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{{Short description|Sōtō Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States}} |
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{{About|the Zen Buddhist Monastery |the unincorporated community|Tassajara Hot Springs, California|the hot springs|Tassajara Hot Springs}} |
{{About|the Zen Buddhist Monastery |the unincorporated community|Tassajara Hot Springs, California|the hot springs|Tassajara Hot Springs}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} |
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} |
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| location = 39171 Tassajara Road [[Carmel Valley, CA]] 93924 |
| location = 39171 Tassajara Road [[Carmel Valley, CA]] 93924 |
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| coordinates = |
| coordinates = |
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| religious_affiliation = [[ |
| religious_affiliation = [[Buddhism]] |
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| sect =[[Soto Zen]] |
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| deity = |
| deity = |
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| country = United States |
| country = United States |
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| year_completed = 1967 |
| year_completed = 1967 |
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The '''Tassajara Zen Mountain Center''' in the [[Ventana Wilderness]] |
The '''Tassajara Zen Mountain Center''' is the oldest [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhist]] [[Sōtō]] [[Zen]] monastery in the United States. It is on the border of the [[Ventana Wilderness]] and within the [[Los Padres National Forest]], southeast of [[Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]]. The center is only accessible over {{convert|5082|ft|4=-high|sp=us|adj=mid}} Chews Ridge via a narrow, steep, {{convert|13.7|mi|adj=on}} one-lane dirt road from [[Jamesburg, California|Jamesburg]]. During the winter months the center can be inaccessible due to snow and rain.<ref name="peakbag">{{Cite web |title=Chews Ridge Lookout, California |url=http://www.peakbagging.com/CALookoutPhotos/ChewsRidge.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615044816/http://www.peakbagging.com/CALookoutPhotos/ChewsRidge.html |archive-date=15 June 2020 |access-date=15 June 2020 |website=www.peakbagging.com}}</ref> Practitioners live and study on site. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the center is open to day and overnight guests. The [[Tassajara Hot Springs|natural hot springs]] have been developed into Japanese-style baths. A steam bath is built over a hot spring in Tassajara Creek. The center is the first Zen [[monastery]] established outside Asia.<ref name="sfzc.org">{{cite web|title=History – Tassajara – San Francisco Zen Center|url=http://sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4,35&pageid=2604|access-date=June 29, 2011|archive-date=May 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511112635/http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4,35&pageid=2604|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kharebashvili |first=Nia |date=2023-03-15 |title=Tassajara Hot Springs: The Key to The Ultimate Spiritual Restoration |url=https://www.traxplorio.com/tassajara-hot-springs/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Traxplorio |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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The name is a corruption of ''Tasajera'', a Spanish-American word derived from an indigenous [[Esselen language|Esselen]] word, which means |
The name is a corruption of ''Tasajera'', a Spanish-American word derived from an indigenous [[Esselen language|Esselen]] word, which means "place where meat is hung to dry".<ref>{{cite book|author=Erwin G. Gudde |title=California Place Names: the Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names|year=2004|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=978-0-520-24217-3|edition=4th}}</ref><ref name="Fullwood"/> |
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The 126-acre mountain property surrounding the [[Tassajara Hot Springs]] was purchased by the [[San Francisco Zen Center]] in 1967 for the below-market price<ref name=beckinterview>{{cite web|title=Interview with Robert Beck|access-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215060338/http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html|archive-date=February 15, 2009|date=February 19, 2002|url=http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html}}</ref> of $300,000<ref name="Fullwood"/> from Robert and Anna Beck.<ref name="ChadwickBeck"/> They improved the property and renamed it The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji (Zen Mind Temple),<ref name="Crews"/> during [[Shunryu Suzuki]]'s tenure as its first [[abbot]].<ref name="ChadwickBeck"/> When it was purchased in 1967, it was the first Zen monastery outside Asia.<ref name="sfzc.org"/> |
