Cultivating the Heart of Generosity and the Mind of Enough – Sat, Oct 28 10-12

With Spencer Sherman, MBA and Sessei Meg Levie

In this special offering for the Stone Creek Sangha and friends, financial adviser and Buddhist practitioner Spencer Sherman will join with Stone Creek Head Priest Meg Levie to explore a Buddhist perspective on generosity and cultivating a peaceful mindset around money as well as answering your questions on how to leave a legacy in line with your values. We’ll be exploring the tradition of generosity in Buddhism, the taboo nature of money, and how Buddhist practices apply to many of our challenges with money.

Spencer will also share specific practical advice from his experience on giving in the most efficient ways, things to consider before making a gift, DAFs vs. outright giving vs. private foundations, how to include your children/grandchildren, and the benefits of planned giving.

He will be available afterward for brief private 1:1 chats if you have more questions about philanthropy particular to your situation.

All are welcome.

Attendance is free, but please reserve a spot by registering here.

Dharma Talk This Sunday, Sept 17

Sunday Program

8:00am            Zazen (meditation)
8:30am            Informal breakfast and conversation
9:10am            Cleaning/work practice
10:00am         Zazen (meditation)
10:30am         Service
10:40am         Dharma talk

You are welcome to join for all or part of the program.

10am zazen through the Dharma talk is available online as well as in person.

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If you’d like an introduction to Zen meditation and forms or would like the Zoom link for online offerings, please reach out at info@stonecreekzen.org.

We are located in West Sonoma County at 2999 Bowen Street, Graton, California.

 

Yoga with Corina – Wednesday Mornings 9-10:30

Ongoing Yoga Classes

Ongoing Yoga Classes

Wednesday 9-10:30 am
In Person and Online

Corina Stoicescu teaches classes in the Viniyoga tradition that focuses on meeting the unique condition of the individual. Using breath centric movement and pose adaptations, she helps students find integrity in all the poses. Classes are accommodating to a large variety of people and designed so students learn about their own bodies and minds and how the tools of yoga can serve them.

Every month when possible, she offers a series where students can experience the cumulative effect of going deeper in a particular subject.

July Monthly Series: Strong Bones, Strong Bodies July 5, 12, 19, 26

  • Week 1 (7/5): Strengthening the Major Muscles
  • Week 2  (7/12): Evolving the Strengthening of Major Muscles
  • Week 3 (7/19): Improving Posture and Balance
  • Week 4 (7/26): Regulating the Digestive System

August Series: Upper Body: Poised and Strong

Price
Drop In: $20
Monthly Series: $60 (4 live classes/calendar month, access to series videos for 3 months, written sample sequence)
8 Class card: $120 (4 month expiration)

Please, purchase a ticket before coming to class.

REGISTER HERE


Corina Stoicescu
 first started teaching yoga in 2005. After a bicycle accident, she discovered Viniyoga and and used Buddhism to help heal her body and heart. She is certified as both a 300 hour Viniyoga Wellness Instructor and 500 hour Viniyoga teacher. In 2020, she completed 1000 hour Yoga Therapy training and is certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Yoga therapy can address specific health and healing needs like preparing for surgery, post surgery care, osteoporosis, digestive issues, Parkinson’s, allergies, trauma, etc. using through the full spectrum of yoga tools. She has been practicing meditation and daily life mindfulness practice since 2002 and uses both the Buddhist and Yogic understanding to inform her perspective.

YogawithCorina.com

 

Weekend Sesshin – Sept 29 – Oct 1

Led by Head Priest Sessei Meg Levie and Annette JoE’ Lille

You are warmly invited to join this weekend sesshin that begins on Friday evening and will extend through the regular Sunday program, ending at 3pm.

This sesshin will replace the previously scheduled One-Day Sitting on September 30.

Schedule:

Friday, Sept 29
6:30 pm – 8pm

Saturday, Sept 30
8am – 5pm (lunch included)

Sunday, Oct 1
8am – 3:30pm (breakfast and lunch included)

The sesshin will be held in silence with alternating periods of zazen (seated meditation, usually thirty-minute periods) and kinhin (walking meditation, usually ten minutes). There will be a work period Saturday afternoon, and time set aside for stretching. Participants will have the opportunity to speak with a teacher.

