By Ty Greenstein
A Departing Ceremony, officiated by Central Abbot David Zimmerman, was held for Tova Green in the City Center zendo on Friday, March 7, followed by a celebratory potluck dinner. Tova left City Center, where she was a resident for many years, for Enso Village on March 10.
Abbot David opened the ceremony and thanked Tova for her many decades of dedicated practice and service at San Francisco Zen Center: “Your commitment to manifesting the Dharma and cultivating the Buddha Way has helped continue Suzuki Roshi’s legacy and shaped Zen Center into the beloved sangha and impactful institution it is today.”
Abbot David then went on to describe Tova’s rich and inspiring path of practice at SFZC:
“You first moved into SFZC/City Center as a Dharma Bridge student in February of 1999 while you were working for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. A year later you went to Tassajara to participate in a practice period and subsequently spent the next several years there, working in the kitchen, being on the doanryo, and eventually serving as Ino and then Shuso.
“After that, you moved to GGF and served as the Abbess’ Assistant. Once you completed your five years of priest training with your teacher, Eijun Linda Cutts, you moved back to City Center and once again became a Dharma Bridge resident. During this time you worked for Zen Hospice Project for a year and were a social worker at Hospice by the Bay for three years.
“In the Spring of 2011, you took up the invitation to return as the City Center Director and subsequently served as SFZC’s Vice President, then Director of Development, and then Major Gifts Manager. You were also the assistant to the Central Abbess Linda Cutts for more than two years, before taking up the mantle of Branching Streams Liaison (and now Director), of which you’ve been doing a superb and diligent job for almost five years now, along with a couple of years as part-time Corporate Secretary. So altogether you’ve spent 26 years in residence, including 20 years on staff and six years as a Dharma Bridge resident.”
Speaking to Tova directly, Abbot David said, “Tova, many have been touched by your kindness, generosity, and creativity, as well as your thoughtfulness and willingness to offer a listening ear. Over the years you have been a very engaged and encouraging leader in the community, offering Dharma talks and practice discussions, leading classes and workshops, facilitating listening circles, and contributing to the overall practice spirit of the temple. (Always ready to volunteer!) I’ve particularly appreciated how you have consistently brought passionate support and leadership to SFZC’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging efforts over the years, spearheading or serving on various initiatives to help us be a more welcoming and inclusive community. I’ve also enjoyed partnering with you on co-leading SFZC’s Queer Dharma group, of which you were a co-founder.”
He concluded, “Tova, please know that you are loved and cherished. You have been a good friend to many of us in the Sangha. We will greatly miss your daily presence in the temple but know that you will not be far away and will come back to City Center to visit often. We wish you the very best in this new chapter of life. Nine deep bows in gratitude and appreciation!”
A jundo, in which Tova bowed and was bowed to by all those in the zendo, followed, and then three of Tova’s sangha friends, Choku Proudfoot, Berk Kiyici, and Lisa Hoffman offered statements of appreciation before bowing out and enjoying the celebratory potluck dinner together with those in attendance.
Note: In addition to her many other roles at SFZC, Tova has been our main writer for Sangha News Journal, the SFZC blog, for the past several years. We will miss working with her!