Sangha News Journal

Update on SFZC Abbatial Structure – Spring 2026

Sangha News editor — Fri, 22 May 2026 19:43:45 +0000

Photo by Shundo David Haye

San Francisco Zen Center is pleased to announce an update to our Abbatial structure and bylaws. This change clarifies the roles of our abbots and formalizes a leadership structure that has already been functioning provisionally for years.

Since 2010, SFZC’s abbacy structure has included a Central Abbot and an Abiding Abbot at City Center and Green Gulch Farm. The Central Abbot serves primarily in an organization-wide capacity, while the Abiding Abbots focus primarily at their respective local temples. Tassajara has not previously had a designated abiding abbot and has been generally overseen by the Central Abbot, who does not reside there.

In 2023, Doshin Mako Voelkel and Jiryu Rutchman-Byler were inducted as abbots of City Center and Green Gulch Farm, respectively, while Tenzen David Zimmerman transitioned from City Center Abbot to the role of Central Abbot.

However, in recent years, Abbot Mako has spent much of the year residing at Tassajara to provide greater leadership presence there. During this period, Abbot David has served as both Central Abbot and Acting Abbot of City Center, and Abbot Jiryu has continued to serve as Abiding Abbot of Green Gulch Farm.

In consultation with the SFZC Elders Council and Senior Dharma Teachers (ie, former abbots), the abbots have proposed, and the Board and Elders have agreed, that Abbot Mako formally assume the role of Residing Abbot of Tassajara, recognizing the role she’s already been serving in practice.

At the same time, Abbot David will formally resume the role of Abiding Abbot of City Center (which he previously held from 2019 to 2023) while continuing to serve as Central Abbot. Abbot Jiryu’s role as Abiding Abbot at Green Gulch Farm will remain unchanged.

This arrangement of abbatial roles and responsibilities will continue indefinitely, or until another configuration is determined. Leslie James, who has served as Abiding Teacher at Tassajara since 2010, will step down from that role but remain Senior Teacher at Tassajara.

In April, the SFZC Board of Directors approved both this updated abbatial structure and the extensions of the current abbots’ terms per the bylaws: Abbots David and Jiryu will extend their respective terms for another three years, while Abbot Mako will extend her term up to three years.

As co-abbots, David, Mako, and Jiryu are deeply honored to hold their respective roles and responsibilities on behalf of the Buddha-Dharma and San Francisco Zen Center, and look forward to continuing their practice and service for the benefit of all beings.

Note: Currently, SFZC uses “Abbot” as the standard gender-neutral term.

Celebrating our Winter 2026 Shusos

Sangha News editor — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:56:37 +0000

Shuso Ceremony at Tassajara

Congratulations to Ellen Simpson (O-do Jo-e, Responsive Way/Settled Wisdom) whose shuso ceremony on March 31 marked the end of practice period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. The Practice Period was led by Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman.

Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman and Ellen Simpson

Shuso Ceremony at City Center

Congratulations to Lorenzo Garbo (Hokyo Yoshin, Jewel Mirror Cultivating Intimacy) whose shuso ceremony on March 27 marked the end of practice period at City Center. The Practice Period was led by Lorenzo’s teacher, Senior Dharma Teacher Kikū Christina Lehnherr.

Kikū Christina Lehnherr and Lorenzo Garbo

Building and Rebuilding in an Impermanent World: A Brief History of Two Tassajara Zendos

Sangha News editor — Mon, 11 May 2026 19:58:29 +0000

The Tassajara Zendo fire, 1978.

By Rev. Shoren Heather Iarusso

In April 1978, when shouts of “fire!” were heard in the Tassajara zendo, the sangha was participating in a shosan ceremony to mark the end of the practice period. In this ceremony, students are each invited to the front of the room to ask the Abbot a Dharma question.

At the time, the zendo was located creekside, between the kitchen and the Stone Office. “There were 60 people in there,” Keith Myerhoff recalled. “And we were about halfway through the ceremony and when we heard ‘fire’ we thought it was some Dharma thing that was going on. Then we heard, ‘No, no, there’s a real fire.’ And then we all jumped up and by the time the fire got to the back door of the zendo, it was already raging.”

Alan Block was ready with his question, kneeling in choki with anticipation, when he heard the shout. When he turned toward the back of the zendo, he saw someone surrounded by a bright orange glow. Everyone calmly exited the zendo through the side doors, and it was immediately apparent to the trained fire crew that extinguishers were not enough to contain the fire, so they picked up fire hoses.

“I grabbed a fire hose and pointed it at the burning building,” Alan recalled. “I felt very unprepared to battle a fire in monastic robes. Unfortunately, the water flow was so weak that it barely traveled a few feet.”

The fire hoses had no pressure because they had been strung through the trees to maintain waterflow after flooding rains had washed out all the water lines. By one person’s account, 81 inches had saturated the monastic valley that winter. This makeshift solution left no pressure in the standpipe system that had been installed years before to battle such fires. Another complicating factor was the large fire pump was broken, and the new one did not arrive until a few days after the fire.

