ONE MORE WEEK - Volunteer Needed with Ando Path Project

ONE MORE WEEK: Samu and Lunch Still Happening

SMZC residents and volunteers excavated and installed steps along the path for the last two weeks. For the next one week, we will be cleaning up to wrap up the Ango Path Project. Once again, we are open and ready for any and all volunteers to step in and provide helping hands in finishing up the path to completion. Ando path is an important project to complete before the Shinsanshiki celebration on September 2 for guests who will be staying in Ando Quarter rooms.   Bring a pair of work gloves if you have them. Lunch will be provided. Morning and afternoon shifts of 2-3 hours each are available. RSVP to offer your hands of compassion. No experience necessary!   I Will Come Help!

Help Finish the Ando Path Together

In order to continue to offer these programs and ensure the future of SMZC, we are asking for your support. Your donation is tax deductible. Sonoma Mountain Zen Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID #23-7304793

6367 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404 (707) 545-8105 Share on social www.smzc.org

THIS SATURDAY: Saturday Community - Join Us On Site or Online

 

THIS SATURDAY: Join Us for Saturday Community

Student talk will be given by Shindo (心土) Kevin Souza, a senior student of Kwong-roshi & ordained priest, following 10:30-11:00 am zazen. Open to the public.   For those who are new to Zen or need a refresher, please register for meditation instruction from 9:00 to 10:00 am. If you live within driving distance, please register to attend on site. Informal vegetarian lunch will be provided at noon in Sangha House. Zen Dust Store will be open from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.   About the Speaker

Shindo started practicing in Phoenix AZ in 2007 right around the time his son was born. He was at a point in his life where he had to make significant changes in order to be the father his son deserved. In 2008 he moved to Carson City to be closer to his son where he led a sitting group on Thursday nights. He would travel back and forth from Carson to SMZC to practice on weekends whenever he got a chance. He received Jukai from Kwong-roshi in 2009 and was given the dharma name Shindo which means “Mind/Ground.” He served as Shuso (head student) for the Summer Ango in 2021 and was ordained in 2023. He currently lives in Berkeley, CA with his wife and 16-year-old son and works full time. He loves spending his free time outdoors in the mountains backpacking in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Attend On Site Attend Online

$15 admission (10-20% Member Discount: Please log in first to receive the discount.)

NEXT TUESDAY: Spring Study Group

Facilitated by Erik Zenjin (善神) Shearer, Student of Kwong-roshi MAY 30 CHAPTER 4: Final Questions (No. 80-86), Page 233-253    A rare opportunity to explore the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and build a foundation for daily practice through discussions on the book The Lankavatara Sutra by Red Pine (the pen name of Bill Porter). Pick up your copy at Zen Dust for $19.95 (plus tax). Register by week.

Attend On Site Attend Online

$12 admission (10-20% Member Discount: Please log in first to receive the discount.)

WANTED: Applicants for Resident Training Program

Sonoma Mountain Zen Center is currently seeking to fill two open Resident Training positions: Head Gardener and Guest Person (Shika). Students with a serious interest in Zen training can apply to live as a resident at the center under the guidance of Abbot Jakusho Kwong-roshi and Vice Abbot Nyoze Kwong. Residents are fully incorporated into our community and as such, participate fully in our daily zazen schedule, work practice, retreats, and all other activities that support the maintenance of the zen center. Monthly fees for these two positions will be waived upon successful completion of a 3-month probationary period by selected applicants. This is a rare and unique opportunity to experience the very heart of Zen training! Please submit your interest by filling out the resident application form and return it to the office via email. Cover Letter Application Guidelines Daily Schedule

In order to continue to offer these programs and ensure the future of SMZC, we are asking for your support. Your donation is tax deductible. Sonoma Mountain Zen Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID #23-7304793

6367 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404 (707) 545-8105 Share on social www.smzc.org

THIS SATURDAY: Saturday Community - Join Us On Site or Online

 

THIS SATURDAY: Join Us for Saturday Community

Student talk will be given by Craig Sanmon Stepanek, a student of Kwong-roshi and SMZC resident, following 10:30-11:00 am zazen. Open to the public.   For those who are new to Zen or need a refresher, please register for meditation instruction from 9:00 to 10:00 am. If you live within driving distance, please register to attend on site. Informal vegetarian lunch will be provided at noon in Sangha House. Zen Dust Store will be open from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.   About the Speaker

Craig was born in 1960 and grew up in San Jose, CA back when it was known for its family farms and plum orchards. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Navy to be a nuclear electrical engineer where he served four years onboard the USS California. Upon completion of his naval service, he enrolled in college as a psychology/biology major. In his second summer of college, he spent two months in India working in Kalighat with Mother Teresa and traveling around India. There, he met Fr. Bede Griffiths at his Benedictine monastery, Shantivanam Ashram, on the banks of the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu, Southern India.

