Hartford Street Zen Center | Issan-ji temple
A Sōtō Zen temple for the LGBTQ+ community, friends and allies in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood
Please join us this Saturday morning for a Dharma talk by Rev. Ryuei, Michael McCormick, who was ordained in the Nichiren-shū in 2001 by Rev. Ryusho Matsuda, of the San Jose Nichiren Temple.
Rev. McCormick is also a long-time practitioner of zazen (seated meditation) and a student of the writings of Dōgen-zenji.
You may join the Zoom meeting for meditation any time starting at 9 a.m. Zazen begins at 9:25 a.m. followed by the Dharma talk. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/167153141
Daigan began Buddhist practice in 1995 as a Vipassana practitioner, and began to study Zen in 2003 with Ryushin Paul Haller. He received Lay Ordination in 2006 and Priest Ordination in 2011 and lived at San Francisco Zen Center properties a number of years. His work and practice include many hours devoted to community service as one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (since 1995) and a volunteer caregiver with Zen Hospice Project (since 2003). He has spoken nationwide on sex, sexuality, queer identity, and gender and has sat on a number of boards of community organizations serving marginalized communities. He has lectured at colleges as well as conferences and is featured in Sex, Sin and Zen by Brad Warner.
You may join the Zoom meeting for meditation any time starting at 9 a.m. Zazen begins at 9:25 a.m. followed by the Dharma talk. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/167153141
Renshin Bunce was a resident of SF Zen Center from 2001 to 2008, first for three years at Tassajara and then for four more years at City Center. She is an author of the book Entering the Monastery.
She is also known for her photographs, and her page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/renshin/ has been called “The Zen Center Yearbook.”
Ren made jukai with Myogen Steve Stücky in 1996, when he gave her the name Renshin Jiko (Lotus Heart/Mind, Boundless Compassion); was priest ordained with Zenkei Blanche Hartman in 2003; was Shuso with Myogen-roshi at Tassajara in 2008; and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2013. She lives on the Peninsula, where she works as a hospice chaplain.
You may join the Zoom meeting for meditation any time starting at 9 a.m. Zazen begins at 9:25 a.m. followed by the Dharma talk. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/167153141
Dear Sangha-Friend,
We hope that this letter finds you safe and well in these difficult times.
May the Dharma be a support and comfort to you in facing the challenges that we now confront together. Unlike crises in the past, when we could come together, warm hand to warm hand, and tend to our sick, now we must somehow care for each other while remaining physically apart. Throughout these painful days, we hold you in our prayers for well-being.
And necessity moves us humbly to ask that, if you are able, please consider making a donation in support of the Hartford Street Zen Center. We are offering Dharma activities online for the time being. While we are also looking forward to opening the temple once again as a place of meeting with warm hands and warm hearts, remember that we are always joined together in the Buddha Way. Thank you!
Gratefully,
Rev. Abbot Myo Lahey, Rev. Daiko Tanzen, David Bullock
We are fully back!
Meeting ID: 918 8535 8969
Passcode: 5PZ5js
Sozan Michael McCord has lived and worked at San Francisco Zen Center since 2009, and served as Ino (Head of Meditation Hall) and Tenzo (Head Cook) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He was ordained as a Zen priest by Ryushin Paul Haller in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki in 2014.
Michael holds a BA in Theology from Ambassador University and worked as a volunteer for their non-profit Ambassador Foundation in Amman, Jordan, doing vocational training for mentally challenged individuals. He had careers in the technology and financial sectors before coming to Zen practice. He was Program Director of SFZC from 2016 to 2019 and is currently the Director of SFZC, City Center/Beginner’s Mind Temple.
Saturday mornings we offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. 9:25 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am) and a Dharma talk at 9:45am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing. https://zoom.us/j/167153141 – Please send an email request to info@hszc.org to obtain the password.
Greetings from Issan-ji Sōtō Zen Temple. We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and in good health during this difficult time. Practice is ongoing with Hartford Street Zen Center‘s residential students and we encourage you to continue your practice at home. We invite you, the Sangha, to connect through online technology, creating a safe temple space without physical borders.
There are currently three online options:
• Saturday mornings we offer a Zoom web conferencing for video and/or audio presence for the scheduled events. 9:25 zazen (you can log into the conference starting at 9am) and a Dharma talk at 9:45am, followed by Q&A as well as an opportunity to check in and see how you are doing. https://zoom.us/j/167153141 – Please send an email request to info@hszc.org to obtain the password.
• Thursdays we will reconvene our Study Hour offering 7:30pm – 8:30pm via Zoom conferencing for video and/or audio access – Send an email to info@hszc.org to be added to Rev. Myō’s weekly study hour email list and to receive Zoom conference details
• Wednesday evenings 6pm – 6:40pm as of April 8th, you can also join us online for a period of zazen hosted outside the temple by a community member via Zoom conferencing – https://us04web.zoom.us/j/626141223
We also would like to encourage you continue to visit us at hszc.org and our Facebook page as we adjust our offerings during these trying times.
From our Abbot, Rev. Myō – These painful circumstances have created a kind of retreat space for us, which we can use in a helpful way. Remember that ‘staying close to home’ has meaning for us beyond the literal, and that the ancient meditation instruction “follow the stream to the source” is accomplished in an instant, whether one considers oneself ‘beginner’ or ‘advanced’.
Establish some structure for your time, including some Dharma practice and study, gentle exercise, cleaning, and plenty of rest. Try not to brood, and try to avoid such habits as nervous snacking on high-calorie foods. Remember that taking care of yourself is a gateway to caring for others as well. One can demonstrate this by the practice of mettă meditation, among other ways. –
Kodo Conlin is a novice priest, training at San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center. Coming into the practice of sitting in 2006, and ordaining in 2015, Kodo’s orientation in the Dharma is deeply informed by long-term, intensive retreat practice at Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center, Spirit Rock, and two years in residence at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Kodo is also a member of the Right Use of Power Teachers Guild. He speaks in Marin at Spirit Rock’s Family Programs, and in San Francisco at Young Urban Zen. Kodo is passionate about deeply realizing the Dharma and sharing the joy of practice.