Beginners' Half-Day Sitting

This is a structured entry point to Zen practice at one of the oldest and most established Zen centers in North America. San Francisco Zen Center, founded in 1962, teaches in the Soto tradition—a lineage emphasizing shikantaza (just sitting) rather than koan work or formal transmission ceremonies. A half-day format gives you the actual experience of a sitting session without the commitment or intensity of a full-day sit or longer sesshin.

The schedule alternates zazen (sitting meditation, typically 25–40 minutes per period) with kinhin (slow walking meditation), which breaks up the sitting and helps settle the mind differently. You'll get basic instruction in posture and breath, then practice periods where you sit with others in silence. The discussion with a teacher afterward is a chance to ask practical questions—about posture, wandering mind, what you felt—rather than deep dharma talk.

City Center is located in San Francisco proper (not Green Gulch Farm or Tassajara, the other SFZC locations). The space is urban and accessible. Expect a genuine Zen hall atmosphere: orderly, quiet, no-frills. Bring comfortable clothes you can sit cross-legged or kneeling in. Arrive early to find your spot and settle.