“So all we had was a portable pump on a little raft, and we threw it into the creek and immediately flooded the engine,” Keith said. “People were standing in the creek trying to get the pump to start, and eventually they did and this helped us save the kitchen because the roof was on fire at that point.”

Paul Discoe had spent six years practicing zazen in that zendo with Shunryu Suzuki. When the fire broke out, he was Abbot Richard Baker’s attendant. Paul vividly recalled the scene all these years later.

“ I remember being up on top of the kitchen roof in my robes and zoris (Japanese sandals), and kicking burning shingles off the top of the roof. I don’t know how I got up there,” he said, “because the zoris don’t have a lot of grip, but I was pretty much adapted to them by that time because I had lived in Japan for five years. I hadn’t worn shoes since the late sixties.”

Most people were unable to retrieve their shoes or sandals from the racks outside the door, so they stood barefoot as they watched the flames consume the zendo, the library above the kitchen, the office, and the linen room. According to Wind Bell, the fire most likely started in a propane gas refrigerator in the basement near the zendo.

“All the food burned,” Keith said. “The only food left was what was cooking in the kitchen for the dinner we traditionally had after the shuso ceremony.”

Fortunately, the flames did not spread to the original Pines and Stones rooms; nor did they burn through the one-hour firewall and a fire-resistant door that shielded the adjacent kitchen. The county had insisted that San Francisco Zen Center install this costly fire protection system thinking that if a fire started in the kitchen, it’d stop the flames from spreading.

“People at Tassajara were furious that the county would require this wall and the expensive door because we didn’t have the money,” Alan recalled. “The fire burned right up to that door and scorched it, but did not burn through—thereby saving the kitchen.”

Alan recalled that the day after the fire, with the smell of charred wood and smoke lingering in the air, the sangha resumed the shosan ceremony in the dining room. It was Alan’s chance to ask his question, which had changed because of the fire.

“With clarity, I asked: ‘Why is it that it takes an event like this to remind us how much we love and need each other?’ I think it was what many of us were feeling. I wish I could remember Richard Baker’s answer.”

With the zendo gone, the residents began sitting on the porch of the dining room and then they moved to the upper barn in the student housing area which was just an open space at that time. It was decided to build a “temporary” zendo in the southern section of the upper garden, where a two-story stone hotel had once stood before burning in 1949.

Since the new meditation hall was needed before guest season began, Baker instructed Paul to begin erecting one. However, before Paul could order the necessary materials, he needed a working phone.

“The crank phone mounted on the office wall melted in the fire,” recalled Leslie Meyerhoff. “It was barely a phone even back then. It just had a wire that was strung through the trees and sometimes when you were on a phone call, you could hear the birds that were sitting on the wire.”

Fortunately they had a portable WW II phone and they threw its electrical wire over the existing one, and Paul was able to connect to an operator. Back then, Paul was not yet a famous and sought-after Zen architect. Over the years he has e designed and helped build both Tassajara entrance gates, the dining room with the upstairs dorm, and the kaisando.

“Paul, our under-appreciated resident genius builder, was in charge and had a clear vision of how the zendo would be constructed,” Alan said. With Paul and Jerry Fuller in the lead, walls were framed on the ground and tipped up. The lumber was inexpensive framing grade, sorted to show the best faces, but essentially rough-grade stock.”

Many volunteers from the Bay Area and beyond contributed their time, effort, and expertise to assist with the construction. The construction crew, however, was mainly composed of Zen students, whose wholehearted enthusiasm made up for their lack of experience. The 1,250-foot structure took roughly two weeks to build and cost about $20,000. Paul used a mix of wood: ponderosa pine for the floor, douglas fir for the frame, and redwood for the outside trim under the shoji screens, and the front and back doors.

Although the building was erected quickly, the design process was precise and thoughtful. Paul employed a hybrid East-West construction approach, utilizing Japanese spatial logic and grid planning, Western nailed construction, and a pier-block foundation rather than poured concrete.

“We had a short amount of time, a short amount of labor, and a short amount of money,” Paul said, “and we needed a space that was not going to interfere with building a permanent zendo. Responding to these limiting factors–the arising myriad things–informed the design, the process, the placement, and the construction.”

Using the teaching of Eithei Dogen’s “Genjo Koan” has been a hallmark of Paul’s architectural design process: being guided by relating with arising causes and conditions rather than forcing a concept onto a project.

“You can’t separate yourself out from your environment,” Paul said. “Your environment has a very large impact on you. My whole practice has been designing buildings with zazen in mind.”

With the “temporary” zendo, Paul wanted its form and space to harmonize with the environment, embody the ancestral Zen tradition, and create a perception of “being outside of ordinary time.”

“One of my strongest feelings of living at Tassajara was the timelessness of it all,” he recalled. “You’re isolated from the outside world, at the end of a long mountain road, surrounded by intense nature, and there’s a profound feeling of timelessness––that the space itself does not feel fixed in time.”

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From the editor:

For 48 years this ‘temporary zendo’ stood strong and vital, housing hundreds if not thousands of students, teachers, and summer guests as they discovered and deepened their sitting practice, bowed and chanted in service, learned forms, ate formal meals, and listened to the Dharma. In March of 2026, the zendo caught fire and burned so thoroughly that the exact cause of the fire will never be known, although likely it was electrical and started in the attic.