The 126-acre mountain property surrounding the [[Tassajara Hot Springs]] was purchased by the [[San Francisco Zen Center]] in 1967 for the below-market price<ref name=beckinterview>{{cite web|title=Interview with Robert Beck|access-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215060338/http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html|archive-date=February 15, 2009|date=February 19, 2002|url=http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html}}</ref> of $300,000<ref name="Fullwood"/> from Robert and Anna Beck.<ref name="ChadwickBeck"/> They improved the property and renamed it The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji (Zen Mind Temple),<ref name="Crews"/> during [[Shunryu Suzuki]]'s tenure as its first [[abbot]].<ref name="ChadwickBeck"/> When it was purchased in 1967, it was the first Zen monastery outside Asia.<ref name="sfzc.org"/> |
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Tassajara's remote location in the [[California Coastal Range|Coastal Range]] means it is often threatened by [[wildfire]]s. In 2008 the [[Basin Complex Fire]] reached the monastery; |
Tassajara's remote location in the [[California Coastal Range|Coastal Range]] means it is often threatened by [[wildfire]]s. In 2008 the [[Basin Complex Fire]] reached the monastery; five monks stayed<ref>{{cite news |author=Matthai Kuruvila |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Tassajara-monks-practice-Zen-of-firefighting-3277372.php |title=Tassajara monks practice Zen of firefighting |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=February 11, 2012 |orig-year=July 10, 2008 |access-date=June 25, 2021 }}</ref> in spite of evacuation orders<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-27 |title=Letter from Robert Thomas, President: 7/17/2008 - Tassajara - San Francisco Zen Center |url=https://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4&pageid=1237 |access-date=2024-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927143717/https://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4&pageid=1237 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 }}</ref> and successfully protected it from the fire, after which the San Francisco Zen Center organized a trained group of firefighters to defend its three monasteries, known as "fire monks" after a book about the 2008 events. An external sprinkler system was also installed on buildings, called "dharma rain".<ref name=Soberanes>{{cite news |author=Don Lattin |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/centralcoasting/article/Fighting-fire-with-Zen-at-Tassajara-10630948.php |title=Fighting fire with Zen at Tassajara |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=November 23, 2016 |access-date=June 25, 2021 }}</ref><ref name=KQED>{{cite news |author=Lakshmi Sarah |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11878787/fire-monks-prepared-to-defend-tassajara-zen-center-as-willow-fire-threatens |title='Fire Monks' Prepared to Defend Tassajara Zen Center as Willow Fire Threatens |publisher=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]] News |date=June 21, 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2021 }}</ref><ref name=AP>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/ca-state-wire-california-wildfires-fires-5992a65eaf55151db98ece550da08992 |title='Fire monks' ready to defend monastery from Big Sur blaze |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 22, 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2021 }}<!-- Also in The Guardian, June 23: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/23/firefighting-monks-monastery-california-big-sur-fire --></ref> The Tassajara Center was threatened by the 2016 [[Soberanes Fire]]; it escaped damage<ref name=Soberanes/> but was closed to guests for the remainder of the year.<ref>[http://sfzc.org/tassajara/ Zen center News], "Because of the ongoing smoky conditions and the risk of fire, we have taken the difficult decision to close the Tassajara 2016 guest season". Retrieved August 9, 2016.</ref> In June 2021, the [[Willow Fire]] threatened the monastery.<ref name=KQED/><ref name=AP/> |
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==Calendars and schedules== |
==Calendars and schedules== |
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After the practice periods, Tassajara is open to the public from mid-April through early September.<ref name="SummerGuidelines"/> For students, this period also allows them to earn credits toward the fall and spring practice periods. The guest season, with less rigorous daily schedules,<ref name="SummerPractice"/> is a cornerstone of Tassajara's economic well-being.<ref name="Crews"/> |
After the practice periods, Tassajara is open to the public from mid-April through early September.<ref name="SummerGuidelines"/> For students, this period also allows them to earn credits toward the fall and spring practice periods. The guest season, with less rigorous daily schedules,<ref name="SummerPractice"/> is a cornerstone of Tassajara's economic well-being.<ref name="Crews"/> |
