On Retreat Night we enjoy our traditional retreat night; a chance to settle into our meditation practice with three 25-minute periods of zazen, interspersed with walking meditation (kinhin). Turning the light inward we explore the causes of suffering and what ends it. This invitation is extended to everyone.
Please enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
Please enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
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 Monday evening program. Please email info@valleystreamszen.org
Study is one of the pillars of Zen practice. Please join us every Thursday morning for our ongoing study group to discuss ancient and contemporary texts. Facilitated by Rev. So On Jim Hare. Current text: Inside Vasubandhu's Yogacara: A Practitioner's Guide, by Ben Connelly Contact Rollin Ives (twl4148@gmail.com) for details.
Kokyo Henkel is the resident teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center. Prior to assuming his current position, he practiced at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, 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 […]
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 fall study period echoes the centuries-old tradition of Buddhist communities gathering for “winter rains” retreats. This is a time for deepening one’s study of the Buddha Way. In a traditional Zen practice period you are in residence. Your days are regulated by a schedule of zazen, service, formal oryoki meals, and work around the […]
Who was Vasubandhu?
Sitting with Calm and Insight: a half-day schedule of sitting and walking meditation, offered along with a Dharma talk by So On Jim Hare on the teachings of Shamata and Vipassana (Calming and Insight) from the Samdhinirmochana Sutra. This will be a continuation of a Dharma talk that was given on September 10th, but it […]
In fourth-century India one of the great geniuses of Buddhism, Vasubandhu, sought to reconcile the diverse ideas and forms of Buddhism practiced at the time and demonstrate how they could be effectively integrated into a single system. This was the Yogacara movement, and it continues to have great influence in modern Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Vasubandhu’s […]