🔖 Join Us This Saturday for Talk by Tokan Craig Stepanek - On Site or Online

 

COMING UP: Saturday Community Talk – On Site or Online

Talk will be given by Tokan (当観) Craig Stepanek, a senior student of Kwong-roshi and SMZC resident, following 10:30 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 (8:50 am check-in at the Sangha House). If you live within driving distance, please register to attend on site! Informal vegetarian lunch will be provided afterwards in the Sangha House. Zen Dust store will be open from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.   About Speaker

Tokan worked as a nuclear engineer in the Navy for six years, studied at California State University, Stanislaus, and worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta while traveling around India one summer. There, he met Fr. Bede Griffiths at his Benedictine monastery. These experiences led him to search for the enlivened community of simplicity, harmony, and well-being he had experienced in India. He had a chance encounter with the Rev. Joan Halifax who pointed him to Jakusho Kwong-roshi. Within a month, he was living at SMZC as a resident. He received Jukai from Kwong-roshi in 1991 and spent nearly five years as a resident before meeting his future wife. After more than 25 years working as a landscape/gardening contractor and raising his family, he has returned as a resident and was ordained in 2023. 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 WEEK: 'Moment to Moment' 1-Day Sitting

This retreat is an introduction to Zen training and an opportunity for beginners and experienced sitters to plunge into the heart of Zen practice. Retreatants will experience a moderate schedule of zazen (eight periods of sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), samu (work practice), oryoki (formal meals) and sutra chanting - good for both beginners and experienced sitters. Please wear warm, loose, and subdued clothing for zazen. Also, bring work clothes for outdoor work and an alarm clock.   Check-in between 5:00pm and 6:00pm on Friday. This one day retreat includes a 6pm Friday evening dinner and an overnight stay. Oryoki instructions will follow the evening dinner at 6:30pm. (View 1-day Sitting Schedule) Onsite day practice option is also available without overnight stay.

Attend On Site Attend Online

$85-160/night (10-20% Member Discount: Please log in first to receive the discount.)

NEXT MONTH: July Fusatsu Ceremony

Be present for & experience the Fusatsu At-one-ment 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 Ceremony

Attend On Site Attend Online

Donations are appreciated. Open to YOU!

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

🔖 Special Goeika Lecture by Rev. Shinryu Okuma This Saturday - Join Us On Site or Online

 

COMING UP: Saturday Community Talk – On Site or Online

Talk will be given by Rev. Shinryu Okuma, a Soto Zen Buddhism Baikaryu Official Instructor from Sapporo, Japan, following 10:30-11:00 am zazen. Please join us for a Dharma talk and Goeika lecture and enjoy his gentle yet precise appproach to chanting and ringing--conveying a profound "Dharma Joy" and creating a meaningful experience for all. Goeika is a wonderful way to practice Soto Zen Buddhism. Open to the public.   There will be no meditation instruction this week due to this special event. If you live within driving distance, please register to attend on site! Informal vegetarian lunch will be provided afterwards in the Sangha House. Zen Dust store will be open from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.   About Speaker

Rev. Shinryu Okuma is a Zen Buddhist priest and renowned singer and teacher in the Soto school’s hymn chanting lineage, the Baikaryu. He trained at the head temple Eiheiji in Fukui prefecture, Japan. After finishing his formal training, he devoted himself to the study of singing Baikaryu hymns. Currently, he is the head priest of the temple Tendoji in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. He has taught Baikaryu hymn chanting at many Zen temples in Japan as well as abroad, including workshops in Zenshuji, Los Angeles and Stanford University in February as well as Sokoji in San Francisco.

Attend On Site Attend Online

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

THIS FRIDAY: June Fusatsu Ceremony

Be present for & experience the Fusatsu At-one-ment 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 Ceremony

Attend On Site Attend Online

Donations are appreciated. Open to YOU!

THIS SUNDAY: Summer Workfest

In the spirit of together-action, come help breathe new energy into the center with friends and families of the Sonoma Mountain Sangha. Bring a pair of work gloves if you have them. Light lunch will be provided afterwards. RSVP to offer your hands of compassion!   It's time for together-action as one body. Bring your family and friends to work on clearing brush and trees around the pond, repairing a garden tool shed or greenhouse, or cleaning the zendo. Any amount of help you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

Attend Summer Workfest

Photo: Mariana King

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