Saturday, March 18th – is the annual observance of  Mahapajapati‘s life. A great opportunity to celebrate women, the mothers of all with focus on Buddhism through the first female nun. Near International Women’s day and so the timing is a close companion.

Mahapajapati Gotami, the first woman to be ordained from the Buddha and to join the Sangha. She was the Buddha’s maternal aunt and adopted mother after her sister, Queen Maya (Mahāmāyā), the Buddha’s birth mother, died.

Join us for zazen (seated meditation), with the talk to follow, we offer in-person distanced attendance; We also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. there’s an early session at 6:30am and then the more popular 9:30 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am to socialize) for 40 minutes and a Dharma talk at 10:30am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing, followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies in person after that. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering 

And as always you can contact us to arrange an introductory session ~8:30am if you are a beginner.

This Saturday, the 10:30 a.m. Dharma talk will be given by Steven, our good friend and our Sangha facilitator. Steven is a psychotherapist in private practice, and a Dharma heir or Rev. Cynthia Kear, in addition to being a longtime leader in the Recovery community.

Steven has been studying and practicing Buddhism for more than 25 years and was ordained by Michael Wenger in 2013, serving as Shuso in 2014.

Steven’s commitment is to a community-based Buddhism and he has spent the last twenty years extending Buddha’s teachings to those living with addictions, in recovery and those facing serious physical and mental health challenges.  A certified addiction specialist, he is the Co-Founder of the San Francisco Mindfulness Foundation providing training, consultation, psychotherapy mindfulness-based mental health services to individuals and families.

Join us for zazen (seated meditation), with the talk to follow, we offer in-person distanced attendance; We also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. there’s an early session at 6:30am and then the more popular 9:30 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am to socialize) for 40 minutes and a Dharma talk at 10:30am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing, followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies in person after that. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering 

And as always you can contact us to arrange an introductory session ~8:30am if you are a beginner.

The third Abbot of HSZC, famed Beat era poet Zenshin Philip Whalen is remembered and thanked for his help with Issan-ji’s ongoing light of Dharma each month near the 26th.

…the Tathagata has completely extinguished the fire of the mental afflictions that have been accumulated over countless aeons, the nature of the diamond Tathagata permanently endures – not transforming and not diminishing.*

This coming Saturday, we’ll have a brief ceremony commemorating the entry into Nirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha, following a short Dharma talk at the usual time of 10:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome & invited to attend.

Join us for zazen (seated meditation), with the talk to follow, we offer in-person distanced attendance; We also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. there’s an early session at 6:30am and then the more popular 9:30 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am to socialize) for 40 minutes and a Dharma talk at 10:30am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing, followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies in person after that. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering after the Dharma talk, this week we’ll have a short ceremony the entry into Nirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha.

And as always you can contact us to arrange an introductory session ~8:30am if you are a beginner.

Rev. Daigan Gaither began Buddhist practice in 1995 in the Vipassana (Insight) tradition, and then began to study Zen in 2003 with Ryushin Paul Haller Roshi. He received Lay Ordination in 2006 where he was given the name Daigan or “Great Vow”, and received Priest Ordination in July 2011. Daigan speaks internationally on a variety of topics particularly around gender, sexuality, social justice and their intersections with the Dharma.

He has a BA in Philosophy and Religion from San Francisco State University, and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union and the Institute of Buddhist Studies.

We also will conduct our monthly brief annual memorial for our founder Issan – Rev. Issan Dorsey, whose life story is told in the book Street Zen by David Schneider (winner of the Tricycle Prize for Best Book on Buddhism in America), brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989.

Join us for zazen (seated meditation), with the talk to follow, we offer in-person distanced attendance; We also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. there’s an early session at 6:30am and then the more popular 9:30 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am to socialize) for 40 minutes and a Dharma talk at 10:30am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing, followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies in person after that. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering after the Dharma talk, this week we’ll have a short ceremony thanking Issan for his life and work to bring us our small and deeply loved temple.

And as always you can contact us to arrange an introductory session ~8:30am if you are a beginner.

On Saturday Jan 28 2023 we will recognize his birthday and contributions to Buddhism.

Dogen was born in Kyoto on January 2nd (January 26th in the solar calendar). On January 26th, two ceremonies are held in many Soto Zen temples in celebration of his birth, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. In the morning ceremony, a scroll with a painting of Dogen is hung in the Lecture Hall (Hatto). A pail is placed in front of the painting containing holy hot water in which such incense as aloes, sandal wood have been boiled. In the afternoon is the ceremony of appreciation (Ho-on Koshiki). Special shomyo Buddhist music is chanted as an expression of gratitude.

Join us for zazen (seated meditation), with the talk to follow, we offer in-person distanced attendance; We also will continue to offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. 9:30 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am to socialize) for 40 minutes and a Dharma talk at 10:30am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing, followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies in person after that. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering after the Dharma talk, and at noon we’ll have a short ceremony commemorating Dogen’s birthday. 

Stay warm everyone!