Sonoma Mountain Zen Center was founded in 1973 by Abbot Jakusho Bill Kwong-roshi on 81 acres of rolling hills and woodlands on Sonoma Mountain, overlooking the Valley of the Moon in rural Sonoma County.
Kwong-roshi was among the first American students of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, the Soto Zen priest who came to the United States from Japan in 1959. In 2023, Nyoze Kwong ascended the mountain seat as the second Abbot of SMZC, a historic milestone marking the 92nd generation in an unbroken lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha.
SMZC is the mother temple to Dharma communities in Warsaw and Reykjavik, with students and practitioners around the world.
For over 50 years, Sonoma Mountain Zen Center has maintained an intimate and long-lasting relationship with Sotoshu Zen Headquarrters in Japan. Monks from Eiheiji and Sojiji, the head training monasteries of Soto Zen, continue to visit and practice at SMZC. The Center serves as an essential bridge for the transmission of Zen Buddhism between East and West. SMZC is among the oldest Zen temples in the United States and the first family temple outside of Japan.
The Sonoma Mountain Mandala project emerged from Kwong-roshi’s vision to build a lasting temple complex on Sonoma Mountain. When the Center applied to amend its use permit in 2011, the County approved it, but in 2016 added conditions requiring infrastructure upgrades and a new community building, expanding the project’s scope and cost.
By 2018, SMZC had successfully raised $3 million, which went toward phase one of the Sonoma Mountain Mandala, including the construction of the essential infrastructure and two residential buildings, both of which are now complete.
Phase two includes the construction of the Wisteria House (kuri), a kitchen-administration building, and the Manjushri meditation hall (zendo), slated for completion in 2031.
We have raised more than half of the total needed to realize the full vision of the Sonoma Mountain Mandala. We are now focused on the remaining $1.4 million to complete the Wisteria House, and an additional $3.5 million for the meditation hall. Both are within reach.
​
With your contribution, we will realize Kwong-roshi's vision: a truly enduring temple complex on this ancient mountain, vibrant enough to reflect the authentic Zen spirit and inspire people from every region and all walks of life for the next 300 years.
​
The infrastructure is complete. The Center is ready to welcome practitioners and visitors in safety and comfort. What remains is the heart of the project.
CURRENT SITE PLAN
The construction of these buildings will bring Sonoma Mountain Zen Center into compliance with the county’s new codes.
I ask you deeply from my heart to please join us and contribute in any way you can—to benefit all sentient beings and to create wisdom, compassion, and peace in the world that we can share with many generations to come.
