Weekly Zazen Schedule – All events in Eastern Standard Time
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 6:30am Morning Zazen – 40 minute period of zazen followed by a short service. In person and online see www.allbeingszen.org home page to sign in
Full Moon Service on Wednesday May 1st following morning zazen.
Thursday evening practice . 7:00pm in person and online. – Join All Beings Zen Sangha for our weekly evening practice.
Zen Sewing Classes Most Sundays – The next zen sewing class is April 19th 2026. 10am – noon. This is for people who have begun sewing their Rakusu for lay ordination. Curious? Consider volunteering to help out with set up and other tasks. Inryū Sensei will be leads the zen sewing class.
***Looking ahead***
March 31, 2026 Tuesday Tea at 2pm — Zen’Etsu will be offering a tea talk: ‘Buddha’s Birthday, from then till now’
April 5, 2026 12:15pm, Buddha’s Birthday Ceremony — Following Zen Sewing on Sunday morning, we will be having our Buddha’s Birthday Ceremony and Celebration! Join us, where we will be doing a short celebratory march holding up the baby Buddha, and then after, we will each symbolically bathe the baby Buddha with sweet water. To learn more about this Buddhist holiday and ceremony, please join our tea talk on Tuesday March 31st!
photo taken at Sokoji in San Francisco, when some of All Beings Zen Sangha toured it last year.
Friday, April 17, 7:00 pm, Dharma Movie Night: Siddhartha— Filmed in the lush landscapes of Northern India, Conrad Rooks’s 1972 adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s classic novella captures the universal journey toward enlightenment through the visually stunning odyssey of a young Brahmin. Starring Shashi Kapoor as Siddhartha and Simi Garewal as Kamala, the film offers a meditative exploration of the “middle way” that will resonate deeply with our Sōtō Zen emphasis on mindfulness and the inherent Buddha-nature found within the complexities of worldly life. The film’s cinematography by the legendary Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman’s frequent collaborator) provides a contemplative aesthetic that serves as a visual “zazen” for the modern viewer.
Friday, May 8, 2026, 7:00 pm, Dharma Movie Night: Heart of a Dog. Part meditation and part visual poem, Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog (2015) offers a profound cinematic exploration of the Bardo—the transitional state between life and death—filtered through the lens of her adorable terrier, Lolabelle. Weaving together dreamlike animation, 8mm home movies, and Anderson’s soothing narration, the film looks into the nature of attachment and the release of the “story” of the self. Anderson, a long-time student of the Dharma, avoids sentimentality, instead embracing the radical vulnerability of “not-knowing,” inviting viewers to witness the dissolution of form with a curious, open heart. The film is a visual koan that invites us to consider how we might learn to love without the grip of possession.
Friday, June 12, 2026, 7:00 pm, Dharma Movie Night: Late Spring
A film about late Spring, shown in late Spring. Often cited as the definitive masterpiece of Yasujirō Ozu’s career, Late Spring (1949) is a profound cinematic expression of the bittersweet awareness of the impermanence of all things, known in Japanese as “Mono no aware.” This film’s artistic merit lies in its radical stillness; Ozu’s signature “pillow shots” and low-angle cinematography force the viewer to settle into the present moment and find the sacred within the mundane rituals of domestic life. The narrative centers on a daughter’s reluctance to leave her widowed father for marriage, and serves as a poignant Dharma teaching on the suffering (dukkha) caused by attachment and the liberation found in graceful transition, and simply letting go. By rejecting dramatic artifice in favor of quiet observation, Ozu creates a space where the practitioner can witness the natural unfolding of life and the necessity of letting go, making it not just a landmark of world cinema but a meditative exercise in accepting the shifting seasons of existence.
***ABZS Affinity Groups ***
Sundays 5-6pm Healing Circle – every Sunday . Contact Shinren markstone1924@gmail.com to be sent the zoom link. Online only
Tuesdays – 1st and 3rd monthly 6-7pm Baikaryu Eisanka – Next session is October 21stJapanese Plum Blossom Style Hymns with bells. in person only – Contact Zen’etsu @ zenjoyclay@gmail.com for more information. In person only
Monthly Dharma Film Night – contact Seido @ dakusaso@gmail.com In person only.
Monthly Dharma Book Club – contact Shoku @ cristinamariabenavides@gmail.com Online only
May 23 – May 25, 2026 Three Day Zen Retreat. In person and online. This retreat will begin at 6:30 am Saturday and include a Jukai (Precepts receiving ceremony) on Saturday as at 2pm as well as a Dharma Talk by visiting Senior Teacher Jisan Tova Green, Roshi on Sunday. We will conclude the retreat on Monday at Noon. RSVP for in person attendance is required. Please contact Inryu@allbeingszen.org
May 23, 2026 Saturday 2pm – Jukai Ceremony
May 24, 2026 Sunday 12:30-1:30pm Dharma Talk offered by guest teacher Tova Green Sensei – in person and online
June 3-7, 2026 Gen X Zen Teachers @ Seven Oaks Retreat Center near Madison, Virginia. Inryū Sensei plans to represent ABZS at this gathering.
August 4-9, 2026. Tassajara Zen Mountain Center All Beings Zen Sangha Week Registration is now open using this link Please notify Inryū Sensei when you register. Register directly with the office at Tassajara and be sure to tell them you are with our group. Below is the new pricing for the rooms (includes all meals) for the 2026 guest season. You are responsible for your airfare to the Bay area. You can find the schedule for the week here.
| Double Occupancy | Single Occupancy | Shared/per person |
| $260 | $190 | $130 |
2024 All Beings Zen Sangha Week at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center with Members of the Enso Village Sangha week group.
September 23-26, 2026 Soto Zen Buddhist Association Conference at Pendle Hill Retreat Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. Seido and Inryū Sensei will be representing ABZS at this conference.
