Join Us Online | Saturday, July 3rd | One-Day Sitting Online
Saturday, July 3, 5:00am–5:00pm
"Moment to Moment"
One-Day Online Sitting
An introductory retreat for both beginners and experienced sitters to plunge into the heart of Zen practice. Experience a schedule of eight periods of zazen, five periods of kinhin (walking meditation), and chanting online while practicing with SMZC residents in the zendo. This one-day sitting is zoomed from the zendo.
The schedule change below is effective as of today, Wednesday, June 30.
Please enter the virtual zendo a few minutes early to get settled (seated and logged in before the starting bell). If joining partially, please log in during kinhin (walking meditation),
Zazen is the universal gift to humanity. Practicing zazen has brought great rewards in my life. I seriously started practicing in April 2019 and have continued until now. I have noticed my mind has some joy in resting with my breath. My behavior in working with others has become more compassionate, more patient and more understanding. I don’t criticize too harshly on my own behaviors. Thank you Roshi, Nyoze and Kashin for always being there for me.Thank you so much Koten, Susan, Angus and Coco for all the hard work they do to keep the center running smoothly, for many are coming to enjoy this gift.
—Benja Peterson, St. George, UT
SMZC Sangha Member since 2021
SMZC Sangha Treasure
Thank you, Shunryu Cam Kwong in Mill Valley, CA for his two decades of volunteer work as our architect and project manager for the Mandala Project since 1998. He was ordained by Kwong-roshi and is a co-kanin with Nyoze 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
Student talk will be given by Annie Seiken (精見) Hammang, a student of Kwong-roshi since 2016. She received Jukai (Clear Seeing) in 2019 and has spent many summers at the mountain since she first started her practice. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona where she is a PhD candidate in the Human and Social Dimensions of Science program at Arizona State University..
Donate to Saturday Community. To sustain SMZC and its program offerings, please donate for the Saturday Community online program ($10 suggested for non-members).
Saturday Meditation Instruction
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Drop in for meditation instruction, designed for those who are new to Zen or needs brushing up.
Saturday Community Dharma Talk replays are available on YouTube. Please subscribe to our channel, add your comment, and share with your family and friends!
Driving by the Zen center years ago, I remember seeing a few of the residents working in the garden near the road. “Those poor people,” I thought, “captured, and forced to work in the fields.” Still, I was curious. I wanted to find out more about this enchanting, mysterious place. Eventually, I found myself tending the garden as well. But when I took a job in San Francisco, it became quite difficult to attend the sittings. My job took me in the opposite direction. When the Center created its online program, I jumped on it. I find that sitting with the online sanga in the mornings opens me to a sense of intimacy with the newness of the coming day. It helps to create for me “a walk that is stable,” as Nyoze put it.
I arrive early at work to join the meditations. And during those times I am able to work from home, I participate more… lighting candles and incense…wearing my robes…. There is a freshness in the silent ease of these mornings as the blue of the moon’s light turns slowly toward the yellow of the sun. I encourage you to join these sittings, morning or evening, to experience the world in a way not usual, drenched with moments of stillness.
—Michael Staples, Sonoma, CA
Daily Meditation Schedule
6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. Morning Zazen
7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Evening Zazen
Please enter the virtual zendo a few minutes early to get settled (seated and logged in before the starting bell).
Thank you, Kashin (花真) Julie Kwong for volunteering countless hours on the “Beyond A Dream: Father & Son Conversations” film series. As Geidō 芸道 (the way of art), she contributed to the film's aesthetics from preparing for the shoots, promoting the films, and hosting the film premiere events.
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
