Cultivating a Mind of Radical Trust—Sangha Week

The retreat and teacher

This is a week-long sesshin at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, SFZC's residential practice community in the mountains south of Big Sur. Tenzen David Zimmerman, Central Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, leads the retreat around the classical poem Xin Xin Ming ("Trust in Mind"), a foundational Zen text on non-duality and letting go of conceptual mind. The focus is traditional Soto Zen practice — zazen (sitting meditation) as the primary container, with liturgy, work, and study woven through.

What to expect

The daily rhythm is consistent: morning and evening zazen periods, three and a half hours of work practice (garden, kitchen, maintenance — all part of practice at Tassajara), communal meals eaten in silence, and group Dharma study discussions. This is a full residential immersion; you arrive and stay on the mountain for six days. Noble silence is observed except during formal study discussions and necessary communication. The schedule is demanding but held — not optional sitting, but the structure itself is the practice.

Tassajara is a working retreat center, not a resort. Accommodations are simple (shared or private rooms depending on availability), and the setting — mountain canyon, hot springs, gardens — shapes the experience as much as the formal practice does.

Note on access

This retreat is currently waitlist only, meaning no new registrations are being accepted. Check back for future openings or contact SFZC directly about cancellations.