SFZC Family Sangha Retreat at Tassajara

This is SFZC's annual family sesshin — a retreat designed for parents and children to sit together rather than separately. Unlike traditional all-adult zazen retreats, the schedule accommodates family life: children gather in age-appropriate groups while adults have their own practice time, and the whole group reconvenes for meals and community practice.

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, SFZC's retreat facility in the Los Padres National Forest, becomes the container for this work. The retreat explicitly frames family practice as a method for healing ancestral patterns — you're not just learning zazen, but exploring how family systems and intergenerational patterns show up on the cushion and in relationship.

What to expect: A residential schedule with zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), meals, and time outdoors. Children have their own programming while parents sit. The retreat team (both teachers and childcare staff) support families throughout. This is not a silent retreat in the traditional sense — family meals and group practice are part of the container.

Tassajara is remote and beautiful, with hot springs, gardens, and a working monastery. Lodging is shared dormitory-style or cabin accommodation depending on availability. The retreat includes meals prepared by the Tassajara kitchen.