As we start the process of recovering from the fire, we are faced with the realities of a much different era. With challenges like stricter building codes and permitting, cost of goods, and escalating insurance costs, our new zendo will not be built in two weeks, nor will it cost only $20,000. But the spirit and commitment of the sangha coming together to make it happen is stronger than ever. There are many questions to answer and problems to solve in the coming months, but still, as the Buddha said when he planted a single blade of grass on a patch of dried earth, “This is a good place to build a sanctuary.”

Lay Bodhisattva Initiation Ceremony at City Center – April 18

Sangha News editor — Mon, 04 May 2026 21:32:20 +0000

From left to right: So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson, Naomi Saltis, Sozan Michael McCord, John Jursca, Connie Stoops, Ryushin Paul Haller, Tenzen David Zimmerman, Anshi Zachary Smith, Griffin, Atalaya Murphy

Congratulations to the initiates who received the precepts in a Lay Bodhisattva Initiation Ceremony at SFZC’s City Center on April 18.

Receiving the precepts from So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson: Naomi Saltis –Yushin Mukan / Unbound Heart, Seamless Way

Naomi Saltis with So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson

Receiving the precepts from Sozan Michael McCord: John Jursca – Sei Yō Kū Shō / Earnest Hawk Unbounded Soaring

John Jursca with Sozan Michael McCord

Receiving the precepts from Ryushin Paul Haller: Connie Stoops – Ko Kai Jo Kaku / Boundless Ocean Joyous Awakening

Connie Stoops with Ryushin Paul Haller

Receiving the precepts from Tenzen David Zimmerman: Griffin – Ko Shin Kai Jaku / Tiger’s Progress Ocean Tranquility

Griffin with Tenzen David Zimmerman

And receiving the precepts from Anshi Zachary Smith: Atalaya Murphy – Kaiē Hōka / Ocean Song, Letting Go

Atalaya Murphy with Anshi Zachary Smith

Remembering Seirin Barbara Kohn

Sangha News editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:14:30 +0000

Barbara Kohn (r) pictured here with her teacher Blanche Hartman (l) at Houston Zen Center.

Update: There will be a memorial service for Barbara, officiated by her longtime friend Rev. Mary Mocine, on Saturday May 23 at 4pm PT. It can be accessed via Zoom by clicking on the Enter the Zendo Now link from the Clear Water Zendo page.

Seirin Barbara Kohn passed away on Saturday April 18, 2026 after a moderate length of illness. She was living near her daughter and family in Northern California after she retired from leading Austin Zen Center. She was 88 years of age.

Barbara came to live at San Francisco Zen Center in the 1980s, along with her husband Jim Jordan. While at SFZC, Barbara served in many positions, including Tassajara Shika, Tenzo, and Director; Ino at GGF; Shuso (head Monk) at Tassajara; and President. She was ordained a priest by Tenshin Reb Anderson and received Dharma Transmission from Zenkei Blanche Hartman in 1999.

In early 1998 Barbara was sent to Austin, TX by then Abbess Blanche Hartman to formally dedicate the zendo for a group of practitioners there. This group would soon become the Austin Zen Center. On October 13, 2002 she became their first Head Teacher and resident priest, serving in that role until May 2009.

Her daughter reports: She passed peacefully and without too much struggle. My family and I were by her side. Throughout the day her other children, step-children, grandchildren and a great grandchild as well as other important folks said goodbyes. I’m incredibly sad but also grateful to have had her for so long.

From Konjin Gaelyn of Houston Zen Center: “The passing of a generous, ebullient, and sincere practitioner of the Way.”

Fire Heats, Water Wets . . .

Sangha News editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:59:30 +0000

The blaze devouring the west side of the zendo. My favorite tree, the Asian maple, stands in the center. It miraculously survived!

Fire Heats, Water Wets . . .
A Sacred Space Forever Abides

By Rev Shoren Heather

(Editor’s Note: This essay, written by former Tassajara Tanto Heather Iarusso, was originally published in her substack Spark Zen. Heather currently is the Director of Branching Streams as well as a regular contributor to Sangha News Journal.)

My heart is saddened and singed as I write this. A precious Dharma presence burned to the ground two weeks ago: the meditation hall at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. The capacious building was a sacred space for thousands of people who crossed its threshold for 48 years. All that remains of its wood, though charred, its metal, though scorched, its rice-paper, though ashed, are the elements returning to their Nature.

In the monastic valley, nestled deep in the Los Padres National Forest, fire is the spectral frenemy that is ever-present: shimmering in the sunrise-orange bark of the madrone, shining in the sunset-red branches of the manzanita, and gleaming in the green spiky swords of the yucca.

Numerous fires—both wild-land and structural—have blazed through Tassajara since its gate first opened as a Soto Zen monastery in July 1967. Shunryu Suzuki and his first disciples meditated, chanted, ate oryoki meals, and listened to Dharma talks in the original zendo which had stone walls and a dirt floor. In April 1978, seven years after Suzuki Roshi’s death, a fire destroyed this meditation hall, and the residents erected a new one in the upper garden, which was supposed to be temporary. While it became more permanent than initially intended, being razed by a fire reminds us all that everything is transient.

