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Hartford Street Zen Center | Issan-ji temple
A Sōtō Zen temple for the LGBTQ+ community, friends and allies in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood
After several weeks off, Thursdays @7:30pm, we are back on schedule to study the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, also called Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra. There are multiple translations, we focus on the Dr Robert Thurman version, but welcome any version to compare the translations.
We can share books for anyone who wants to join in, or feel free to purchase a copy and join us (many are very low cost online).
Check our twitter page for any changes in schedule.
Join us Saturday for the Full Moon Ceremony!
The Full Moon Ceremony is at around 11:00am — 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. This month according to the Farmer’s Almanac it’s the Full wolf, old, snow, or after yule Moon. Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
The ceremony will begin around 11am roughly after the Dharma Talk. Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), 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 a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies with socializing. Please know you are welcome and invited!
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).
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.
Hartford Street 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!