Hartford Street Zen Center – Issan-ji
We are a neighborhood temple and residential practice center in the Soto Zen tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Founded by Rev. Issan Dorsey and the Gay Buddhist Club in a Victorian house, the center was also the site of the Maitri AIDS Hospice in the 1990’s, which now manages its own facilities.
We offer an open, supportive and encouraging community space for people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities, abilities, and religions to come together to practice and experience the Dharma, the Buddha’s teaching, as taught by the Japanese school of Soto Zen Buddhism.
We practice this ancient, yet relevant, beneficial, and life changing way as it is best practiced, in community (Sangha) to support and care for one another. We host morning and evening zazen (meditation) sessions as well as Saturday dharma talks, full- and half-day sittings, and a variety of community events. Currently, the center can accommodate five resident students and priests.
Rev. Myō Denis Lahey
Rev. Myō is the Abbot at Issan-ji as well as Guiding Teacher at Valley Streams Zen Sangha in Sacramento, California, and has previously served as the monastic Prior (Tantō) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.
A Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson, Myō is a sometime board member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America (SZBA) and also serves as its Treasurer, and is a member of the Association for Sōtō Zen Buddhism of Japan (ASZB). Raised in an observant Roman Catholic home, Myō was drawn to religion and spirituality at an early age and found Zen Buddhism in his teens. Rev. Myō began sitting practice in 1969 whilst still in high school, and attended zazen-kai at Haiku Zendō in Los Altos, which had recently been established and which hosted Suzuki-roshi from time to time. Rev. Myō is available to the entire community for dokusan (practice discussion) by appointment.
Ceremonial Services
Hartford Street Zen Center is available for hosting ceremonial occasions such as weddings, commitments, funerals, memorials, baby namings, and coming-of-age ceremonies. Please contact Rev. Myō for more information.
First time visitors
If you have not practiced Soto Zen practice previously we would strongly suggest a few options. First we offer an 8:30am instructional session each Saturday before our most heavily attended Saturday 9:25am zazen (seated meditation) period. This is very helpful to understanding and learning the basics of our forms and moving about in our space and meditation hall. It also will introduce you to an experienced member of our community who can offer continued support, information and guidance.
If you need additional information or accommodation to join us please contact us and we can and will assist!
Click here to view our ethics statement
Click here to read about the roles at HSZC, Issan-ji temple
