The Study Group will take the month of June off and reconvene on Thursday, July 6. We'll start our new text, The Lankavatara Sutra, translated with commentary by Red Pine. The Zen Study Group meets at the Dharma Center AND on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So'on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary […]
Come, monk* The ceremony of Shukke Tokudo consists in receiving the precepts of the Bodhisattva and, by doing so, taking refuge in the three treasures: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. It is the ceremony for priest ordination. Preceptor Rev. Kyōshō Valorie Beer will convey the precepts to sangha member Clement Spring and will ordain him as a Soto Zen priest in […]
This beloved text, unique among Buddhist Scriptures, contains the quintessence of Mahayana doctrines, taught with vivid imagery, dramatic encounters and sly humor. Members of the Thursday morning study group recently completed a study of this text and, together other cast members, present a dramatic reading of excepts from the Vimalakīrti Sutra, slightly adapted. Our Monday […]
The Study Group will take the month of June off and reconvene on Thursday, July 6. We'll start our new text, The Lankavatara Sutra, translated with commentary by Red Pine. The Zen Study Group meets at the Dharma Center AND on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So'on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary […]
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 […]
The Study Group will take the month of June off and reconvene on Thursday, July 6. We'll start our new text, The Lankavatara Sutra, translated with commentary by Red Pine. The Zen Study Group meets at the Dharma Center AND on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So'on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary […]
Each of us has come to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry, from diverse backgrounds. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for members to share how it is they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual […]
The Study Group will take the month of June off and reconvene on Thursday, July 6. We'll start our new text, The Lankavatara Sutra, translated with commentary by Red Pine. The Zen Study Group meets at the Dharma Center AND on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So'on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient and contemporary […]
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 […]
The Study Group will take the month of June off and reconvene on Thursday, July 6. At that time we will start our new text, The Lankavatara Sutra, translated with commentary by Red Pine. The Zen Study Group meets at the Dharma Center AND on Zoom. The study group is facilitated by Rev. So'on Jim Hare, with readings from ancient […]
A monk asked Dongshan: What is Buddha? Donshan replied, 'Three pounds of flax.' Whether sitting, walk, sitting, standing, or lying down we open wholeheartedly to the Way and Buddha activity happens on its own. Come, sit, and walk together to support each other in continuous practice. The retreat includes periods of zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin […]
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. Texts for the chants are […]