Photo by Chris Shelton

Sanjay Nanda first encountered Zen in 2015 when he was living in China. He moved to Austin, Texas soon after, and practiced at Austin Zen Center and Appmada, where Peg Syverson was his teacher. However, during the pandemic his practice fell off; he moved to San Francisco in 2021 and meditated sporadically.

Sanjay recalls, “At the beginning of 2023 I said to myself, ‘I’m thirty-two and I need to give the Zen thing more focus and attention and do it more seriously.’ San Francisco Zen Center came to mind.” He enrolled in the winter practice period led by Paul Haller, and commuted to City Center rather than living there residentially. “It was my first practice period ever. This was my chance to dive into the deep end.”

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Sanjay admits. As it turned out, “The rocket fuel for my practice was the community. I’d come on Mondays for Paul’s class, and see the same people week after week. One of my favorite things was having tea with the Shuso (Head Student), Dan Gudgel.”

“We studied the Anapanasati Sutra and a section of Dogen’s Genjo Koan, ‘To study the Buddha way is to study the self.’ It was like taking a course at a university. Paul would give us practices to do in the week ahead. I also enjoyed meeting with a small group led by Catherine Spaeth to discuss the teachings in a more intimate setting. It was very rewarding. My understanding of the Dharma deepened.” Sanjay also appreciated attending two Dharma talks every week, related to the theme of the practice period. “My practice was activated; City Center became a practice home.”

Around that time, Sanjay also began going to Young Urban Zen (YUZ). “It was fantastic—I met a lot of people my age. After the Winter Practice Period I was more motivated to go. I went to Tassajara for a Sangha Week with YUZ that summer and attended regularly afterwards. Now what I want to do is to bring more people from YUZ into other San Francisco Zen Center programs.”

Although Sanjay’s practice home is City Center, he also loves Green Gulch Farm. “I’ve done a lot of one-day sits and three-day sesshins, as well as a seven-day sesshin this April.” During one of these sesshins Sanjay had a practice discussion with Jiryu Rutschman-Byler and felt a strong connection. He now meets with Jiryu regularly and plans to take the precepts with him. Additionally, Sanjay is looking forward to participating in this year’s City Center Fall Practice Period.

This year, Angela Ni, the Chair of the San Francisco Zen Center Board, reached out to Sanjay to ask if he would be interested in joining the Board; he joined in the spring.

Sanjay sums up his experience at SFZC over the past few years: “It’s been incredible. I’ve loved every minute of it.”