Category: Dharma Talks

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 12/12 –Rev. Peter Van Der Sterre

Peter was ordained by Richard Baker in 1975 and practiced at Zen Center in San Francisco, Tassajara and Green Gulch, returning to the market place in 1983 to establish a construction company and support his family. Prior to his arrival at Zen Center in 1972, he was practicing the solitary path of unguided meditation and rough carpentry in Zuni, New Mexico, Boston, Massachusetts, and Custer, South Dakota. He joined the Everyday Zen Community in 2001, and was the first Bay Area Shuso.

Since receiving transmission from Norman in 2011, He has been exploring the challenges and opportunities that poses, with the intention to extend his practice and support to others.

A few years ago he discovered an old Basque boarding house in the old North End of Boise, Idaho. He renovated one of the existing units and extended the new space up into the attic level, which required the removal of the roof and sagging rafters and reinforcing the existing structure. The new attic Zendo and guest space is light and warm, with a view to the south which includes several old church spires and part of the city center. Boise has several Buddhist groups, and he has connected with the Floating Cloud Sangha, who now have a place to meet, study and hold half day sittings, called The 7th Street Zendo. They can be located on the web at 7thStreetZendo.org

In San Francisco, located less than three blocks from Zen Center, he and others created The Oak Street Zendo, which offers a daily morning schedule, as well as classes and half day sittings on a semi regular basis, since it’s dedication in January 2015.  The power and engagement of group sitting and study has formed the core of his activity, both within and without the Everyday Zen practice calendar. On the web, they are located at OakStreetZendo.org.

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 to socialize) 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. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering.

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 11/28 – Rev. Heather Shoren Iarusso

Rev. Heather Shoren Iarusso first moved to Tassajara in June 2008 thinking she’d stay for six months. Her spiritual sabbatical morphed into a way of life, residing amid the peace and beauty of the monastic valley for seven years aggregate. Heather was ordained as a Zen Priest in October 2015 by Teah Strozer, who served as the guiding teacher for Brooklyn Zen Center (BZC) for many years. Heather worked at BZC for two years as the Ino (Head of Meditation Hall), program director, communications coordinator, and the interim executive director.

Heather has served in various practice roles at Tassajara including the Ino, Tenzo (Head Cook), Shika (Guest Manager), and the Shuso (Head Student) with their Senior Dharma Teacher Paul Haller. She’s completed twelve, 90-day practice periods at Tassajara and has also participated in meditation intensives with Pema Chodron, Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi, Shohaku Okumura Roshi, and Shodo Harada Roshi. Heather holds master’s degrees in communications, creative writing, and English literature.

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 to socialize) 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. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering.

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 11/14 – Rev. Koshin, Steven Tierney

Please join us for a Dharma talk by Rev. Steven, priest-ordained by Rev. Dairyu Michael Wenger, and who is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and frequent consultant to mental health and recovery programs, as well as group facilitator for our Issan-ji Sangha (community of practitioners). We’ll have zazen (seated meditation) as usual at 9:25, with the talk to follow at 9:45. Everyone is welcome!

Steven has been a long term guiding light for the HSZC Sangha Council to discuss temple activities, status and the community at large.

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 to socialize) 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. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering.

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 10/24 –Rev. Hobu, Beata Chapman

Hobu Beata Chapman has practiced Zen with chronic nerve pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for 23 years. She studied with Katherine Thanas at Santa Cruz Zen Center and with Darlene Cohen until her untimely death, and received Dharma transmission from Tony Patchell in 2013. Beata also helped Hartford Street Zen Center with its’ council process for several years and is a great friend of Issan-ji Temple.

Beata continues the Suffering & Delight groups for people with chronic pain that Darlene founded around 15 years ago, and teaches an online S&D group she began for people not able to attend in person. For more information about Beata’s work with chronic pain, you can see sufferinganddelight.net. Beata is an organizational consultant currently doing corporate leadership training and assisting health care organizations to develop compliance systems. She recently started a zazen group in San Mateo (PenZen.net).

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 to socialize) 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. Please click here to be routed to our Zoom gathering.

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 8/8 – Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt ~9:45am

Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt is a Dharma Heir of the late Rev. Zenkei Blanche Hartman in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she began her meditation practice in the Insight tradition of Spirit Rock.

She is a founding member of the Buddhists of Color in 1998. Her Soto Zen training began at Tassajara monastery where she lived from 2002-2005, after which she practiced monastically in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. Based at San Francisco Zen Center, Liên also teaches at East Bay Meditation Center and other Bay Area groups.

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

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Guest Speaker (Zoom Sangha): Sat. 7/18 – Rev. Steven Tierney

Please join us for a Dharma talk by Rev. Steven, priest-ordained by Rev. Dairyu Michael Wenger, and who is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and frequent consultant to mental health and recovery programs, as well as group facilitator for our Issan-ji Sangha (community of practitioners). We’ll have zazen (seated meditation) as usual at 9:25, with the talk to follow at 9:45. Everyone is welcome!

We will then follow with a short break and go into Sangha Council to discuss temple activities, status and the community at large.

You may join the Zoom meeting for meditation any time starting at 9 a.m. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/167153141

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*UPDATED* Offerings during the pandemic

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. –

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Saturday Sangha Online Program

In light of the restrictions on in-person gatherings, we invite everyone to join for an online program (via video conferencing app Zoom) to substitute for our normal Saturday schedule so we may maintain our practice in community until we can meet once again at our temple. We will be doing this every Saturday through May 2nd. Join us on Zoom for zazen at 9:30 a.m. followed by a talk at 10 a.m.

Just follow this link, which will help you set up a free account and download the Zoom app, if you haven’t already done so, and join the meeting starting at 9 a.m.: https://zoom.us/j/167153141

Meeting ID: 167 153 141

May all beings be happy, may they be well and live in safety, free from danger, want and care 🙏