When I first was introduced to Zen Meditation at the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) in Green Gulch Farm in Sausalito, I learned the four Bodhisattva vows. One day last week, I woke up thinking about these vows and what they meant to me and then the following came in an email: THE BODHISATTVA PATH […]
My Life with Thay
My life with Thay (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh) began in a small church in Berkeley, California in 1984. By some strange coincidence, I happened to sit next to him is the second row before he was introduced to speak. I became a solo practitioner in Thay’s tradition on that day. I was shy and […]
Loving Kindness Meditation with Gil Fronsdal
It is with great pleasure that I present this Loving Kindness Meditation with Gil Fronsdal. The text is from his book, The Issue at Hand. The book is offered as a gift to the community. It is freely given and available online. I found this to be so instructive that I want to share this […]
Beginner’s Mind
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was the founding teacher of the San Francisco Zen Center. His simple teachings have inspired many new dharma teachers such as Myogen Steve Stucky, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Wendy Johnson, and many others. My first experience at the San Francisco Zen Center was in 1972. I did a seven day sesshin there with […]
Surrendering to Our Grief
Frank Ostaseski is one the founders of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. It was founded in 1987 by members of the San Francisco Zen Center and its doors have been open since 1990. I have had more than three previous occasions to encounter the Zen Hospice Project. When my friend, Richard Dahut was […]
What Is Meditation? What is Zen?
Myōgen Steve Stücky, the late central abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, answers, “What is meditation?” for us in this video. He also talks about, “What is Tassajara?” and “What is Zen?”It was filmed last summer at Tassajara. In the video Steve explains: Zazen is to settle into ‘now’ – right here, right now. And, […]
Imagination Shapes Reality
My first Zen teacher was Dainin Katagiri Roshi in 1972 when I did a 7 day sesshin (an intense period of meditation) at the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC). In the 80’s, when I regularly attended Monday night sitting practice, my teacher was Myogen Steve Stucky. At the SFZC in Green Gulch Farm in Sausalito […]
In Memory Of Myogen Steve Stucky
I just learned that Zen Master Myogen Steve Stucky passed away on December 31, 2013 – just a couple of days ago. He was a wonderful man and beloved teacher. In the 1980’s, I sat Zen meditation with him in his home in Mill Valley with many other devoted students. He will be deeply missed […]
Thanksgiving Day Reflections from Myogen Steve Stucky
These Thanksgiving day reflections from Myogen Steve Stucky were shared by OI brother Gary Gach. Little did he know that in 1987 and 1988, I used to attend Steve’s Monday evening sitting group in Mill Valley. I stopped coming the week after my father died. My knees were bothering me and I had a disappointing […]
Vows of the Bodhisattvas
Vows of the Bodhisattvas Creations are numberless, I vow to free them Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them Reality is boundless, I vow to perceive it The awakened way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has forsaken final nirvana in order to help save all […]
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