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 Saturday morning for the monthly ceremony of renewal of our Bodhisattva vows. Come for zazen (seated meditation) at 9:25 a.m., an edifying (we hope) Dharma talk at 10:15, and the ceremony will follow directly. Full prostrations are traditional, but standing bows are fine, as well. Tea-and-cookies will be served subsequently, as (almost) always. Everyone is welcome!
We’ll start sitting earlier than usual this coming Saturday. There will be two periods of zazen (seated meditation) beginning at 5:30 a.m., with a period of kinhin (walking meditation) in between at 6:10 a.m., and morning chanting following at 7:00. You may think, “Oh, that’s too early for me”, but you should give it a try, and you can always nap later. Also, we’ll serve a simple breakfast to participants, but you MUST sign up ahead-of-time, either via email at hszc108@yahoo.com, or by phone at (415) 863-2507. The rest of the Saturday schedule will be according to the recent changes we made, with another period of sitting at 9:25 and the Dharma talk at 10:15 a.m., followed by a brief ceremony of commemoration of the death of our founder, Rev. Issan Dorsey. Afterwards, there will be fistfuls of cookies for your enjoyment! Everyone is welcome…
Furyu Nancy Schroeder, a resident at San Francisco Zen Center for
over 30 years, was formerly the Director of Green Gulch Farm, where she lives with her partner and daughter. Fu has been active in the Marin Interfaith Council for many years and has continued supporting special events for children, people of color, and the LGBTQQI communities. She was ordained in 1986 by Tenshin Reb Anderson, and received Dharma Transmission in 1999.
We’ll have zazen (seated meditation) at the new time of 9:25 a.m.,
with the talk to follow at 10:15, and, as (nearly) always, tea and
cookies afterwards. Everyone is welcome.
Saturday the 16th, our guest speaker will be Bernd Bender from the San Francisco Zen Center. Bernd has been a student of Soto Zen since 1984. After moving to San Francisco from Germany, he began his studies at the Zen Center, receiving lay ordination from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1996. He has lived at all three practice centers, and has translated several Buddhist texts from English to German. Bernd was Shuso (head student) during the City Center Spring Practice Period in 2009. He is inspired by how the simplicity of practice meets the infinite complexity of life. Bernd received Lay Dharma Entrustment from Dairyu Michael Wenger in 2010.
Rev. Myo addresses the helpful ridiculousness of Zen formality, and describes how practice prepared him to face apparent imminent death. He then expounds the teaching of “patient belongings.”
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We’ll be taking a brief vacation the weekend of the July 4th holiday. The zendo (meditation hall) will be closed on Saturday, 2 July, and also on Monday the 4th itself. Our regularly-scheduled activities will resume with 6 a.m. zazen (seated meditation) on Tuesday, 5 July. Have a good and safe holiday, everyone!
This month’s Full-Moon Bodhisattva Ceremony will take place after the 6 p.m. period of zazen on Friday 15 July. The ceremony will conclude by 7:15. Everyone is welcome to attend.