It's a wonderful opportunity for first time visitors to experience the Spirit of Zen Practice on a Saturday weekend.
SCHEDULE
5:15 a.m. meditation
5:50 a.m. walking meditation
6:00 a.m. meditation
6:40 a.m. sutra chanting
6:55 a.m. oryoki breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. work practice
9:00 a.m. meditation instruction
10:30 a.m. meditation
11:00 a.m. Dharma talk
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. buffet lunch (except August and February)
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$15 admission for Dharma talk (See calendar for dates.)
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We welcome families and children of all ages to join us in practice. SMZC offers several ways to introduce children to the sights and sounds of a spiritual practice space. We hold a Children’s Saturday once a month with supervised art activities during our regularly scheduled program. We also arrange Parent Swap so families can alternate watching children and attending our full Saturday program. Twice a year, there are Kids’ Overnights for families to camp on the center grounds and participate in light meditation periods together.
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January, May, September & December (See calendar for dates.)
Learn the basics of Zazen meditation and how to extend its Stillness into Everyday Life. The workshop includes both instruction on Zen forms and informal discussions on Buddhist thought. The schedule includes short periods of seated meditation, outdoor walking meditation, discussions, and a vegetarian buffet lunch.
March, June, November (See calendar for dates.)
Saturday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Non-Members $80 / Members 10-20% Discount
Explore the fundamental teachings of Buddhism as foundation and inspiration for daily practice in a 12-week online course. See Calendar for book and syllabus.
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Spring and Fall on Tuesdays 7:30 - 9:00 pm (See calendar for dates.)
Non-Members $144 or $12/session / Members 10-20% Discount
Learn to sew a rakusu in a class in preparation for Jukai, receiving Buddist precepts for lay ordination. Participants will take part in an ancient tradition from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Over the course of several weeks, you will complete an intricate interweaving pattern of Buddha’s rakusu with single minded focus, silently repeating refuge vows with each stitch. The sewing unifies body and mind due to its silent continuous effort.
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April - May on Tuesdays 7:30 - 9:00 pm (See calendar for dates.)
Purifying The Mind
Wabi-cha is ritualized Japanese Tea Ceremony which harmonizes the body and mind of quiet simplicity. This program presents an opportunity to study tea in the Omote Senke tradition. Learn how to receive sweets and tea and become more familiar with the etiquette and forms in a tea gathering. Relax in the peaceful temple setting of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center. Investigate meditation in action and connecting with one another in each moment.
Workshops will be Led by Eko Mouri Sensei and Julie Kashin Kwong.
Kashin Julie Kwong has been studying Japanese Tea Ceremony since 2006 and is a senior student of Mouri Sensei. She practices tea in the school of Omotesenke, which is the closest tea school connected to Soto Zen. She is a senior student of Jakusho Kwong-roshi, abbot of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and has lived and practiced at SMZC for over 15 years. She also leads and instructs Nyoho-e (traditional zen practice of sewing).
Eko Mouri-sensei is a certified teacher of Chanoyu (tea ceremony) in the Omotesenke tradition. As a leading teacher of Omotesenke of Northern California, she has worked closely with the Omotesenke headquaters in Kyoto, Japan. Sensei has been offering private lessons at her residence for 30 years.
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No Tea Experience is Necessary
April & October on Saturday 1:00 - 4:00 pm (See calendar for dates.)
$50/class
Discover elegance through the art of Japanese flower arrangement. We teach the fundamental sculptural forms fundamental to Ikebana and the principles of line, mass, and color. Instructors will demonstrate basic techniques and participants will complete two arrangements. Led by Alexa Young and Rachel Anderson, certified Ikebana teachers and long-time students of Soho Sakai, Riji.
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Upcoming (See calendar for dates.)
$80/class (includes $30 material fee)
Enjoy live performances, browse local arts and crafts, and eat bento boxes under the live oaks. The annual bazaar hosts Sonoma County and North Bay artisans selling woodwork, sculptures, weavings, fiber and bamboo art, photography, ceramics, soaps, calligraphy, handmade jewelry, teas, honey, and more. Proceeds go to local vendors and the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center’s Mandala Project.
Upcoming (See calendar for dates.)
Sonoma Mountain Zen Center invites all our members, old and new, to bring their favorite dish and break bread with friends and families of the Sangha. There will be a brief period of zazen, an update on current events and the Mandala Project. The opportunity to renew our vows by offering incense in the zendo. A delicious potluck will follow outdoors.
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April & October on Saturday 10:30 - 1:00 pm (See calendar for dates.)
Bring your entire family and many friends to commemorate the Birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. We will have a flower festival with a traditional ceremony of pouring sweet tea over the baby Buddha with hundreds of people in the zendo. After the ceremony, a lively outdoor reception with a variety of foods from participants will be shared.
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April on Sunday 1:00 - 4pm (See Calendar for dates.)
Start the new year with a clean slate and peaceful mind at our traditional New Year’s celebration. We will eat a delicious meal of traditional longevity noodles, in the Sangha House. After a short zazen in the zendo, exactly at midnight each of us will take turns, striking the bonsho (great bell) a total of 108 times, burning away old Karma in a short ceremony. Refreshments follow the ceremony.
December 31 10:30 pm - 12:30 am
​$25 admission
Breathe new energy into the center with friends and family of the Sonoma Mountain Sangha. This biannual event is a chance to work on the zendo and temple grounds in the spirit of together-action. A casual fun atmosphere with lunch, snacks, and beverages provided. (No meditation or lecture schedule.)
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Sprint, Summer & Fall Workfest on Sunday 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
(See calendar for dates.)
TETSUYA & SUNRISE SERVICE FOR SUZUKI ROSHI
Settle in on an all-night sitting to commemorate Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment on December 8th and Shunryu Suzuki-roshi’s death on December 4th, 1971. We sit continuously from midnight to 4:00 a.m. ending with Atonement Vow. At 6 a.m. we gather together for a memorial procession to Suzuki-roshi’s stupa, where we chant,
express our gratitude, and watch the sun rise through the trees. Breakfast follows at 7a.m.
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December 6th 12:00 am to December 7th 7:00 am
$50 onsite & $25 online
