Zen Do Inc Competitors

San Francisco Zen Center was established in 1962 by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (1904-1971) and his American students. Suzuki Roshi is known to countless readers as the author of the modern spiritual classic, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. The purpose of San Francisco Zen Center is to make accessible and embody the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha as expressed in the Soto Zen tradition established by Dogen Zenji in 13th-century Japan and conveyed to us by Suzuki Roshi and other Buddhist teachers. Our practice flows from the insight that all beings are Buddha, and that sitting in meditation is itself the realization of Buddha nature, or enlightenment. Today, San Francisco Zen Center is one of the largest Buddhist sanghas outside Asia. It has three practice places: City Center, in the vibrant heart of San Francisco; Green Gulch Farm, whose organic fields meet the ocean in Marin County; and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center—the first Zen training monastery in the West—in the Ventana Wilderness inland from Big Sur. These three complementary practice centers offer daily meditation, regular monastic retreats and practice periods, classes, lectures, and workshops. Zen Center is a practice place for a diverse population of students, visitors, lay people, priests, and monks guided by teachers who follow in Suzuki Roshi's style of warm hand and heart to warm hand and heart. All are welcome. Zen Center programs also reach out to the community, helping prisoners, the homeless, and those in recovery; protecting the environment; and working for peace. See our outreach program for details. Suzuki Roshi's disciples and students of his disciples now lead dharma groups around the country.

IMS is one of the Western world's oldest and most-respected meditation retreat centers. We are dedicated to providing a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. Our experienced teachers offer guidance in Buddhist meditations known as vipassana (insight) and metta (lovingkindness). While the context is the Buddha’s teachings, these practices are universal. They help to develop awareness and compassion in ourselves, giving rise to greater peace and happiness in the world. Our two adjacent retreat facilities – the Retreat Center and the Forest Refuge – are set on some 240 secluded wooded acres in the quiet countryside of central Massachusetts. The Retreat Center has a range of silent meditation courses available, varying in length from a weekend to three months. The Forest Refuge offers experienced meditators the opportunity to explore a more independent and less structured form of retreat life.

The Shambhala Meditation Center of Portland is part of the global community of Shambhala. Our purpose is to contribute to a society informed by meditation — with a culture of kindness and care, embracing the inherent goodness of every person. Our programs, groups and community gatherings offer a wa