This photo shows the April 1978 fire that burned the original zendo along with several other structures. It is from the 1978-79 WInter issue of Windbell.

When I first stepped across the zendo threshold in June 2008, I thought my stay at Tassajara would be very temporary: just a six-month sabbatical from the ennui of the work-a-day world. Back then, I never imagined that the zendo would become a place as close to my heart as my childhood home. Although I came and went many times during the past 18 years, in total I lived at Tassajara for nine of them—having just left for the “last” time on Dec. 18th, 2025. Here is what I wrote in my journal the morning of my departing monk ceremony:

The most profound, transformative, and unexpected adventure of my 58-year-old self has been residing amid the stunning, ordinary beauty of this mountain valley. Words cannot describe how much I will miss this wild neighborhood where the moons and stars are our streetlights; the sunlight our lamplight; bells and wooden gongs our clocks; the zendo our sanctuary; the mountains our cathedral; and the hot springs our watery balm.

Whether burning down or standing firm, temporary or permanent—the zendo did not mind these labels of mind. The zendo never named itself; neither did the objects it housed: chant books and oryoki kits; metal bells and wooden fish; meditation cushions and chairs; candles and oil lamps; incense sticks and flower vases; an altar and statues. Mundane or sacred, the zendo made no distinctions. And yet…

“Because earth, grass, trees, walls, tiles, and pebbles, all engage in buddha activity, those who receive the benefit of wind and water caused by them are inconceivably helped by the Buddha’s guidance, splendid and unthinkable, and awaken intimately to themselves. Those who receive these water and fire benefits spread the Buddha’s guidance based on original awakening.”

“Splendid and unthinkable” indeed. By confining myself to the space within that building for thousands of hours, I received the benefits of water and fire, morning, noon, and night; spring, summer, winter, and fall. While meditating, chanting, prostrating; smiling, crying, and surrendering, the zendo was my one continuous, impartial witness. She welcomed me whether I was late for zazen, nodded off instead of sat upright, announced the wrong chant, struck the wrong bell, or entered with the wrong foot.

She stood steadfast as I stared at her white walls while tears streaked my cheeks, anger gripped my gut, and joy thrummed my heart. Whether my mind was devising grand plans or replaying ancient hurts, whether distracted or focused, I always felt embraced and enlivened by her cave of emptiness. When bats flew in and circled and swooped over head, she kept her cool. When I lost mine as the head of the meditation hall after pranksters left yellow rubber duckies and green gummy bears on meditation cushions, she remained unfazed.

In the pre-dawn dark, my spouse Tanya took this photo in November 2025 from the small bridge over Carbaga Creek. It’s not been altered, FYI. Just the magic of the iPhone and her photographer’s eye.

What did not burn—what can never be contained by walls, floors, and roofs—is the zazen of every single person who’s ever stepped across the threshold, whether their feet were stockinged or bare, whether they entered with their left or right foot, whether they sat crossed-legged or upright in a chair. Their energy and intention, their hearts and minds, radiate endlessly through the ash, the metal, the wood.

Still intact amid the rubble is the head of the 2,000 year-old stone Buddha that was the centerpiece of the zendo altar.

Meet Christopher Gallagher, Spoken Word Artist and SFZC Program Registrar

Sangha News editor — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:55:34 +0000

Photo by Rebecca Hiralez Gallagher

By Heather Iarusso

Christopher Gallagher, SFZC’s program registrar, is still in love after all these years. What first began as a Monday night affair 17 years ago has blossomed into a Bodhisattva way of being.

“I first came to City Center in 2009 to attend a Meditation in Recovery meeting and I just fell in love with being in the community, the building, the courtyard—sitting there just seeing a hummingbird and listening to the fountain,” he recalled. “It was just one of the most beautiful experiences. It just changed my life.”

He soon found himself attending meetings regularly and volunteering in the bookstore, which is how he eventually became an employee at SFZC. Christopher showed up late one afternoon for his volunteer shift because he had been interviewing for a job in hopes of leaving the restaurant business which had been his bread-and-butter for 24 years. The bookstore manager mentioned that SFZC was looking to hire an event coordinator.

“I was a vegan Zen Buddhist serving animals and fish and lots of alcohol, that’s how I made my living,” Christopher said. “When Zen Center hired me, I was saved. I was finally able to practice right livelihood, which is amazing.”

For the past 10.5 years Christopher has been the program registrar, which includes being the senior reservationist for Tassajara and Green Gulch Farm. His work spans the gamut of tasks and departments. He creates registration pages for every event, including those held online. He processes refunds and teacher payments and monitors the waitlists. He also works with his supervisor to assist people who might need support funds to attend workshops, classes, and sesshin.

“All of this can happen within the span of an hour, so I have to stay immersed in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha while I’m working to stay connected with the meditation practice and the teachings,” he said. “I’m also like an ambassador for the organization because I speak with the entire sangha around the world. It brings me a lot of joy to help people get what they need. I’m paid to be a merchant of Zen.”

