
New Abbot Selected for City Center
Last Wednesday, the San Francisco Zen Center Board of Directors invited Ed Sattizahn, a former SFZC president, board chair and alumnus, to take the role of City Center abiding abbot next year. Read more

Board Election 2013
Submitted by Brian McCaffrey, Governance Committee Chair
At its September 18 meeting, the San Francisco Zen Center Board nominated this year’s slate of candidates for three-year board terms. Each candidate has demonstrated a deep commitment to practice and to Zen Center. Their areas of expertise are needed on the board, and they have clearly demonstrated their qualifications and capacity to lead, focus and guide Zen Center through these challenging times. Read more
Gratitude Beyond Measure By Linda Galijan, Tassajara Director
This transitional time, from guest season to work period, has occasioned numerous moments of intense appreciation and gratitude. This is my ninth guest season, and every year, it feels like a miracle. As director, now more than ever before, I appreciate that this miracle happens because of the many individuals who have worked so hard and done so much to make guest season possible—from the Program Dept. and Reservations office, to the senior staff, crew heads, and the nearly 200 students who passed through the gate to participate in this year’s summer work practice period. Above all, I want to thank the guests, from first-timers to old-timers, who joined us for this special summer in the valley. Read more
We Ate, We Hiked, We Swam and Some of Us Made Art
This summer some of us, while taking in the Tassajara experience, expressed our love and appreciation for this Zen mountain escape in the art we created. Tassajara ZMC is very grateful to these three artists for generously sharing with us their creations.
About this poem, Rhoda Kaufman writes, “It’s my love song to Tassajara. My family has been coming to Tassajara for over 40 years. This last summer I was there with my two grown daughters now in their 40s who remember being brought there as young girls. I am a professor of theater at California State University East Bay and I do write poetry as well. I wrote that poem while at Tassajara this summer.”
CREEK WORSHIP
It’s not so easy
dropping my torso into the cold stream
keep the left eye dry no swimming for two weeks
But I will submerge all but that eye
So trout, one or two inches in length, can have an afternoon nibble.

Member Interview: Hugo Medina
SFZC member Hugo Medina shares what membership means to him in this transcribed interview. Excerpts are also included in a 4.5-minute video along with selections from five other member interviews. To view the video or to sign up for membership, visit our membership page.
What made you decide to become a member? It was a long process. I had been coming out to Dharma talks, and I really enjoyed that. So, then I decided I should do something. Read more

Group of Eight Vows to Save All Beings
On the evening of Wednesday, September 4, eight students received lay ordination in a City Center ceremony in which they vowed to refrain from all harmful conduct and save all beings, among other impossible but inspiring missions. The sangha was delighted to extend gratitude and congratulations to this courageous group. Read more

You Already Belong . . . Become a Member!
by Nancy Petrin, Manager of Annual Fund and Membership
San Francisco Zen Center belongs to all of us, and we belong to it. This is true and wonderful. It does, however, provide a challenge for me in my role as membership manager. How do you organize a membership drive and ask those in the community who are not yet members to step forward in that way when they already feel they are members? Read more
Zen Center’s Leadership Program to Go on Hiatus for 2013-2014
The Leadership Program of San Francisco Zen Center (Zen Center) was launched in 2009 to educate and prepare members to serve in leadership roles and on the board. Read more