Sunday will include participation in the regular 8am and 10am programs, including zazen, breakfast, temple cleaning, and Dharma talk, as well as lunch.

Please plan on attending the entire program, Friday evening through Sunday 3:30pm.

Sesshin is a time to gather together body and mind. It’s an opportunity to take time from your regular schedule to come together to be supported by the schedule of practice and the community of Zen practitioners to settle down and touch what is most essential in your life.

If you have questions or are new to practice and would like to speak with a teacher about your participation, please email info@stonecreekzen.org.

Sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds.

REGISTER HERE

 

Dharma Talk – in-person and online – Oct 23

This Sunday we’re meeting in person at the Graton Community Club for our regular zazen and Dharma talk.

Meditation at 10:00 amPT, with the talk at 10:30 am.

Masks are required for in-person gatherings. Please see our full Covid protocols here.

If you’re new to practice and would like an orientation to meditation and Zen forms, please email info@stonecreekzen.org.

If you’d like to join by Zoom, please email info@stonecreekzen.org for the Zoom link.

Please note that the talk on Sunday, November 6 will be online-only as the hall is being used for voting.

Dharma Talk – in-person and online – Oct 2

This Sunday we’re meeting in person at the Graton Community Club for our regular zazen and Dharma talk.

Meditation at 10:00 amPT, with the talk at 10:30 am.

Masks are required for in-person gatherings. Please see our full Covid protocols here.

If you’re new to practice and would like an orientation to meditation and Zen forms, please email info@stonecreekzen.org.

If you’d like to join by Zoom, please email info@stonecreekzen.org for the Zoom link.

Racial and Social Justice as Dharma Practice – August 25

A multi-sangha program hosted monthly by Hoka Chris Fortin and Doralee Grindler Katonah.

Thursdays, 6:00 – 8:00 pm (PT) – On Zoom
The 4th Thursday of each month 

If we were to simply walk past the fires of racism, sexism, and so on because illusions of separation exist within them, we may well be walking past one of the widest gateways to enlightenment.

— Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, The Way of Tenderness

More information and to register:
https://everydayzen.org/event/racial-and-social-justice-as-dharma-practice/2022-08-25/

Blessing Ceremony for Construction of the New Zendo – August 21

The completion of the zendo is underway!

As the foundation is poured and the walls rise, we’ll walk together in procession the two blocks from the Graton Community Club to the building at 2999 Bowen Street to reclaim the space as the center of our practice together, remember our vision and intentions, and offer blessings.

10:00 – 10:30 am Zazen
10:45 am Procession to the zendo and blessing ceremony

Refreshments to follow.

Join at any point – at the Graton Community Club for zazen and the procession, or meet at the zendo (2999 Bowen Street) for the ceremony.

Masks will be required indoors. Full Covid policy here.

 

Study Class: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet – July 6 – August 10

Six Wednesdays 6pm – 7pmPT, July 6 – August 10 – online
with Annette JoE’ Lille

Beloved Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is blazingly clear: “there’s one thing we all have the power to change, which can make all of the difference, and that is our mind. Our way of looking, seeing, and thinking determines every choice we make, the everyday actions we take or avoid, how we relate to those we love or oppose, and how we react in a crisis.”

Zen & the Art of Saving the Planet

From Annette:

I have found Thich Nhat Hanh’s latest book to be a simple and straightforward response to the complex and ever-present questions we live as Buddhist practitioners. He has lived war, he has lived relocation, he has lived activism and he has developed community. We can learn joy and love from his experience and wisdom. In the hour we have together we will open with zazen, read from the text and engage in comments and discussion.

Annette Lille came to Zen practice in 1972. She was initially ordained in 1983 following ten years of practice at San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Annette moved with her husband and two daughters to Sonoma County, California in 1986 where she continued her practice and study with an emphasis on hospital, end-of-life and hospice chaplaincy. Annette re-ordained with Jisho Warner Roshi in 1999 and received dharma transmission in 2013. She has served the Stone Creek Sangha in multiple practice and administrative roles and as a hospital and hospice chaplain for ten years. She finds her joy in zazen, writing and tending her flower garden.

By Donation ($100-$60 suggested).
To register, contact info@stonecreekzen.org.



The zoom link for the class will be available upon confirmation.

Questions? Please email info@stonecreekzen.org.