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The guest program includes a major kitchen operation. Tassajara is renowned for its vegetarian cuisine.<ref name="Liddle"/><ref name="Hansen"/> Tassajara personnel also founded the Tassajara Bakery in [[Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California|Ashbury Heights]]<ref name="Sinton"/> and [[Greens Restaurant]] at [[Fort Mason]] in the [[Marina District, San Francisco, California|Marina District]]<ref name="Hansen"/> in San Francisco. [[Edward Espe Brown]]'s ''Tassajara Bread Book'',<ref name="Hodgman"/> published by [[Shambhala Publications]] in 1970 and revised in 1986 and 1995,<ref name="Breadbook"/> is often credited as a major catalyst for the popularity of artisanal baking in the United States, while his ''Tassajara Recipe Book''<ref name="Recipebook"/> is the best known of several books of general vegetarian cuisine produced by authors connected with the |
The guest program includes a major kitchen operation. Tassajara is renowned for its vegetarian cuisine.<ref name="Liddle"/><ref name="Hansen"/> Tassajara personnel also founded the Tassajara Bakery in [[Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California|Ashbury Heights]]<ref name="Sinton"/> and [[Greens Restaurant]] at [[Fort Mason]] in the [[Marina District, San Francisco, California|Marina District]]<ref name="Hansen"/> in San Francisco. [[Edward Espe Brown]]'s ''Tassajara Bread Book'',<ref name="Hodgman"/> published by [[Shambhala Publications]] in 1970 and revised in 1986 and 1995,<ref name="Breadbook"/> is often credited as a major catalyst for the popularity of artisanal baking in the United States, while his ''Tassajara Recipe Book''<ref name="Recipebook"/> is the best known of several books of general vegetarian cuisine produced by authors connected with the center. |
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==Gallery== |
==Gallery== |
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<gallery widths="190px" heights="180px" |
<gallery widths="190px" heights="180px"> |
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Image:Tassajara Hot Springs (Menu).jpg |
Image:Tassajara Hot Springs (Menu).jpg |
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Image:Tassajara Kitchen (San Francisco Zen center, SFZC, Soto).jpg |
Image:Tassajara Kitchen (San Francisco Zen center, SFZC, Soto).jpg |
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{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= |
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= |
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<ref name="Crews">{{cite web |url= http://www.cuke.com/bibliography/shoes/crews%20review%20of%20shoes.html | |
<ref name="Crews">{{cite web |url= http://www.cuke.com/bibliography/shoes/crews%20review%20of%20shoes.html |series= Zen & the Art of Success |author= Frederick C. Crews |author-link= Frederick Crews |title=Michael Downing's ''Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center'' |work= [[The New York Review of Books]] |type=Review |via=cuke.com |date= March 28, 2002 |quote= [The] book begins with, and then encircles in widening orbits, a conference held in March 1983 at Zenshinji, or Zen Mind Temple, better known to the world as Tassajara … Tassajara in summer sees too much traffic to be called a true monastery. Rather, it is part training camp, part profitable tourist enterprise, and part showcase for potential donors who may be inspired to support Zen Center's instruction in [[zazen]]. }} ([http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=15221 abstract])</ref> |
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<ref name="ChadwickBeck">{{cite web |url= http://www.cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck-robert.html |title= Interview with Robert Beck |author= David Chadwick |author-link= David Chadwick (writer) |work= cuke.com |date= February 19, 2002}}</ref> |
<ref name="ChadwickBeck">{{cite web |url= http://www.cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck-robert.html |title= Interview with Robert Beck |author= David Chadwick |author-link= David Chadwick (writer) |work= cuke.com |date= February 19, 2002}}</ref> |
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<ref name="Fullwood">{{cite web |url= http://www.sacbee.com/fullwood/story/11456.html |title= Serene escapes: Where less is more |author= Janet Fullwood |work= [[Sacramento Bee]] |date= November 29, 2006 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive. |
<ref name="Fullwood">{{cite web |url= http://www.sacbee.com/fullwood/story/11456.html |title= Serene escapes: Where less is more |author= Janet Fullwood |work= [[Sacramento Bee]] |date= November 29, 2006 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130104152443/http://www.sacbee.com/fullwood/story/11456.html |archive-date= January 4, 2013 }}</ref> |
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<ref name="Guidelines">{{cite web |url= http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/docs/zmc_pp_guidelines.pdf |title= Pure Standards and Guidelines for Practice Period |author= San Francisco Zen Center |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070205205122/http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/docs/zmc_pp_guidelines.pdf |archive-date= February 5, 2007 }}</ref> |
<ref name="Guidelines">{{cite web |url= http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/docs/zmc_pp_guidelines.pdf |title= Pure Standards and Guidelines for Practice Period |author= San Francisco Zen Center |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070205205122/http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/docs/zmc_pp_guidelines.pdf |archive-date= February 5, 2007 }}</ref> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Commons category|Tassajara}} |
