Join us for a period of intensive practice led by Jisho Warner and Annette JoE’ Lille. These three days of practice will be held in silence, with alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually 30-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually 10 minutes), and a work period each afternoon. A Dharma talk will be given in the morning and participants will have the opportunity to speak with a teacher (dokusan). 

We will be sitting from 7am to 5pm each day.  

Attendance all three days is strongly encouraged but not required, though please plan on attending the entire day for days you have registered. Please do not leave in the middle of the day unless you have received permission from one of the teachers (info@stonecreekzen.org). 

Vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be served each day, and for meals we will be using oryoki (Japanese nesting bowls). Oryoki sets will be available if you do not have one, and instruction will be given each day for those who are new to the practice. 

Each day will begin with a short orientation and opportunity for zazen instruction. Please plan on arriving by 6:45 am and on being in your seat ready to start by 6:55am. 

We look forward to practicing together!

Jisho Warner is the Abiding Teacher and Annette JoE’ Lille is a teacher at Stone Creek Zen Center. More here.

Sign Up Here

Led by Burt Quinn

You are invited to join this half-day sitting suited both for beginning and experienced meditators. There will be alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually thirty-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually ten minutes).

If you have questions, please email info@stonecreekzen.org.

Sliding scale donations, all are welcome regardless of resources.

Burt Quinn is a long-term Zen practitioner whose journey started in 1970 at the Berkeley Zen Center and moved through Sonoma Mountain Zen Center in the 90s, till he finally settled down at Stone Creek Zen Center in 2011. He recently received entrustment as a lay Dharma teacher from Jisho Warner.

Sign Up Here

Led by Edmée Danan 

You are invited to join this half-day sitting suited both for beginning and experienced meditators. There will be alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually thirty-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually ten minutes).

If you have questions, please email info@stonecreekzen.org.

Sliding scale donations, all are welcome regardless of resources.

Edmée Danan has been practicing Zen since 1981 and received lay transmission from Jisho Warner Roshi. She is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist with over 30 years of patient care experience. More about her work can be found at edmeedanan.com.

Sign Up Here

Led by Edmée Danan 

You are invited to join this half-day sitting suited both for beginning and experienced meditators. There will be alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually thirty-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually ten minutes).

Sliding scale donations, all are welcome regardless of resources.

If you have questions, please email baladine@stonecreekzen.org.

Edmée Danan has been practicing Zen since 1981 and received lay transmission from Jisho Warner Roshi. She is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist with over 30 years of patient care experience. More about her work can be found at edmeedanan.com.

This day of practice will be held in silence, with alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually 30-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually 10 minutes), and a work period each afternoon. A Dharma talk will be given in the morning and participants will have the opportunity to speak with a teacher (dokusan). 

Note: For participants in the Stone Creek ango (practice period), the one-day sittings on March 22 and April 8 are included in your ango registration, but please do sign up here. If you are not participating in ango, you are still very welcome to join this sitting. 

We will be sitting from 7 am to 5 pm and ask that you plan on attending the entire day. If you do need to leave for part of the day, please receive permission before registering (info@stonecreekzen.org).

This practice day will include breakfast and lunch as well as morning tea and afternoon snacks. During meals, we will be practicing with oryoki – the ancient tradition of eating with the three nested bowls wrapped in cloth. Oryoki sets will be available to borrow if you do not have one, and instruction will be given for those who are new to the practice. 

The day will begin with a short orientation. Please plan on arriving by 6:45 am and on being in your seat ready to start by 6:55 am. 

We look forward to practicing together!

Sign Up Here

This day of practice will be held in silence, with alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually 30-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually 10 minutes), and a work period each afternoon. A Dharma talk will be given in the morning and participants will have the opportunity to speak with a teacher (dokusan). 

Note: For participants in the Stone Creek ango (practice period), the one-day sittings on March 22 and April 8 are included in your Ango registration, but please do sign up here.  If you are not participating in ango, you are still very welcome to join this sitting. 

We will be sitting from 7 am to 5 pm and ask that you plan on attending the entire day. If you do need to leave for part of the day, please receive permission before registering (info@stonecreekzen.org).

This practice day will include breakfast and lunch as well as morning tea and afternoon snacks. During meals, we will be practicing with oryoki – the ancient tradition of eating with the three nested bowls wrapped in cloth. Oryoki sets will be available to borrow if you do not have one, and instruction will be given for those who are new to the practice. 

The day will begin with a short orientation. Please plan on arriving by 6:45 am and on being in your seat ready to start by 6:55 am. 

We look forward to practicing together!

Sign Up Here

led by Head Priest Sessei Meg Levie, Abiding Teacher Jisho Warner, and Senior Teacher Annette JoE’ Lille with Shuso (Head Student) Barton Stone

ABOUT ANGO
Ango, or practice period, is a time of deepening and intensifying our commitment to practice, through zazen, study, and sharing the Dharma together. Each year at Stone Creek, we gather during this time for weekly evening groups, two full practice days, Sunday morning programs, and a Dharma Inquiry Ceremony for the shuso. There also are opportunities to meet one-on-one with a teacher and have tea with the shuso.

Sign Up Here

ANGO THEME

This year, our theme will be One Bright Pearl.

In the light of perfect wisdom, the entire world is One Bright Pearl. 

Where is it to be found? We will search for it together.

We will be focusing on the text “Song of Awakening,” which is in our sutra book. (Copy here)

The recommended references for ango are:

Commentary on the Song of Awakening by Kōdō Sawaki Roshi. It can be ordered through the University of Hawaii Press, and two copies also will be on reserve in the library. 

Yung-chia’s Song of Enlightenment, translated by Red Pine, with helpful footnotes. It is a small chapbook and can be ordered from the publisher, Empty Bowl Press (https://www.emptybowl.org/). We will have two copies on reserve, and ten copies available for purchase at $9 (the publisher’s price).

Other resources include:

Sword of Wisdom: A Commentary on the Song of Enlightenment by Chan Master Sheng Yen, which will also be on reserve.

One Bright Pearl [Ikka Myōju], in Eihei Dogen’s Shobogenzo, available in several collections of Dogen’s writings, also on reserve.

ANGO EVENTS

Ango also includes two one-day sittings (included in your registration), one-on-one meetings with a teacher, tea with the shuso, daily zazen, and study.

All events will be held in person at Stone Creek. Sunday Dharma talks will be available via Zoom and recorded as usual.

Weekday Evening Groups

– 5 Wednesday evening meetings 

The weekday evening groups provide an opportunity for participants to learn from one another and to make an offering to the group of how they understand and are working with the practice and teachings.

March 19 & 26, April 2, 9, 16 – 6:30 – 8pm

Daily Zazen

Everyone participating in ango is asked to commit to regular zazen practice (joining the early weekday morning zazen offering online or in person, or on your own, five days a week).

Dokusan and tea with the shuso

Everyone participating in ango also is asked to meet for dokusan (practice discussion) with one of the teachers, and if possible for tea with the shuso.

Sunday Dharma talks: March 16, 23, 30 & April 6, 13

The Sunday program includes the whole sangha, and the talks will be on the ango theme. They will be held both in person and online.

One-day Sittings

–  Saturday, March 22, 7 am – 5 pm     Sign Up Here

–  Tuesday, April 8, 7 am – 5 pm             Sign Up Here

**Registration for the one-day sittings is included in the ango fee, but you will need to register separately to confirm that you are attending.**
The one-day sittings are also open to the whole sangha.

If you have any questions, please reach out to info@stonecreekzen.org.

We look forward to entering this time of dedicated practice together!