sf bay area buddhist groups and web based resources

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our new Resources page.  We are endeavoring here to list Buddhist meditation groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. This listing, while not exhaustive, reflects other groups that our members sit with.

Based on topics and comments that have arisen during our Everyday Dharma and Dharma Book Study groups, We're also including a section on web-based resources which members of the Sangha have found helpful.  We hope you do too!

SF Bay Area meditation groups

Bay Zen Center

http://www.bayzen.org/

For information on schedules and instruction, please call or write BZC. Please note that BZC is not a residential center, so overnight accommodations are only available for those attending sesshins and zazenkais.

Telephone:  510-482-2533

Address:  315 Alcatraz Avenue, Oakland.  The Center is located just west of College Avenue in the Claremont/Rockridge area of Oakland. It's a 10 minute walk from the Rockridge BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, a 30 minute walk from the UC Berkeley campus, and close to several major bus lines.

Berkeley Thursday Night Vipassana Meditation Community

http://www.eastbaydharma.org/Baraz/index.html
Meets Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 PM
at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
2304 McKinley Avenue (at Bancroft)
Berkeley, CA 94703
Teacher:  James Baraz has practiced vipassana meditation since 1974 and started the Thursday group in 1980. He is a co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and leads meditation retreats there, as well as nationally and internationally

Gay Buddhist Fellowship

http://www.gaybuddhist.org/

Sunday Sittings

10:30 am to 12 noon

Every Sunday followed by a talk or discussion, at:
San Francisco Buddhist Center,
37 Bartlett Street
(near 21st St. between Mission and Valencia).
MUNI: 14 Mission or 49 Van Ness-Mission, alight at 21st St, walk 1/2 block.
BART: 24th and Mission, walk 31/2 blocks. Parking: on street (meters free on Sundays) or in adjacent New Mission Bartlett Garage (75¢ first hour, then $1 per hour, $5 max). The Center is handicapped accessible

Hartford Street Zen Center

Issan-ji -- One Mountain Temple -- In the Heart of the Castro at 57 Hartford Street near 18th Street for over 15 years

http://www.hszc.org/

Hartford Street Zen Center is a small Buddhist center in the Soto Zen tradition. Opened in the heart of the Castro in 1981, it was founded by a small group of gay and lesbian buddhists for this neighborhood and community.

Insight Meditation Comunity of San Francisco

http://sfinsight.org/

Meets Sundays 7 to 9 pm in the Starr King room of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco, located at 1187 Franklin Street at the corner of Geary Blvd. (view map).  The Community's teacher is Eugene Cash

From 6:15pm to 6:45pm in the Starr King Room, every Sunday except the first Sunday of the month, we offer a half hour of chi gung (meditative movement) to prepare the body and mind for sitting.

The second Sunday of each month there is an orientation for beginning meditators or those new to the community. The orientation is led by senior members of the community. It begins at 6pm and is held in one of the small meeting rooms at the Unitarian Church (check the blackboard outside the Starr King Room to find out which one).

The community also offers classes, retreats, and community pot luck dinners.

Kadampa Buddhist Center of San Francisco

MeditationinSanFrancisco.org
Saraha Center
3324 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: (415) 503-1187

Kadampa Buddhism, as introduced into the West by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, is a very pure and ancient form of Buddhism that is clear and profound, yet relatively easy to understand and put into practice, amidst the pressures and busyness of modern life.
The Saraha Center offers a range of different classes and retreats that are suitable for everyone: from newcomers to advanced practitioners. The list is too extensive to reprint here.  Please visit their web site for additional information.  Kadam Lucy James is the principal Kadampa Buddhist meditation Teacher in Northern California.

LGBT Sitting group

Meets Mondays 5:30 - 6:30 PM at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street, SF

http://www.sfbuddhistcenter.org/
37 Bartlett Street
San Francisco, CA  94110
The center is wheel chair accessible. It is located in San Francisco's Mission district between 21st and 22nd streets, between Valencia and Mission streets. The 24th Street BART station is 2 blocks away. The 26 Valencia, 14 Mission, and 49 Van Ness buses stop nearby.

The SFBC is part of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), an international Buddhist network of public centers, communities, ethical businesses, and social projects. Founded in England in 1968 by Urgyen Sangharakshita, FWBO draws inspiration from the whole of the Buddhist tradition and is based in central teachings that are common to all the main schools. At the heart of the FWBO is the Western Buddhist Order, made up of men and women from diverse backgrounds who have dedicated their lives to the practice of Buddhism.

We are located in San Francisco's Mission district, providing a comprehensive program of Buddhist meditation classes and courses, Buddhism courses, writing and performance events, yoga classes, residential weekend and week-long retreats, nonresidential day retreats, and more! For more information, see our calendar. We also offer some reasonably-priced meditation supplies, books, and cards.

