Tag: Zen Practice

Photo by Margo Moritz   In this letter, Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman writes on forgiveness and repair in his own life and how SFZC is working with former Abbot Richard Baker to reconcile a difficult past and move forward together. Dear Sangha: I first came to San Francisco Zen Center (City Center) in the…

  By Tova Green Shinshu Roberts, a Dharma Heir of Sujun Mel Weitsman, received her priest training at San Francisco Zen Center and from the North American branch of the Japanese Soto School. Her latest book, Meeting the Myriad Things: A Zen Practitioner’s Guide to Dogen’s Genjo Koan, is a new commentary on one of…

  By Tova Green Prolific author and archivist David Chadwick may be best known for his biography of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki. David’s newest book, Tassajara Stories: A Sort of Memoir/Oral History of the First Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West—The First Year, 1967 will be…

  On Saturday, July 19, the Toro Nagashi Ceremony and lamp-floating event took place at Sokoji Temple, the Soto Zen Mission temple in Japantown, San Francisco. Lamps commemorating the Sangha’s ancestors were floated after the O-bon Ceremony. Toro Nagashi, or “floating lanterns,” is a beloved Japanese tradition marking the close of O-bon. Each August, countless…

Photo by Matt Nickel   Roger Hillyard (Henzan Tokuryu, Universally Seeking/Receiving the Stream) received Lay Teacher Entrustment from Central Abbot Ed Sattizahn on May 23, 2025. This ceremony recognizes Roger as a lay teacher in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. In a statement, Roger said: “Lay Entrustment charged me with the responsibility to practice, model, and…

  Dear Sangha, As I sit at my desk at Tassajara—a place beloved by myself and so many others—and watch the evening light cast flickering shadows across the tatami floor of the Abbot’s cabin, I feel deeply grateful to be right here. From this seat, I am in harmony with the ancient oaks, the sound…

Ryushin Paul Haller and Naomi Shihab Nye   By Tova Green Poet Naomi Shihab Nye and SFZC Senior Dharma teacher Ryushin Paul Haller will co-host A Benefit for Gaza: Writers Witness for Peace on May 18, 4 pm at City Center, 300 Page Street. Naomi and ten writers of diverse faiths and backgrounds will read…

From L to R: Margaret Coad, Elliot Mercer, Jisan Tova Green, Shosan Victoria Austin, Anshi Zachary Smith, Benchi Tangde and Sherwin Yu. Photo by Shundo David Haye.   Congratulations to the initiates who received the precepts in a Jukai Ceremony at SFZC’s City Center on April 19th. Receiving the precepts from Shosan Victoria Austin: Benchi…

Photo by Jürgen Frank   By Tova Green Tatsudo Nicole Baden recently spoke with me about her path to Zen, her initial meeting with Richard Baker Roshi, and what her focus is now as a Zen teacher and Abbot. She will be giving a Dharma talk at City Center on May 14 and at Green…

  By Tova Green Katie Reicher, Executive Chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, has published her first cookbook, Seasons of Greens. Katie is Greens’ fourth Executive Chef (all of them women) since it was founded in 1979. Cooking has been an important part of Katie’s life since childhood. “I grew up in a huge,…