
Shambhala Center Presents Book Reading by David Schneider on Philip Whalen
Crowded by Beauty, The Poetry of Zen Monk Philip Whalen Read more

Celebrating Buddha’s Birthday with a Walk in the Park
After lecture, we all walk together across the street to Koshland Park, and there’ll be balloons, green grass, laughter, flowers, parasols, bubbles—this, we say, is wholesome activity. —Mark Lancaster, “Celebrating Buddha’s Birthday,” April 7, 2012
Everyone is invited to join in celebrating Buddha’s Birthday at City Center on Saturday, April 9—a wonderful family event immediately following morning lecture. The annual outdoor ceremony incorporates forms that reenact parts of the traditional/mythical story of the Buddha’s birth. Read more

Wisdom Behind Bars
Zen Center extends a deep bow of gratitude to Wisdom Publications for its donation of books to our Prison Outreach program. This generosity allows us to further extend the funds our other donors have made available to us for this work. Read more
Warm Weather and Warm-Hearted Practice
This winter at Tassajara the weather has been very unusual–glorious, mild and clear, which we have all so deeply enjoyed. The pool has been in continuous use, and on warm days there are even sunbathers . Yet the enjoyment was mixed with deep concern about the drought. The trees never really dropped their leaves, Tassajara Creek was low and murky, and the deer were so hungry that for several months they were living side by side with us in the valley, seemingly undisturbed by our presence.
Then the recent storms brought us lots of very welcome rain. Read more
Wildflowers and Birds of Tassajara
Diane Renshaw, whose intimacy with Tassajara began in 1978, has known the valley and surrounding wilderness through her practice of Zen and as a professional ecologist. Involved in an ongoing wild plant project at Tassajara, she both nurtures and is nurtured by the land. She also clearly enjoys a vital exchange of ideas and insights with both her retreat participants and her co-leaders of the much anticipated annual retreat, Wildflowers and Birds of Tassajara. Together with Gloria Lee and Judith Randall, Diane offers the retreat again this year on May 8 – 12 (Thursday – Monday). Here is an intriguing taste of what those days may bring. Read more

The Mountain in Review, Doubly Descended and Ascended
Last weekend Zen Center spent two days honoring former and new abbots as they respectively stepped down from and stepped up to the “mountain” of leadership. Read more

Gratitude for the Gift of Dharma
Zen Center offers a warm thanks to the Pema Chodron Foundation, which donated a large collection of books to our prison outreach program. Read more