Hartford Street Zen Center | Issan-ji temple
A Sōtō Zen temple for the LGBTQ+ community, friends and allies in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood
The accomplished actor, Emmy Award-winning narrator, writer, singer, songwriter, guitarist and recently ordained Soto Zen priest Peter Coyote will speak at the next weekly meeting of the Gay Buddhist Sangha at HSZC. Peter Coyote was ordained in the same lineage as our temple, that of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and the San Francisco Zen Center, and we are honored to have him come and share the dharma with us. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Please join us for Sangha Hour (hosted by Jim S.) weekly each Wednesday between 10:30am – 11:30am in our temple’s living room.
This is an open house format to welcome anyone who has never been to Hartford Street Zen Center, past members, future members and our currently active Sangha members.
Sangha Hour is ideal for questions, exploring Buddhism, connecting, reconnecting, or just an hour of time in a social setting for those who want to enrich their current Sangha life.
Coffee and refreshments will be offered.
*This is a new program we’re trying out and so your thoughts, comments and participation are welcome and encouraged
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 custom, 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…
Rev. David bullocks discusses his experience sitting with pain and the subsequent realization of the illusory nature of the self. He then talks about his experience with Hartford Street since the early days of its founding, his time studying under Issan Dorsey, and what led to his return to the temple.
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Please join us this week for a special guest talk by Rev. David. He was ordained by Rev. Issan Dorsey, the founder of our temple, in 1990, and is one of the original members of the Hartford Street Sangha. He was also deeply involved in Issan’s establishment of the Maitri AIDS Hospice, and has for years been one of our treasured gardeners. We’ll have zazen as usual at 9:25 a.m., with the talk following at 10:15, and tea-and-cookies afterwards. Everyone is welcome.
Rev. Tova Green provides helpful advice for how to bring Zen practice into every aspect of our lives, and puts into perspective the relative truth of our experience in relation to the universal and eternal.
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This Saturday, 22 October, following a short Dharma talk by Rev. Myo, we’ll celebrate the ancient ceremony known in Japanese as Sejiki, or “Feeding the Jiki (wandering spirits)”. This ceremony addresses our connection to the “unseen world”, typically overlooked in the West. All aspects of our life that have been disowned, disrespected and denied are invited to come forth from exile and be nourished, a gesture that may have particular significance for members of the LGBTiQQ community, whose own place in the social order has been undermined by fear, prejudice and violence. Costumes and sundry noisemaking devices are encouraged, and everyone is invited to participate. (Time approximate after the Dharma talk, but about 11:00 a.m.)
