Work Practice Apprenticeship at City Center

Work Practice, Gardening at the Fountain

San Francisco Zen Center’s Work Practice Apprenticeship (WPA) Program is a two-year, entry-level Zen training program. Students work and practice full time at City Center, wholeheartedly engaging with all aspects of the daily community and practice life in the temple. The goals of the program are threefold:

Support Zen students in establishing a solid foundation of Zen meditation, work-practice, and the Buddha’s teachings as passed down to us by Suzuki Roshi and his Dharma heirs.
Offer a low-cost way for sincere students to make a commitment to full-time residential Zen practice.
Reward those who successfully complete the initial three- to six-month period with the opportunity to continue and deepen their practice at Zen Center.

Prerequisite: Completing a minimum of two consecutive weeks as a guest student at City Center. Please visit our Guest Student Program webpage for more information.

Applications are processed by the director and approved by practice committee.

The work-practice program requires a commitment to the following practice activities:

Early morning zazen, service, and temple cleaning five days per week
32.5 hours of work-practice per week (M-F, 9 am–4:30 pm)
Regular private meetings with a resident practice leader
Monthly one-day sittings
Saturday morning and Wednesday evening Dharma talks
Scheduled sesshins, depending on work and practice assignments
Various monthly and yearly ceremonies and events
Participation in practice periods and practice period classes depending on length of program

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

At SFZC, we recognize that diversity practice and Dharma practice are deeply interconnected. DEIA work is an essential part of our practice, enabling us to study our own conditioned and discriminating minds, as well as the conditions that give rise to harm, suffering, and collective inequities. Through this work, we deepen our understanding of the causes of suffering and foster greater awareness of how harm occurs. SFZC is committed to engaging in practice, conversation, and study to further embody diversity, inclusion, equity, and cultural humility.

As students of the Dharma, we aspire to view all beings as Buddha, treating everyone with care and respect. City Center welcomes people of every gender, age, race, ethnicity, class/income level, sexual orientation, political belief, language spoken, and physical ability, and we will strive to accommodate the requests of the sangha.

Health and Safety

City Center is a congregate living facility which includes high risk individuals. We strongly recommend that everyone entering residential life be Covid-vaccinated with boosters. This is not a requirement. New students will be asked to test before coming and three days after arrival.

Additional Information

Buddhist Precepts: All members of the WPA Program are expected to practice in relation to the 16 Bodhisattva precepts. In particular, students are asked to refrain from initiating new sexual relationships during their first six months of residency and to refrain from all drug and alcohol use at City Center. Please read the Zen Center Ethical Principles and contact the City Center Director with any questions prior to submitting an application.

Expenses and Stipends:

There is a one-time $30 application fee for the City Center WPA Program.
After this initial fee, all room, meals, and tuition are provided while in residence during the apprenticeship program.
During participation in the program, each apprentice will receive an allowance starting at $75 per month for essential purchases.
After three months the apprentice may apply for another three-month apprenticeship or for the full two year program.

Practice Period Credits:

Three-month apprenticeship program participation may not be scheduled to coincide exactly with a practice period at City Center.

Students committed to the long-term apprenticeship program are eligible to participate in a practice period at City Center even if it comes early in their stay.

After completing a six-month period in the apprenticeship program, a Work Practice Apprentice is eligible to participate in a practice period at Tassajara or Green Gulch as a continuous resident. This allows students to continue in residential practice or return to SF Zen Center at a later date.

Requirements to attend a practice period at Tassajara:

Completion of a practice period at either City Center or Green Gulch Farm, including a seven-day sesshin.
Apprentices must apply for and be accepted for each practice period.
Acceptance to the practice period is subject to space availability and review by the practice period applications committee at the respective practice center.

Health Insurance: San Francisco Zen Center does not provide health insurance for work practice apprentices. City Center apprentices are not considered staff. Time as a WPA participant does not count toward the accrual of the staff time necessary to qualify for San Francisco Zen Center health insurance.

Continuing on in a Staff Position: Upon successful completion of the two-year WPA Program, students are eligible to apply for a City Center staff position. A description of staff policy, benefits, and stipend levels is available from the City Center director.

To Apply

Ideally applicants will have an established Zen practice; however, this is not required.
$30 application fee for non-residents, payable when applying.
Application
Letter of recommendation sent to the director. This letter can be from a spiritual teacher, academic teacher, mentor, or employer. Please provide contact information including their name, email address, and phone number.
Please apply at least one month prior to your preferred arrival date. Applications submitted less than a month prior to the desired start date may not be processed in time.
Applications may be submitted up to a year ahead of your planned stay.

For more information, contact the City Center Director at ccdirector@sfzc.org.