Dear Dharma Friend,
Over a recent weekend, about 250 people took a break from the turmoil of our troubled world to experience a few hours of the clarity and openness that our practice makes possible.
At City Center and Green Gulch Farm, they sat. Heard a Zen Center teacher give a dharma talk. Drank tea on what seemed the most beautiful day possible. And then they returned to their lives with their hearts more open and their minds more engaged.
Some were regulars. Some had not been there in 10 years. Some had never been to Zen Center before. But all were warmly welcomed to join in the openheartedness and compassion of our practice.
We all need a place of refuge. A place to nourish, recharge, or just stop. And a place from which we can venture forth again to meet the many challenges that we face each day.
In 2010, a growing number of people are seeking this place of refuge at San Francisco Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm, City Center, and Tassajara. But we cannot continue to meet this growing need alone. We need your financial support. That is why I am writing to ask you to join me today in supporting our teachers and dharma offerings by making a contribution to San Francisco Zen Center.
As a Zen student, I have personally experienced the difference that refuge and practice has made in my life. As a Zen teacher, I have seen the difference that refuge and practice have made in the lives of countless others, perhaps like you. Please help keep our unique and vital tradition alive—for yourself and others.
“You are welcome to join me.”
These are the words our founder, Suzuki Roshi, spoke to the seekers who first came to San Francisco Zen Center in the 1970's. These young men and women came with complicated questions and complicated lives. They sought to learn from this special man who came from Japan to share Zen practice with Americans. At first this is all he told them.
“I sit zazen every morning at 5:45 and you are welcome to join me.”
Today, we are fortunate to have several of those first students of Suzuki Roshi who have since dedicated their lives to Zen—including, Tenshin Reb Anderson, Eijun Linda Cutts, and Zenkei Blanche Hartman—still serving our community as senior teachers. For some 30 years, they have helped to keep the tradition and spirit of Suzuki Roshi alive and to make it accessible to an ever widening circle of beings.
And now I ask you to join me in doing our part to continue to offer this practice to the world.
Please make a financial contribution to keep our places of refuge and practice open to all. Together, let’s ensure that everyone who seeks a place of refuge is always met with a warm hand and an open door at San Francisco Zen Center.
In gratitude,
Shisan Robert Thomas
P.S. Please give whatever you can. All contributions will go to support Zen Center teachers and our practice centers. Thank you for your generosity.

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