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SF Zen Center's 50 years of opening hearts, minds
Julian Guthrie
Monday, March 12, 2012
In 1959, a Buddhist priest with a slight build, shaved head and ready laugh arrived in San Francisco from Japan and began teaching the power of "just sitting" and "the beginner's mind" - looking at life as full of potential.
Three years later, in the summer of 1962, the priest, Shunryu Suzuki, who went by the name Suzuki Roshi, and his informal community of students founded the San Francisco Zen Center out of a small temple in Japantown.
Now, the San Francisco Zen Center - which now operates out of a historic 1922 brick building in Hayes Valley designed by Julia Morgan - is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is credited with quietly influencing the teaching of Buddhism in America.
But its reach is beyond meditation. The Zen Center runs one of the nation's first organic farms, as well as artisan bakeries and monasteries. It offers programs for veterans, the homeless, incarcerated, drug-addicted, and sick and dying. It operates vacation retreats and classes in everything from Zen writing and cooking to "queer Dharma" and "young urban Zen." Plans are under way to build a first-of-its-kind, $32 million Zen-inspired senior living center.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/11/DD9R1NC44K.DTL#ixzz1oxNIhvgp
Monday, March 12, 2012
In 1959, a Buddhist priest with a slight build, shaved head and ready laugh arrived in San Francisco from Japan and began teaching the power of "just sitting" and "the beginner's mind" - looking at life as full of potential.
Three years later, in the summer of 1962, the priest, Shunryu Suzuki, who went by the name Suzuki Roshi, and his informal community of students founded the San Francisco Zen Center out of a small temple in Japantown.
Now, the San Francisco Zen Center - which now operates out of a historic 1922 brick building in Hayes Valley designed by Julia Morgan - is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is credited with quietly influencing the teaching of Buddhism in America.
But its reach is beyond meditation. The Zen Center runs one of the nation's first organic farms, as well as artisan bakeries and monasteries. It offers programs for veterans, the homeless, incarcerated, drug-addicted, and sick and dying. It operates vacation retreats and classes in everything from Zen writing and cooking to "queer Dharma" and "young urban Zen." Plans are under way to build a first-of-its-kind, $32 million Zen-inspired senior living center.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/11/DD9R1NC44K.DTL#ixzz1oxNIhvgp