Christopher is also a spoken word artist who has performed across the United States and Mexico for 30 years. And on Friday, April 17th, he and Kevin Starbard, the City Center bookstore manager, are hosting their first monthly poetry open mic night. Christopher has written hundreds of poems about hundreds of topics.

“The one that I’ll quote real quick is, my heart breaks like porcelain over the beauty of it all. I’m not sure where to begin winter, spring, summer, or fall. In the past, I wrote a lot of poetry that brought the room down,” he recalled. “Now, I try to write uplifting things because I want to use my gift to make a difference, to leave a positive legacy.”

Reading is also another passion of his to “explore the nooks and crannies of existence.” Most especially, he enjoys reading about ancient civilizations such as: Sumeria, Babylon, the Incas, Mayans, Greeks, and Egyptians; and faith traditions such as Sufism, Taoism, and Buddhism. He loved reading Crooked Cucumber, David Chadwick’s biography of Suzuki Roshi, whom he considers a hero.

“I’ve been sitting for 16 years, and most days I sit in the morning and after work,” he said. “There’s a picture of Suzuki Roshi right above my eye line when I sit zazen. So when I’m sitting down, I can’t see him, but when I look up, I see him. He had such resilience and compassion. He was able to shine forth amid the endless craziness in life. His life had such a profound impact on so many people. I’m eternally grateful for his teachings.”

Tassajara Zendo Fire 2026

Sangha News editor — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:13:26 +0000

Deep gratitude to everyone who has stepped forward with open hearts to support our Zendo Fire Recovery Fund. For more information about in-kind donations and other ways to help Tassajara, please see our Offers of Support form.

Update: 04/27/2026:

Dear SFZC Community,

We are writing to share an update on Tassajara following the loss of the zendo.

First and most importantly, we want to affirm our ongoing commitment to Tassajara. The loss of the zendo does not change its central place in our training mandala or our practice of mindful hospitality. We intend to launch the summer guest season shortly, to hold practice periods in the fall and winter, and to continue monastic life in the valley as we find our way forward. The forms may shift in response to conditions, but the heart of practice at Tassajara remains.

Work on burn site remediation is expected to begin this week, and we are preparing to welcome summer guests as scheduled on May 13. The burn site has been professionally inspected; because the fire burned so fast and so hot, the exact cause cannot be determined, though it likely started in the attic and may be electrical.

The path ahead is substantial. Rebuilding to current code in a remote mountain environment is complex and expensive, and we expect costs to exceed our insurance recovery. We are working with legal counsel, Monterey County, and our Development team to address various code compliance concerns and determine next steps. This is not a project that can be started, let alone completed, quickly. We will share more as these conversations progress.

We are deeply grateful for the care and support that so many of you have already extended. The stewardship of Tassajara, like our practice and the Dharma, belongs to the sangha. We will keep you informed as this process unfolds.

With gratitude,

Rev. Tenzen David Zimmerman, Central Abbot
Rev. Michael McCord, President
Rev. Dan Zigmond, Board Chair
San Francisco Zen Center

_________________________________

Update: 04/14/2026:

There is a small team of people in the valley this week to address infrastructure priorities in advance of the upcoming work period. They have successfully restored the electrical grid and completed several additional projects to stabilize and prepare the fire site. The work is proceeding well and on schedule.

Kogetsu Mok, SFZC’s CFO, has remained in the valley throughout this recovery period, serving as our primary on-site point of contact. She has been coordinating directly with the insurance company, fire inspectors, and environmental testing teams, and is the principal advisor on safety conditions governing the return timeline.

Environmental testing results have been arriving in stages throughout last week. The final report has been received: no significant hazardous materials were identified beyond what would be typical of a standard structure fire. An important finding from the environmental report is that remediation work can proceed concurrently with people in the valley without posing a meaningful health risk. We should have a remediation contractor lined up shortly.

Our revised opening dates are as follows: Students will begin returning on April 19, work period will start on April 21, and guest season will open on May 13.

The decision to cancel the first two weeks of guest season was very difficult and not made lightly. We know how important it is for people to come to Tassajara and how much folks have been looking forward to spending time here this spring. We have done our best to reschedule reservations and very much appreciate how even in the middle of their disappointment, people have been very understanding and kind.

The fundraising campaign started to offset the costs of the fire and the loss of the zendo continues to be a source of connection and encouragement to all. Knowing how important this simple building was to people from all over the world is deeply moving. We continue to bow to our sangha for their thoughtfulness and generosity.

___________________________________

Update: 04/07/2026:

Thank you for your questions and concerns about Tassajara in the aftermath of the zendo fire.

A small number of people are currently in the valley caring for Tassajara as we move through the slow process of assessments and testing. Until this process is complete, we are not able to make any final decisions about the work period or the summer guest and student programs. We also do not yet have any information about how the fire started.

Electricity and internet service are functioning at a minimal level, and numerous safety and insurance inspections are underway. In some cases, we will need to wait a week or more for results.

