Calendar
Zazenkai Half-day Sitting
Zazenkai means "to come together for meditation." As such, it is a short retreat, with the periods marked by the usual bells and interspersed with walking meditation, but with no Dharma talk or instruction. It is a time to come together and enjoy sitting and walking with one's Dharma friends. It is a time for […]
Dharma Talk by Rev. Amie Diller
Sensei Chiko Amie Diller practiced at San Francisco Zen Center before being priest ordained by Maurine Stuart, Roshi. In 2019 she received dharma transmission from Sokaku Kathie Fischer. Her Buddhist training has also included study and teaching in the Tibetan Gelupa tradition. She is a certified nurse-midwife, mother, and teacher of 'Cultivating Emotional Balance'. […]
Full Moon Ceremony
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.
Nature walk: Bats of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Join us at Yolo Basin Wildlife Headquarters for this special event of seeing and learning about the Mexican Free-tailed Bats. Following a 45-minute indoor presentation on bat natural history, the group will carpool to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to watch one of the largest colonies of bats in California as it emerges in large […]
Dharma Talk by Rev. Myo Lahey
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. Rev. Myo is available for individual practice discussion by appointment prior to our evening program at the Dharma Center.
Practice Circle – Topic TBA
The Three Treasures are the foundation of the Practice Circle: (1) the Oneness of Buddha, (2) the Diversity of Dharma, (3) the Harmony of Sangha. The circle itself is a container for being in the present, manifesting just as we are in the truth of the moment. Our Practice Circle Guidelines: (adapted from the Zen Center […]
Buddha Activity: a Two-day Teaching Retreat with Tenshin Reb Anderson
Tenshin Reb Anderson will lead this 2-day retreat. His theme is: "An old time buddha said, 'earth, grass, trees, all living beings are engaged in buddha activity.' Buddha activity is the unceasing process of freeing all beings so they may live in peace and harmony. The buddha ancestors called this buddha activity zazen. In this […]
Practice Circle – Fall Study Period begins
Study period reading is The Record of Transmitting the Light: Zen Master Keizan's Denkoroku, translated by Francis D. Cook, Wisdom Publications, 1996. Online at SOTOZEN-NET. (different translation)
Thangka Paintings – History, Construction & Symbols
Gus Koehler will offer a half-day course on the study of Buddhist Thangkas, and how to use them to support practice. Gus will decode the symbols and meanings of the Buddha Shakyamuni, Manjusri, and White Tara paintings which hang in our meditation hall. The Wheel of Time image will also be examined. Gus has studied […]
Dharma Talk by Rev. So-On Jim Hare
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 Myo Lahey […]
Imagination & the Bodhisattva Path: a Day-long Retreat with Zoketsu Norman Fischer
The full title of this retreat is "The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path." Norman will lead us in sitting and walking meditation, and speak on themes from his new book, The World Could Be Otherwise, Through the Buddhist teaching of the six paramitas or "perfections", this book demonstrates an imaginative approach to spiritual […]