Dogen says: "You can understand all of Buddhism, but you cannot go beyond your abilities and your intelligence unless you have robai-shin, grandmother mind, the mind of great compassion. ”Through first presenting several stories pointing to Grandmother Mind, Doralee will facilitate a practice circle inviting each person to share a significant grandmother experience (note there are many […]
This ceremony is an affirmation of the vow to live for the benefit of all beings. In the Zen tradition we associate the full moon with the ideal of awakening. All are welcome. Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (meditation) followed by a devotional service and dharma talk, group discussion, practice circle or retreat […]
Joining us this evening, in the Meditation Hall, is Reverend Mary Mocine, abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen […]
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 […]
Rev. Myo Lahey is Abbot at Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco and our guiding teacher. He has previously served as Practice Leader at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He is a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson. Tonight's talk will be online from Hartford Street Zen Center. Our Monday night programs begin with zazen (meditation) […]
On the second Monday of each month, we offer a 40-minute introduction to Zen practice. We focus on the art of sitting meditation, with emphasis on posture, breath and mental focus. This is for new meditators and those wishing to refresh their practice of meditative immersion. Sign up for Weekly Emails to receive current program […]
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. He was priest ordained by Rev. Myo […]
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. […]
It's a virtual event! Bring your coffee or tea and a pastry and spend a relaxed Sunday morning catching up with Sangha friends, hearing the latest news from VSZS Board members, meeting our two new Board members, adventuring into an ice-breaker game, and sharing ideas! President Doralee will review events of the past year, and Treasurer […]
Love and Rage - The Path of Liberation Through Anger - Lama Rod Owens interviewed by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz : an online video. All of us have many reasons to be angry and even enraged in this fractured world we are living in. Come listen to Lama Owens and participate in a discussion about how we practice […]
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 […]
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 […]