San Francisco Zen Center

2008 Annual Benefit Event and Auction
Honoring Alice Waters

Sunday, March 30, 2008 | Greens Restaurant

Auction Items (Sneak Peek)

 

Bask in the sun

A week’s stay at eco-resort CASA VIVA which folds into the stunning natural environment of Troncones, Mexico. There is a small organic garden, solar-powered heat for water & lights, and recycling of runoff water back into the property. All this in an organically designed compound with simple luxury. Inspired by the incredible beauty of the area and also wanting to protect it in our fast living, developing times, creators of Casa Viva have also started construction on PLAYA VIVA, just down the road.  

Stop, Renew, Reflect at MAYACAMAS RANCH in Calistoga, CA

A weekend for two at Mayacamas Ranch during the summer months. Awaken your mind and heart and enjoy this secluded piece of Wine Country: walk its sunny trails abundant with natural flora and wildlife, go canoeing, swim in the pool, or relax in the hot tub under a starry sky.

 
Quiet Personal Attention & Magnificent Views

An overnight stay at CHATEAU DE VIE, just minutes from Calistoga and surrounded by acres of vineyards. Be greeted by the gentle scent of lavender in lush formal gardens as you enter the gates and glimpse the Chateau’s old world charm. Morning coffee and tea are left outside your door and a full, freshly prepared seasonal breakfast is served to your table when you are ready. Continuous beverage service as well as an afternoon cheese service are available. Includes lunch or dinner for two at the CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA AT GREYSTONE.


Culinary Institute of America
Where Crickets Sing and Trees Whisper

One week in a RUSTIC MENDOCINO CABIN near Willits, includes lunch for two from GREENS-TO-GO. Watch as day turns into night from the deck overlooking the valley and the mountains across the way. This cabin is two miles up a steep dirt road on a ridge and is without electricity, phone, or cell phone reception. Amenities include a wood-burning stove, cold-running water, and a palatial outdoor toilet. About an extended solitary retreat there, Susan Moon wrote, “When the crickets are singing and the trees are whispering, you can start to feel the vibrations of all the life that’s passing through you… I began to feel that I really was not a separate being.”

Give Your Best Friend a Treat

Give Fido the gift of two nights at the luxury WAG HOTEL for dogs and cats in San Francisco. Designed with you and your pet in mind, Wag Hotels give you and your pet the luxury of time off for repose and bliss. While Fido relaxes on a leather couch in front of the TV in his luxury suite, you can log-on and watch! Fido also gets ample opportunities to play and swim.Your cat enjoys a room with a view (of a pristine tropical fish aquarium), a private bath, and individual care and diligence from trained staff.

 
The Rolls Royce of Eco-Friendly Toilets

Eco-toilet from TOTO TOILETS, includes delivery and installation. Let your mind rest a little easier with a toilet designed to maximize comfort, hygiene, well-being, efficiency, and water conservation. Toto toilets enhance the lives of their users and the environment. Certified by the EPA's WaterSense program, this advanced low-consumption flushing system (1.28 Gallons/Flush) saves 20% more water than 1.6 GPF toilets.  

Residential toilet rebates are offered by SFPUC, EBMUD & MMWD.


 
Maxine Hong Kingston
A Literary Evening of Conversation with Maxine Hong Kingston and Earll Kingston, moderated by Wendy Johnson

A literary evening of prose and peace with acclaimed author MAXINE HONG KINGSTON and actor EARLL KINGSTON, moderated by Wendy Johnson, on a Friday evening in June 2008. Hosted in a notable San Francisco home; savories and sweets by Greens; lovely wines and valet parking.

 
Artwork by Mayumi Oda

Samantabhadra (On a Bicycle) [1980] Framed artist’s proof. 50" X 38". Samantabhadra is the shining practice Bodhisattva. She turns meditation into action and dream into reality.

 
Artwork by Joyce Hulbert

Portal I: Dawn; Portal II: Night. [1995]. 36"x 28.5"x 6". Two mixed media pieces in shadow box enclosures made of fabric, paper, found objects, and drawings. This series addresses the metaphor of the window, inviting the viewer to “look into” the window to a contemplative, meditative space.

Cooking course

Stay and cooking course at SEASONS OF MY HEART Cooking School in Oaxaca, Mexico. Savor the beautiful Oaxaca valley while learning more about pre-Hispanic foods, traditional culinary, medicinal and spiritual herb usage, as well as Spanish influences on the contemporary Oaxacan kitchen.

 
A Revival of the Legendary Green Gulch Farm Clean Team!

Coming soon to your house or garden!  This is a rare comeback of the CLEAN TEAM, with Myogen Steve Stucky, Emila Heller, Arlene Lueck, Furyu Schroeder and Meiya Wender bringing calm and order so you can sit back and enjoy some peace!

 
Environmental Education at GGF
FUND-A-NEED: Green Gulch Farm’s Environmental Education and Farm Apprenticeship Programs

Since its establishment in 1972, Green Gulch Farm has been on the leading edge of organic farming and land stewardship. We are dedicated to cultivating future stewards of the earth. Our Environmental Education Program brings over 900 children from 34 Bay Area schools and organizations to the farm each year. They come to uncover the secrets of compost, how to make a lettuce burrito, or see how an apple blossom becomes fruit. For many, it’s their first visceral connection to the food they eat and their first chance to see for themselves a plant’s life journey from seedling to the dinner table. The Farm Apprentice Program combines the Zen practice of emphasizing direct experience, whether in the field or meditation hall, with instruction in organic farming and gardening methods. It offers a truly unique approach to ecology and Buddhism. Many apprentices have gone on to start organic farms and intentional communities of their own.

 
Ergonomic Consultation with Fumi Sasa

In this 90-minute private session, you can get tips on how to relieve pain, muscle tension and stress; enhance athletic and artistic performance; improve posture, balance and flexibility; and eliminate the causes of repetitive strain injuries. Fumi Sasa is an Ergonomic Consultant and certified Alexander Technique teacher.

 
Wine Monger
Fine Dessert Wines

The WINEMONGER recommends this Austrian SAZ Ruster Ausbruch 2001 from WENZEL in Neusiedler Lake Highlands, Burgenland, Austria. Described by Vintner Michael Wenzel as sparkly yellow in the glass, its “nose is immensely fruity, with notes of apricot and citrus. An explosion of fruits. On the palate you are overwhelmed by the finesse of the acid which carries the wine and builds the backbone for long cellaring potential.”

 
Full Belly Farm
Family Day at Full Belly Farm

Come spend the day at the beautiful organic farm in the Capay Valley.  Your family of 5 will take a guided tour of the farm and visit the animals, collecting eggs and playing with the sheep!  Enjoy a picnic lunch by the creek.

 
Best of the Best!

Top Bay Area chefs celebrate Alice Waters, including:

Boulevard
Fleur de lys

Foreign Cinema

Gary Danko
Michael Mina
Nopa
Oliveto
Picco
Quince
Slanted Door
Favorite Eats
Bay Bread
Firefly

Il Fornaio

Jojo Restaurant
Postrio
Rubicon