It is our hope and intention to reopen as soon as it is safe and we are able to staff Tassajara for the summer. In the meantime, the opening of the summer guest season has been postponed until May 13. All retreats and Sangha Weeks scheduled before that date have been canceled.

The Summer Student Program has also been delayed until we have more clarity about when Work Period will begin. If you are interested in applying as a student, please continue to submit your application, with arrival dates likely in late April at the earliest. The ZMC Director will remain in close contact with applicants and those scheduled to come to Tassajara this summer.

Correction: The original post below has been updated to clarify that the zendo instruments saved from the fire are not the original instruments gifted by the Shumucho Soto Zen Headquarters in Japan. Those instruments were unfortunately lost in the 1978 zendo fire.

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Update: 04/01/2026:

Yesterday, the fire site was professionally inspected and we learned that the fire contained dangerous materials that may be present in the soil, on the rubble, and in the air. Additional environmental testing and assessment was recommended and immediately scheduled for this week. Following this, the area will need to be cleared by professionals.

Even if the environmental testing comes back better than we thought, the clean up process must be completed by people with professional experience and equipment. Therefore, we have had to make the difficult decision to move as many people out of Tassajara as possible.

This means that current residents/students will be temporarily relocated to GGF or CC and any incoming summer students will either do the same or pause their arrival until Tassajara is cleared for full occupancy.

Work period has been paused to start later in April and run through early May. In the meantime, a significantly downsized crew will come in to work on necessary projects and help to restore electricity to the valley.

The opening of guest season will be delayed slightly (people with reservations will be contacted about this) but we hope to have our full summer season up and running in early May.

Our number one priority is to be sure that people are safe and well cared for and every decision is being made with that in mind. Any people remaining at Tassajara during this time will have all the necessary equipment needed to assure their health and safety

While this is our current plan, please understand that things may shift depending on circumstances. We will do our best to keep the sangha and our wider community informed in a timely manner.

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Update 03/31/2026:

The most important next step is for the inspectors to arrive to determine the cause of the fire (still unknown) and how safe the ruins are for clearing. Once we have that information, we can assess what’s possible for Work Period and the Summer Guest Season/Summer Practice Program. The inspectors are scheduled to arrive today.

The sangha continues to maintain the morning and evening zazen and service schedule in the large room of the retreat hall. Over the first couple of days after the fire, the residents gathered for a sharing circle and later a fire debriefing to offer their experiences and feedback from the heart. They are being supported by SFZC leadership through sessions with trauma therapists, some of whom work with firefighters. Tassajara leadership has also created a “buddy system” where two practitioners check in with each other. If residents feel overextended or unwell, they can take whatever time off that they need.

During the final few days of the practice period, the sangha will participate in the traditional Dharma inquiry ceremony for the head monk, the closing of the practice period, and the departing monk ceremonies.

We will update this post as more information becomes available.

___________________________________

On Thursday, March 26, during the last sesshin of the winter 2026 practice period, a fire destroyed our beloved zendo at Tassajara. Fortunately, no one was injured, even as the blaze raged for several hours. Although the cause is still unknown, the result is known: charred wood, scorched metal, grey ash, and open space are all that remain of the structure, which had stood since 1978.

Once residents noticed the fire around 11:50 pm, they notified Abbot David Zimmerman, who is leading the ango. Fortunately, Abbot David was one of the five fire monks who saved the monastery in 2008 from the Basin Complex Fire.

“As someone who’s had experience with fire at Tassajara before, it’s been beneficial to have me here to support the sangha with both meeting the fire and handling the post-fire impacts and realities,” he said.

Many of the 32 residents battled the blaze with an old-fashioned fire brigade, using buckets to carry water from the creek and numerous irrigation spigots to quell the flames. The fire was mostly contained when volunteer firefighters from the nearby hamlet of Cachagua arrived at 12:30 am. They stayed on site until 6:30 am and no evacuations were necessary. Steve Scarlett, a local friend of ZMC and retired firefighter, was also on hand to help with the efforts

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, the Cachagua Fire Department wrote: “The staff at the Tassajara Mountain Zen Center should be incredibly proud; their initial fire attack efforts helped keep the fire contained, buying critical time for responding apparatus to arrive and preventing further damage. Thanks to their quick actions, only one structure was lost.”

Abbot David said the Fire Department recommended monitoring the ruins for 24 hours to ensure no hidden embers reignite. However, the residents kept an hourly vigil for two days over the charred wood, scorched metal, and gray ash. There were no flare-ups.

Most of the buildings at Tassajara have been without electricity since the fire; fortunately, there’s still power in the Stone Office and the kitchen, so there is refrigeration and residents are able to cook meals. However, internet access is limited, and the bathhouse has hot water only for a few hours a day.

In addition to the zendo, the fire also razed the public bathrooms and the first aid shed at the bottom of the east stairs that run parallel to Carbaga Creek. The outer wall of the library facing the back of the zendo was scorched, but the library interior was unscathed.

Fortunately, a number of precious ceremonial instruments also went unscathed: the mokugyo and the wide, heavy brass bell had already been moved into the library. (Traditionally, during sesshin, only the small bell is used during liturgical services and oryoki meals to minimize sensory distractions.) The taiko drum and the densho on the wooden walkway were also saved from the flames, as was the central wooden altar.

