Our practice of observing thoughts and feelings without getting involved in them cultivates the mind of equality. As we go through life, we learn that it is not possible to control circumstances so that everything always goes smoothly; not possible to make it so that there are never any deviations from our plans, our hopes, […]
We create nests of being that call for release for our true nature to freely engage our everyday lives. Come practice together. The theme of this one-day retreat will be a discussion of the koan, “If you don’t swing the sword, the fisherperson stays in the nest.” (68 Jiashan “Swinging the Sword”, Book of Serenity.) […]