Welcoming Beginner’s Mind
Join us for the Fall 2024 Practice Period at City Center, focusing on Gaylon Ferguson’s insightful commentary on the Zen Oxherding Pictures. This practice period, themed "Welcoming Beginner’s Mind," invites participants to explore the stages of the spiritual journey and the paradox of embracing our true nature at each step. Through this exploration, participants will study the classic Zen Oxherding Pictures, renowned for illustrating the path from seeking and finding to ultimately awakening to our true nature.
Participants will engage in a contemplative exercise distinct from traditional meditation and mindfulness: opening to the present moment and welcoming our experiences without spiritual bypassing or materialism. The teachings, rich with insights from Zen master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, provide a profound path to spiritual maturation, emphasizing that this journey occurs nowhere else but here and now.
This is a traditional intensive training period common in the schools of Buddhism. Due to the renovations at City Center, this practice period is only offered in the Online/Visitor format.
Visit City Center for practice period events, or participate online, as you choose.
About the Fall 2024 Practice Period
You may attend daily meditation, Dharma talks, and classes either onsite at City Center or online as you prefer. All events at City Center will be in the zendo, accessed through the Laguna Street door, which will open 15 minutes before each event.
The practice period will begin with an orientation, available both onsite and livestreamed, on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:30pm PT.
Included in the practice period:
Jisan Tova Green, Gengyoko Tim Wicks, and Eli Brown-Stevenson will teach a livestreamed class on the practice period topic, both online and onsite, on Mondays, October 21 – December 2 2024, 7:00 – 8:30 pm PT. There will be no class on November 11.
There are two online Saturday one-day sittings on October 19 and November 9, and a concluding Rohatsu sesshin December 5–7, 2024. These online sittings are included in the practice period. If you wish to attend the one-day sittings or Rohatsu onsite at City Center, you must register for each separately.
Also included are online small discussion groups, and access to the Online Portal.
Online components:
- Online Portal
- Online Class
- Small Groups
- Morning and evening zazen in the Online Zendo
- Wednesday and Saturday Dharma talks in the Online Zendo
- Access to the Online Portal for curricula and recordings of all the classes and Dharma talks
Optional Onsite components included with Practice Period registration:
Please review the Health and Safety Requirements.
- In-person morning and evening zazen and service in the zendo
- Onsite class in the zendo
- Wednesday and Saturday Dharma talks in the zendo
- General: $475
- Current SFZC Members: $427.50
San Francisco Zen Center is committed to making Zen practice and the Dharma accessible to all who seek it by offering both a General support fund and a dedicated BIPOC support fund. Please email supportfunds@sfzc.org for more information BEFORE signing up.
The online sitting retreats are included with the practice period. If you would like to sit in-person, onsite for these sitting retreats you must register separately:
Registration will remain open until Monday, October 28.
Or call 415-354-0360.