However, the altar’s centerpiece—the 2,000-year-old stone Buddha statue—cracked and crumbled against the outer library wall, where it had been placed for safekeeping. Miraculously, the head is still intact. This is the second time this museum-quality Gandharan (500-700 C.E.) Buddha has been damaged in a fire. During the 1978 zendo fire, it broke into pieces and was painstakingly and beautifully restored by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. See pages 30-31 of the Summer 1983 Wind Bell for full restoration details.

During the 2008 Basin Complex fire, the late Myogen Steve Stucky, SFZC Abbot from 2007 until his death in 2013, buried the statue in the bocce court, where it safely rested for a week while the fire monks battled the encroaching wildfire.

This is also the second time that a Tassajara zendo has burned. In April 1978, the original zendo that was located in the current student eating area burned down. According to the Winter 1978-79 Wind Bell, the new zendo was erected in the Upper Garden during work period. It was supposed to be “temporary,” and while it became more permanent than initially intended, its recent destruction reminds us that everything is transient.

“Tassajara practice continues uninterrupted,” Abbot David said. “The sangha is resilient. Canyon wrens sing on the kaisando roof in the morning, and frogs chant along Cabarga Creek at night. Gratitude to the Buddhas and Ancestors, the mountains and waters, for this liberative Way of life.”

Zendo Fire Donations: giving.sfzc.org/zendo-fire

Image is of the Tassajara zendo han when it was first hung. Calligraphy by then Abbot Myogen Steve Stücky. Photo by Renshin Bunce.

The Illuminating Work of Flower Arranging

Sangha News editor — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:36:15 +0000

Though she doesn’t live at Beginner’s Mind Temple, Susan Leibel brings joy and dedication to the building through her volunteer work as a flower chiden (the person in charge of the flower arrangements on the altars.) Every week, Susan purchases and arranges the flowers for City Center’s nine altars, cultivating both beauty and mindfulness in her practice.

Sangha News Journal reached out to Susan about her experience as a volunteer and she sent us this thoughtful reply.

Why do I volunteer as flower chiden?

In the past I had volunteered with the evening doan ryo, first as doorwatch and then as jiko (the person who accompanies the doshi or priest for evening service/zazen). Last February I was asked to take on the role of flower chiden. This presented several opportunities.

Firstly, this was Beginner’s Mind Temple! I knew very little about flowers, not to mention the particular requirements for the altar vases. So this position pushed me out of my comfort zone, bringing me into direct contact with an awareness of my practice. I got to observe ‘me being me,’ which can be very illuminating, and, at times, exhausting, hilarious, or embarrassing—but always informative if you pay attention.

Secondly, serving as flower chiden is a path for practicing the paramitas— particularly generosity, discipline, patience, meditation, and diligence.

Thirdly, it has provided a reason to show up at City Center, which has increasingly become my sanctuary and refuge in a painful time.

Fourthly, it is spiritually nourishing to play with flowers.

Just before taking on this role, I had started volunteering in the kitchen. In some ways it was exactly the same in terms of the practice opportunities I just described. In other ways, kitchen work is more team-oriented and interactive. In the kitchen, I got to practice focused attention—being fully present while chopping veggies with a super sharp knife demands continuing awareness!

With the flowers, I get more exercise going up and down all the stairs tending to nine flower vases in different locations. I am outdoors for most of the prep work and walk to and from Trader Joe’s where I buy fresh flowers once a week.

For 10 years I’ve been retired from a long career as a women’s health care provider/educator/innovator. Volunteering is an opportunity to support SFZC, which has nurtured and supported me over the years in so many ways. It gives me a sense of engagement and belonging, which carries me like a dried-out leaf that is bobbing along a river current.

Thank you, Susan, for being a volunteer and sharing your experiences!

Bringing Zen Teachings into Your Heart: An Interview with Pam Weiss

Sangha News editor — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 19:32:29 +0000

By Heather Shōren Iarusso

Heather: We’re here to talk about the online course you’re offering called Diving Deep into Zen, starting on April 12th. Why don’t you begin by telling us about yourself and your practice of Buddhism?

Pam: I’ve been practicing for 30-plus years. I came to [San Francisco] Zen Center in my twenties and stayed for almost 15 years, living at Green Gulch and Tassajara. I left Zen Center to get married and start a business. I became a stepmom and lived fully in the world.

About 10 years ago, I completed Dharma Transmission as a layperson, which was a first for San Francisco Zen Center. I’ve also been trained and authorized in the Insight Meditation tradition. So I teach long meditation retreats in the Insight tradition, and I also teach in Zen.
This course brings those two pieces together and taps into my nerdy, historical love of these teachings and my desire to bring them alive.

A big part of my motivation is to take teachings that people often find confusing, esoteric, or even intimidating, and make them accessible—to bring them out of the head and into the body and heart so they become living teachings.

As a layperson especially, I wanted teachings that made sense in the context of everyday life. That’s a big focus of the course: application. How do these teachings help us in the midst of the world we’re living in right now? Integration and application are very important to me. And there’s also plenty for people who, like me, love the historical details and want all the background.

