A Mural to Greet The New Dawn
By Tova Green
On the corner of Page and Laguna Streets in San Francisco, diagonally across from San Francisco Zen Center, is a corner building with a series of murals that wrap around the boarded-over windows. What unites the several panels is a stream of monarch butterflies, often seen in spring at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, one of SFZC’s three temples. As I walked across the street today I saw a woman on a ladder painting the newest image – a portrait of Amanda Gorman, who recited her poem “The Hill We Climb“ at President Joe Biden’s inauguration less than a week ago. Read more
HeartMind: An Interview with Artist Suiko Betsy McCall
By Cat Li Stevenson

Suiko Betsy McCall
Sangha News interviewed artist, founder, and Abbess of the Art Monastery, Suiko Betsy McCall. Suiko and Green Gulch Farm Abiding Abbess Fu Schroeder will be co-leading the online HeartMind: Art & Zen Workshop on August 28 – 30.
SN: Could you share a bit about your connection to SFZC?
I was a farm apprentice at Green Gulch Farm in 2014. When it was over, it was a big decision whether to stay on as a resident or go back to my life in Oakland. I ended up back in Oakland for a while and then came back to GGF for the January Intensive and eventually did a practice period. I started a romantic relationship with Qayyum Johnson, who was the Farm Manager, and lived with him there for a few years, splitting my time between GGF and Art Monastery. Read more
Black Lives Matter Banner
On Sunday, residents at Beginner’s Mind Temple painted a Black Lives Matter banner and put it up across the front of the entryway of 300 Page Street. Green Gulch Farm is also in the process of creating a BLM banner and we will share that when it happens. UPDATE: See images below of the banner that Green Gulch Farm made and hung on the sign on Highway 1.

Volunteers Needed for City Center Library on Tuesdays
The City Center Library and Reading Room is currently looking for additional volunteers for Tuesdays, 1:30 – 7 pm. Please consider assisting us in keeping the library and sitting space accessible for residents and other members/visitors.

Featured Photo February 20
Green Gulch Farm, garden border in the spring. Photo by Shundo David Haye.

March Art Show: Lee Cline
California Sacred: A collection of natives in the age of the Anthropocene
March 1 – 31 in the Art Lounge at 300 Page Street, SF, 94102
Reception: Friday, March 13, 7:30 – 9 pm — canceled

Featured Photo February 6
Chatting on the bridge over Cabarga Creek, Tassajara summer 2019. Photo by Tasja Keetman.

February Art Show: Francesco Stumpo
Puentes Fronteras
February 3 – 29 in the Art Lounge at 300 Page Street, SF, 94102
Reception: Friday, February 7, 7:30 – 9 pm

Featured Photo January 9
New Year’s Day at City Center/Beginners Mind Temple. During the toasts, Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman wished everyone a year filled with light, delight, and insight. Photo by Clare Hollander.