His experiences there caused him to alter the course of his life forever. Upon returning to the US, he left college to find the sort of enlivened community of simplicity, harmony, and well-being he had experienced that summer in Southern India. As he was hitchhiking and wandering around the western US looking for such opportunities, he had a chance encounter with the Rev. Joan Halifax who pointed him to Jakusho Kwong-roshi. Within a month, he was living in SMZC as a resident on a work/study program. Craig received Jukai (Mountain Gate) from Kwong-roshi in 1991. He ended up spending nearly five years as a resident before meeting his future wife and leaving residency to raise his family.    After more than 25 years working as a landscape/gardening contractor and growing his family, he has returned to living full time as a resident. He looks forward to helping actualize the Mandala Project and contribute to maintaining the spirit of strong life at the heart of SMZC’s Samgha. He enjoys sailing and gardening when time permits.

Attend On Site Attend Online

$15 admission (10-20% Member Discount: Please log in first to receive the discount.)

NEXT TUESDAY: Spring Study Group

Facilitated by Mitchell Hoden (法田) Katzel MAY 23 CHAPTER THREE: More Questions (No. 74–80), Page 209–232   A rare opportunity to explore the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and build a foundation for daily practice through discussions on the book The Lankavatara Sutra by Red Pine (the pen name of Bill Porter). Pick up your copy at Zen Dust for $19.95 (plus tax). Register by week.   About Instructor: Senior Student of Kwong-roshi

Mitchell travelled from the east coast to the west after finishing college to be a student at San Francisco Zen Center in 1977. He was a resident at the city center and later at Green Gulch Farm until 1987. After returning to school to complete graduate studies at UC Berkeley in 1990, he established a career as a fluvial geomorphologist restoring rivers throughout California. Mitchell met Kwong-roshi in 2008 and received Jukai a year later and was given the dharma name Hoden (Dharma Field). He served as Shuso (Head Student) leading the 30-day intensive practice period in the winter of 2023. He currently resides with his wife in Sonoma Valley at the foot of Sonoma Mountain.

Attend On Site Attend Online

$12 admission (10-20% Member Discount: Please log in first to receive the discount.)

NEXT MONTH: Fusatsu Atonement Ceremony

Atonement Ceremony is a Buddhadharma training—Blessing from the teacher and a ritual of chanting, bowing, purification, and renewal of vows/direction. Traditionally practiced on the full moon, Fusatsu is one of the most beautiful and profound ceremonies in the Zen tradition. Together, we acknowledge our karmic entanglements and hindrances, at-one for the beginningless greed, anger, and ignorance—restoring harmony and happiness.   7:30 – 8:00pm Zazen / 8:00 – 9:00pm Service

Read Article: "Ryaku Fusatsu—The Full Moon Ceremony” by Sheryl Gyonyo Hamilton (Reprint from Mountain Wind, October-December 2022)

Attend On Site Attend Online

By Donation | Open to the Public

My Innermost Request — A Message from Kwong-roshi

I feel these last few years have been my most profound and mature. In reflection, I’m thinking about all of the great Asian teachers that came West. Most of them died very early. Suzuki-roshi / 67, Trungpa Rinpoche / 47, Maezumi-roshi around 70, HH XVI Karmarpa early 60’s and that was still young. But I had the good karma to have had twenty more years, which greatly helped me to begin to understand what - Personally, Clarifying the Mind means. This is the cause of my Joy. I can now explain what sanzen is, as well as demonstrate it.   Since I do not have the luxury of time, I’m urging everyone who has trained with me to return to GENJOJI and Train more than ever………………   Zensan Jacksho Kwong

In order to continue to offer these programs and ensure the future of SMZC, we are asking for your support. Your donation is tax deductible. Sonoma Mountain Zen Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID #23-7304793

6367 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404 (707) 545-8105 Share on social www.smzc.org