The course is structured so that each month we focus on a topic. There are two sessions: a longer one at the beginning of the month and a shorter one two weeks later. I give a Dharma talk and offer resources like articles and background reading—some people love that; others less so. [laughs] Then I offer specific practices for each teaching. That’s where people bring the material out of their heads and into their bodies and lives. That part is deeply satisfying and actually fun.

The final piece is interactive inquiry. Participants don’t just listen to talks or read materials—they learn how to explore, in an embodied way with other practitioners, how the teachings land for them. What does this mean to me? What confuses me? What insights are arising? There’s a strong relational, interpersonal dimension to the program, and that’s often people’s favorite part. There’s so much hunger not just to read about something, but to chew on it, digest it, and engage with others.

Heather: I think that’s such an important part of practice—the application. Sometimes a teaching doesn’t resonate intellectually. But when we begin to enact a practice, embody it, and learn more about the teaching and the person we’re working with, it really comes alive. The sangha is the third jewel, and now we have the good fortune of being able to practice digitally with people from around the world. This online sangha is a wonderful aspect of technology.

I’m curious how you chose the teachings you’re focusing on for this eight-month class. You’re covering the three characteristics, dependent origination, emptiness, the two truths—how did you decide on these particular teachings of the Buddha and subsequent ancestors?

Pam: The simple answer is that these are some of my favorites. More broadly, I wanted to bring forward teachings that often feel gnarly, tangled, confusing, or even frightening for people, and help them make sense and come alive.

During the study portion of my Dharma Transmission process—which wasn’t eight months but two years—we went all the way back historically and traced the key teachings that underpin the Soto Zen lineage we practice. It was incredibly illuminating. I began to see, “Oh, that’s why we do that. That’s where that comes from.” Suzuki Roshi didn’t make this up. Dogen didn’t make this up. These teachings have deep and beautiful historical roots.

So I chose teachings that begin with foundational Theravada material—not the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path—but starting with the three characteristics. Then we move into dependent origination, which many people find difficult. From there we explore emptiness, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu and the nature of mind, and then awakening—what is awakening? The final piece returns to application: bringing everything out of the head and into the body and into our lives.

It’s dynamic. Some people find it a lot to take on, but I teach in a way that offers multiple doorways. Some prefer study; others want to work more directly through meditation, chanting, or interpersonal practice. All those options are available, so people can discover their own relationship to these beautiful teachings.

You asked about where practitioners sometimes get stuck. I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, I was once a little overzealous in thinking Soto Zen—Suzuki Roshi’s Zen—was the best teaching, and I kept blinders on to other traditions. I regarded them as somehow second-class.
Through deeper study, I’ve come to appreciate how rich and complementary the broader teachings are. They illuminate and bring depth to the uniqueness of our path. This kind of study can help open things up rather than keeping practice narrow.

It’s also especially helpful for people who already have an established meditation practice. That prevents the teachings from remaining merely cognitive or intellectual. These are liberative teachings. The orientation of this class is to engage them in a way that helps free us—so we can respond to the cries of the world, which are very loud right now. Zazen is essential to that, but it’s not the only piece.

Heather: I really feel the value of bringing the wisdom aspect—what we might call knowledge—into our practice. Meditation informs our understanding of teachings, and teachings inform our meditation. Dharma inquiry often arises naturally for me when I’m sitting.

There’s something about widening our field of knowledge and practice that feels essential for meeting the cries of the world. How do we walk the path day by day with more liberation and space in our hearts and minds—for ourselves and others?

Pam: There’s a paradox here. On one hand, we’re opening beyond just sitting or only reading Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind or Dogen. We’re exploring the roots of the teachings. On the other hand, the structure of this course provides focus. Each month we concentrate on one dimension of the teaching. When we take something on in a focused way, it reveals itself. If we try to take on too much, it becomes noise. But when we focus deeply on one thing at a time, it illuminates.

Then we begin to see how everything connects—like a string of pearls. This connects to that, and that connects to the next. Eventually, we see the whole necklace—a full view of this gorgeous set of teachings we find ourselves in the midst of.

Watch the full interview here.

Sangha News Journal

Update on SFZC Abbatial Structure – Spring 2026

Celebrating our Winter 2026 Shusos

Building and Rebuilding in an Impermanent World: A Brief History of Two Tassajara Zendos

Lay Bodhisattva Initiation Ceremony at City Center – April 18

Remembering Seirin Barbara Kohn

Fire Heats, Water Wets . . .

Fire Heats, Water Wets . . . A Sacred Space Forever Abides

Meet Christopher Gallagher, Spoken Word Artist and SFZC Program Registrar

Tassajara Zendo Fire 2026

Deep gratitude to everyone who has stepped forward with open hearts to support our Zendo Fire Recovery Fund. For more information about in-kind donations and other ways to help Tassajara, please see our Offers of Support form.

The Illuminating Work of Flower Arranging

Bringing Zen Teachings into Your Heart: An Interview with Pam Weiss

Fire Heats, Water Wets . . .
A Sacred Space Forever Abides