As one of the first and only (even still) LGBTQ+ Buddhist temples in the world we wish you great amounts of joy, calm and ease in who you are and to have all the rights all human beings have or are entitled to. SF is known as an epicenter of things “gay” and a home to all our communities within or related to this older general term. We hope you might go out and about and enjoy the cities visitors and events has kicked off and today is the Trans Parade that celebrates gender nonconformity! Happy Pride to all!
Winter Light Retreat Schedule – DEC 5, 6, and 7 December 2025
0900 Zendo opening and Zazen
0930 Kinhin (formal walking meditation)
0940 Zazen
1015 Dharma Talk setup
1030 Dharma Talk
1115 Kinhin
1130 Zazen
1210 Chanting Service
1230 Lunch
1330 Clean-up & Rest
1430 Zazen
1510 Tea (Dining Room)
1530 Zazen
1600 Kinhin
1610 Zazen
1645 Chanting Service
1700 End of Day
Sunday Dec 7 Only…
As Above, until…
1205 Bodhi Day Setup & Ceremony
1230 Retreat End
Please Note: Visitors are welcome to join in the scheduled sitting between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., but are asked NOT to take a seat in the zendo-proper once the period has begun, but to remain on the bench at the west end of the zendo until a period ends. Please see the schedule for the times of the sitting periods. Also, persons who have not registered for the retreat cannot be accommodated at mealtimes.
November 26 thru 29 December 24 thru 27 SCHEDULE CHANGE: January 2026 1, 2 AND3 We’ll take a break from our stalwart zendo practice on the days noted above, so stay home by the fire and do some cozy sitting there, just for fun. Watch for a notice about our annual New Year’s Eve event. NOTE: {We apologize for the late schedule change, but alas, there is still flu in the temple household.} If you attend one of the other groups that meet here independently of the usual zendo schedule, check with them to find out if they will hold their regular get-togethers. Have happy and safe holidays, everyone!
Save the date – Arrange the time off from daily home, work and busy worldly market life:
December 5th into December 7th
For 2025, a three-day retreat.
We will have zoom presence. We are finalizing the schedule and offerings that will be included. We will communicate more details and your options and ways to join in the weeks ahead.
We hope you will join us for this annual event for deepening our practice, opportunity.
Stay tuned in email for another announcement in weeks ahead and on hszc.org or our facebook page for more info.
Suggested Attendance is $80 for the full retreat, $30 per day – or – an amount of your own choosing, or you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Questions or ready to RSVP now? Please email: info@hszc.org – or – sign the sign-up sheet in the zendo
Rev. Hokyo Lorenzo Garbo first came to Zen practice in 2001, and studied mostly as a non-resident at Green Gulch Farm while working as a colleg`e professor in Southern California.
He received the bodhisattva precepts from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 2006 during a sabbatical year spent in residence at Green Gulch, and became a full-time resident at City Center in 2020. He received priest ordination from Kiku Christina Lehnherr in 2023 and currently serves as the San Francisco Zen Center’s director of the Hospitality department.
Join us Saturdays for zazen (seated meditation) at 9:30am, with the Dharma talk to follow at 10:30. We offer in-person distanced attendance, and we also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events.
There’s an earlier sitting at 6:30am, in addition to the later one at 9:30am (you can log into the conference starting at ~9am). A period of zazen is typically 40 minutes, and it’s ok to adjust your sitting posture as needed. The Dharma talk includes time for questions and answers, occasionally followed by a particular ceremony such as the celebration of Buddha’s Birthday. We enjoy tea and cookies together afterwards.Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering
And as always you can contact us to arrange an introductory session ~8:45am if you are a beginner.
As a reminder any week you do not see a speaker announced it is our Abbot, Rev. Myo Lahey.
Our apologies but in our very limited resource temple a person missing is an impact to schedule and activities. Wed night will not have its usual resource this week and we hope you can instead make our next scheduled offering
Dr Steven Tierney (Rev. Kai Po Koshin) is a Dharma transmitted teacher in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi. Steven is the guiding teacher at Oceans Compassion Zen Community, Meditation in Recovery Sangha at SFZC and the SFLGBTQA+ Sangha. Rev. Tierney is currently the president of the Soto Zen Budhist Association.
Dr. Tierney is a psychotherapist in private practice and Professor Emeritus in Counseling Psychology at CIIS. He has been integrating meditation, mindfulness, and breath-based wellness initiatives since 1995. For further information: Steventierneysf@gmail.com
