Happy New Year & Welcome to 2015!
what are you doing… new year, new year’s eve?
Join us for an evening event kicking off at 7:30pm and taking us into 12am Jan 1 2015!
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 2014, and finally a toast to the new year.
Please note: There won’t be the regularly scheduled zendo events on the 31st…. (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 Sheep/Goat in mid-February).
27 Dec @ 10:15am – Guest Speaker: Tokuden Shinki Mark Lancaster
Please join us Dec 27th as we return from a 3 day break and to hear our guest speaker:
Tokuden Shinki Mark Lancaster has been practicing at San Francisco Zen Center since 1988. Mark was Shuso in 1997, ordained by Michael Wenger in 2002 and received Dharma Transmission from Michael Wenger in 2006. He began working for SFZC in 1999 and managed the Tassajara Reservations office. From 2002 Mark worked through a series of City Center temple jobs ending as Ino in 2006. Since Fall 2007 Mark has held administrative roles and is currently the Director of People Development. From 1978 until 1998, Mark worked in the maritime industry in marketing and pricing, leaving to work for SFZC in 1999.
Academic and Training Background: Attended Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden from 1968-1972. Received a degree of Filosofi Kandidats Examenen F.K. with a dual major in Sociology and Literature. The F.K. degree is an equivalent of a B.A.-M.A. Mark also attended Humboldt State and took slightly more than 30 units in journalism, but did not complete a second B.A. in journalism. He retains some fluency in spoken Swedish, and can read both Swedish and Norwegian.
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by tea and cookies.
Schedule changes coming up!
Hartford Stre
et Zen Center will be closed Dec 24-26 and be back to regular schedule on Saturday the 27th of December.
We will then have an altered schedule on the 31st of December for our New Year event (more info to come starts at 7:30pm on the 31st to mid-night starting a new year on Jan 1) and then closed again – Jan 1, 2015.
Please be aware of these changes and we hope to see you soon!
Study Hour continues its’ break until Thurs Jan 8th!
Please support HSZC!
Greetings and best wishes for the New Year to all of you, with many thanks for your continuing support. The new year will bring us to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the passing of our founder, Issan Dainei. Through his original vision, along with the work and support of many people since, Hartford Street Zen Center has been offering the Dharma in the Castro for more than thirty years.
We ask that you help insure the practice of the Buddha Way in the Castro through your generosity. (click here for full annual appeal for donations letter)
Sat. Dec 13th Guest Speaker – Kokyo Henkel @ 10:15am
Please join us this Saturday for Guest Speaker Kokyo Henkel
Kokyo is currently Head Teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center. He has been practicing zen since 1990 in residence at Tassajara, Green Gulch Farm, No Abode Hermitage in Mill Valley, and Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan. He was ordained a priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010.
Kokyo’s interests include looking at how the 
classic original teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and harmony to this troubled world.
classic original teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and harmony to this troubled world.Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation) a bit later at 6:30am, morning service, a brief drop-in or by appointment meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a Dharma talk at 10:15 am (followed by ceremony if applicable) and then socializing, along with tea and cookies.