23 January double feature!
Please join us for two events this upcoming Saturday:
Koso gotan-e – observed – Jan 23rd. January 26th is the birthday of Dogen (the Founder of Soto Zen). Dogen was born in Kyoto on January 2nd (January 26th in the solar calendar). On January 26th, in Japan Soto Temples two ceremonies are held in celebration of his birth.
The monthly Full Moon 
Ceremony for the “full wolf moon” This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February
The Full Moon Ceremony is our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows and will occur this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.
The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am for < 60minutes, followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us!
HSZC closed, Monday January 18th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther 
King, Jr.) is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King’s birthday, January 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
Enjoy the holiday & we will see you Tuesday!
Recent Newsletter
9 January @ 10:15am – Guest Speaker – Kai Ji Jeffrey Schneider
Jeffrey Schneider is a priest at SF Zen Center, where he has lived, worked and practiced since 1978. He has taught and led retreats at a number of Buddhist centers, including ones in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina. The founder of the SF Zen Center recovery programs, he is currently the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator.
6 days a week we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, and Soji.
Saturdays include the early morning sitting, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We are offered a Dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by tea and cookies and socializing.
Please join us this Saturday and we hope to see you often!
Welcome to 2016!
Welcome to 2016!
in Chinese astrology the year of the Monkey (Element Fire). We will celebrate the Chinese new year on February 6th. Using the Gregorian calendar, as we do in the U.S.A. as does Japan, we have started the new year as of today and wish you joy, peace and a prosperous year!
We are closed today but hope to see you tomorrow as we go back to our regular routine!
In Chinese astrology:
Full of strength and determination, Fire Monkeys are excellent at not only setting goals, but in meeting them as well. Others enjoy being in the company of Fire Monkeys, even though these Monkeys want the upper hand in every situation.
The positive and negative quality of the Monkey Year 2016 culminate in a year that anything can happen. There is little point in storing up goods or planning one’s life. The influence of the Monkey puts everything into flux. Things will get accomplished, but largely through personal and individual efforts. Group movements, such as political upheaval or revolutions, will not make a mark during this year.
New Year 2016! join us Dec 31! starting at 7:30pm
Join us for an evening event kicking off at 7:30pm Dec 31 and taking us into 12am Jan 1 2016!
There’ll be some soji or traditional New Year’s temple cleaning, a light snack , zazen (seated meditation), striking our large bell 108 times, a burning ceremony of things to leave behind in 2015, and finally a toast to the new year.
Please note: There won’t be the regularly scheduled zendo events on the 31st… and we will be closed the 1st of January (We will additionally observe Chinese new year and goals set with a new Daruma, as we have been the past few years along with joss offerings to those beyond our visible realm for the year of the Monkey in early-February).
Last chance to give HSZC a little financial love (and get the 2015 tax benefit)
Dear Friend of Hartford Street Zen Center,
Someone once asked our founder, Issan Dorsey, what it was we were doing in starting a Zen Center at Hartford Street. He replied, “We’re establishing a Buddhist presence in the Castro.” At that time, the early eighties, when someone said the Castro, it was immediately assumed that one was referring to the*LGBTQQI&A community. I’m sure that this was true in great part in Issan’s statement, since he felt as a gay man a special ministry toward the gay community.
Nowadays, even though the Castro may still be predominantly *LGBTQQI&A, the demographic is shifting. In regards to Buddhism this is beside the point. The Buddha Way is open to all who wish to explore this path that plumbs the depths of what it means to be truly human. So here at Hartford Street Zen Center we’re still working on establishing a Buddhist presence in the Castro, still trying to create a place where we and our neighbors can find out what Buddhist practice means in our lives. We’ve been doing this for almost thirty-five years.
This endeavor only continues because of your ongoing support, for which you will always have our gratitude. Over the years we have received both financial support and encouragement from people around the world. It warms my heart when I hear of the ways in which our effort has touched the lives of so many, particularly young LGBTQQI&A people, who may be struggling with their place in their family or community.
Your support not only assists us in maintaining a regular meditation schedule of morning and evening zazen, but also enables us to offer a weekly study hour as well as providing a meeting space for an HIV meditation group and three Meditation in Recovery groups. Please consider making a donation or becoming a member to help us continue to establish a Buddhist presence in the Castro.
In Peace,
Tanzen David Bullock,
President, Board of Directors
Hartford Street Zen Center