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Revision as of 20:37, 17 July 2007 by 67.86.221.27 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)General Description
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji, was established in 1966 by Shunryu Suzuki in the Ventana Wilderness area of California's Los Padres National Forest, east of Big Sur. It was the first Soto Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States.
Tassajara is part of the San Francisco Zen Center, which also includes Beginner's Mind Temple (City Center) in San Francisco, California, and Green Gulch Farm (Green Dragon Temple) in Muir Beach, Marin County, northwest of the city.
Reputation
Tassjara is renowned as a Soto Zen training center. It attracts serious practitioners and each member of its senior teaching staff has decades of practice experience. Within the American Zen community, as well as internationally (especially Japan), Tassajara is admired for its location, teaching staff, and the rigor of its practice. Many of its alumni have started centers of their own, mainly in the U.S. but also Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe; for this reason Tassajara is known for its mission of teaching teachers.
Practice Period
During the fall practice period (September-December) and the spring practice period (January-April), Tassajara is closed to the public. A "practice period" (ango, in Japanese) denotes a special period during the year of intensive monastic practice.
The Schedule
The schedule is a defining feature of this period. Activity revolves around meditation, scholarship, and work.
Guest Season
After the practice periods, Tassajara re-opens in mid-April. The guest program is the cornerstone of Tassajara's economic well-being. It is also allows students the ability to earn credits toward the following fall and spring practice periods. Students report that this period is just as difficult as the fall and spring, but for differnet reasons.
Hot Springs
Workshops & Practice Opportunities
Vegetarian Cuisine
Trails
Profile of Guests
Schedule for Students
The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is open to the public each year from April to September.
See also
External links
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