San Francisco Satsang with Jon Bernie
http://www.sf-satsang.org/
San Francisco Friends Meeting
65 Ninth Street (between Market and Mission)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Click here for Directions & Parking Info
Sitting
Beginners are always welcome, but some previous experience with meditation is helpful. Jon may guide the 40 minute meditation for the first few minutes, but the remainder of the time is spent in silence. No particular technique or position is preferred; most people sit on chairs, but some prefer to sit on the floor. All that is asked is that you turn your attention inward and "let go."
Teaching
Although Jon's training is primarily in the Buddhist tradition, Monday Night Satsang is purely non-denominational. Jon teaches from real experience, not from any prescribed doctrine. His goal is to assist you in being fully present to your reality, regardless of your belief systems.
Satsang
Satsang is a term that means "divine"(sat) and "loving association" (sang). Another common translation is "sharing of truth." Historically, satsang is an opportunity for those on a similar spiritual path to come together as a community. In many cases, a teacher, or guru, is present to provide guidance on the path to enlightenment, either through dialogue (in the form of question-and-answer) or through "direct transmission," where simply "being" in the presence of the teacher facilitates personal growth. At Monday Night Satsang, you are encouraged to ask questions of Jon, or you�re welcome to simply experience "presence" with Jon and the group.

San Francisco Zen Center

http://www.sfzc.com/ccindex.htm

300 Page Street, San Francisco

415-863-3136

Beginner's Mind Temple (Hosshin-ji), also known as City Center, was established in 1969 by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi as a training center in the Soto Zen tradition open to the general public.

Offerings include daily meditation and service, semi-weekly talks, classes, workshops, retreats, residential student programs, and the opportunity to discuss one's spiritual practice with an experienced Zen practice leader.

If you are new to Zen Center, we suggest you visit us on Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m. for an introduction to Zen Center and meditation practice.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center

http://www.spiritrock.org

5000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Woodacre, CA

Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the Theravadan vipassana tradition. The practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation, is at the heart of all the activities at Spirit Rock. The Center hosts a full program of ongoing classes, daylong, and residential retreats. 

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Web Based Resources

BayVajra.info
http://bayvajra.info/
BayVajra.info is a Bay Area Vajrayana Buddhist events list. You can read the event listings by visiting the site, or by subscribing to an RSS newsfeed.
Vajrayana centers, practice groups and individuals can publish their dharma events on the site. Listings appear on the web immediately. To request an account go to http://bayvajra.info/ Click on How to Use BayVajra.info, and read Request a Writer Account.
An account is not necessary to read event listings on the site, or to subscribe to the newsfeed. Use of the site is free for everyone.

BestBuddha.com
http://www.bestbuddha.com/
BestBuddha.com is human edited directory for buddha and business related sites. Directory is divided in buddha and business related categories and subcategories. All information on this site are available for free.  The BestBuddha.com "Buddha" Directory offers information about history of Buddhism, basic teachings of Buddha, Buddhist beliefs, and more.

Buddhist Peace Fellowship
http://www.bpf.org
From the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's mission statement:
The mission of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), founded in 1978, is to serve as a catalyst for socially engaged Buddhism. Our purpose is to help beings liberate themselves from the suffering that manifests in individuals, relationships, institutions, and social systems. BPF's programs, publications, and practice groups link Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion with progressive social change.
Through our worldwide network of 4,000 members and 45 chapters, our vision is to bring peace where there is conflict, to promote communication and cooperation among Buddhist sanghas, and to alleviate suffering wherever possible.

DarleneCohen.net
http://darlenecohen.net/welcome.html
From the website's welcome page:
     My purpose in establishing this website is to encourage and inspire people living with chronic pain or crushing stress to learn the skills necessary for dealing with these often catastrophic situations....
     Though I was ordained as a Zen priest in 1999, I have always been more interested in what happens when we get up off our meditations pillows and face our everyday work and family situations than in a strictly monastic setting for practice. I spent the vast majority of my Zen training -- 30 years -- as a laywoman, working along with my husband to support our family: first as a legal secretary downtown to save money to train at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center; Then after developing the rheumatoid arthritis that also plagued my mother, I became a bodyworker/movement teacher for people with joint restrictions. Finally, longtime experience with clients in unremitting pain and my own physical difficulties rendered me a resource for people in pain.

Non-Violent Communication
(http://www.baynvc.org or http://www.cnvc.org
From the Center for Non-Violent Communication website:

      Non-Violent communication is . . . ?
     Non-Violent Communication (NVC) is sometimes referred to as compassionate communication. Its purpose is to strengthen our ability to inspire compassion from others and to respond compassionately to others and to ourselves. NVC guides us to reframe how we express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting.
     We are trained to make careful observations free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us. We learn to hear our own deeper needs and those of others, and to identify and clearly articulate what we are wanting in a given moment. When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed, rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion. Through its emphasis on deep listening—to ourselves as well as others—NVC fosters respect, attentiveness and empathy, and engenders a mutual desire to give from the heart. The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative.
     While it is taught through the use of a concrete model, and is referred to as “a process of communication” or a “language of compassion,” Non-Violent Communication is more than a process or a language. As our cultural conditioning often leads our attention in directions unlikely to get us what we want, NVC serves as an ongoing reminder to focus our attention on places that have the potential to yield what we are seeking—a flow between ourselves and others based on a mutual giving from the heart.

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