May 2 All-Day Sitting

This is a standard all-day sitting format offered by Everyday Zen, a Zen group affiliated with the San Francisco Zen Center. The in-person site is Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Muir Beach, a well-established practice center. The retreat follows a traditional day-sit structure: orientation, alternating periods of zazen (sitting meditation) and kinhin (walking meditation), a service and meal, and closing ceremony. The day is held in silence.

What to expect

The schedule runs 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Participants sitting in person must arrive by 8:45 am, check in, and be on their cushion by 8:55 am. The zendo provides cushions (zafus and zabutons) and benches, though you may bring your own. Specific protocols are in place: shoes off in the zendo and on the wooden walkway around it; no food, water, or bags inside; minimal clothing to leave at your seat. Those joining by Zoom log in at 8:45 am, and materials (schedule, chant book, dokusan request forms) are posted in the Zoom chat that morning. Dokusan (private meetings with the teacher) and practice discussion are available if offered that day.

Pricing and dana

In-person registration is $70–$100, payable to Green Gulch Farm, and includes lunch and tea. Everyday Zen welcomes additional donations. Online participants are asked for a suggested donation of $30 or whatever you can contribute; no one is turned away for lack of funds.

Registration

In-person spots are limited and often sell out. Registration through Green Gulch Farm opens at 10:00 am on Saturday, April 4 and closes at noon the Friday before the sitting. For Zoom, no registration is required — just join via the link provided on the morning of the sit.