{{Commons category|Tassajara Zen Mountain Center}} |
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* [http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/ Official '''Tassajara Zen Mountain Center''' website] |
* [http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/ Official '''Tassajara Zen Mountain Center''' website] |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090215060338/http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html Archive.org: Interview with Bob Beck] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090215060338/http://cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/beck.html Archive.org: Interview with Bob Beck] |
Latest revision as of 02:32, 28 November 2024
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Buddhism |
Sect | Soto Zen |
Location | |
Location | 39171 Tassajara Road Carmel Valley, CA 93924 |
Country | United States |
Architecture | |
Founder | Shunryu Suzuki |
Completed | 1967 |
Website | |
http://sfzc.org/tassajara/ |
The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is the oldest Japanese Buddhist Sōtō Zen monastery in the United States. It is on the border of the Ventana Wilderness and within the Los Padres National Forest, southeast of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The center is only accessible over 5,082-foot-high (1,549 m) Chews Ridge via a narrow, steep, 13.7-mile (22.0 km) one-lane dirt road from Jamesburg. During the winter months the center can be inaccessible due to snow and rain.[1] Practitioners live and study on site. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the center is open to day and overnight guests. The natural hot springs have been developed into Japanese-style baths. A steam bath is built over a hot spring in Tassajara Creek. The center is the first Zen monastery established outside Asia.[2][3]
History
[edit]The name is a corruption of Tasajera, a Spanish-American word derived from an indigenous Esselen word, which means "place where meat is hung to dry".[4][5]
The 126-acre mountain property surrounding the Tassajara Hot Springs was purchased by the San Francisco Zen Center in 1967 for the below-market price[6] of $300,000[5] from Robert and Anna Beck.[7] They improved the property and renamed it The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji (Zen Mind Temple),[8] during Shunryu Suzuki's tenure as its first abbot.[7] When it was purchased in 1967, it was the first Zen monastery outside Asia.[2]
Tassajara's remote location in the Coastal Range means it is often threatened by wildfires. In 2008 the Basin Complex Fire reached the monastery; five monks stayed[9] in spite of evacuation orders[10] and successfully protected it from the fire, after which the San Francisco Zen Center organized a trained group of firefighters to defend its three monasteries, known as "fire monks" after a book about the 2008 events. An external sprinkler system was also installed on buildings, called "dharma rain".[11][12][13] The Tassajara Center was threatened by the 2016 Soberanes Fire; it escaped damage[11] but was closed to guests for the remainder of the year.[14] In June 2021, the Willow Fire threatened the monastery.[12][13]
Calendars and schedules
[edit]Practice periods
[edit]A practice period (ango in Japanese) denotes a period of intensive monastic practice. During the fall (September–December) and spring (January–April) practice periods, Tassajara is closed to the public. The rigorous schedule is a defining feature. Activity revolves around zazen (meditation), study, and work.[15]
Guest season
[edit]After the practice periods, Tassajara is open to the public from mid-April through early September.[16] For students, this period also allows them to earn credits toward the fall and spring practice periods. The guest season, with less rigorous daily schedules,[17] is a cornerstone of Tassajara's economic well-being.[8]
The guest program includes a major kitchen operation. Tassajara is renowned for its vegetarian cuisine.[18][19] Tassajara personnel also founded the Tassajara Bakery in Ashbury Heights[20] and Greens Restaurant at Fort Mason in the Marina District[19] in San Francisco. Edward Espe Brown's Tassajara Bread Book,[21] published by Shambhala Publications in 1970 and revised in 1986 and 1995,[22] is often credited as a major catalyst for the popularity of artisanal baking in the United States, while his Tassajara Recipe Book[23] is the best known of several books of general vegetarian cuisine produced by authors connected with the center.
Gallery
[edit]See also
[edit]- American Zen Teachers Association
- Soto Zen Buddhist Association
- Retreat (spiritual)
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
- Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
References
[edit]- ^ "Chews Ridge Lookout, California". www.peakbagging.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "History – Tassajara – San Francisco Zen Center". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ Kharebashvili, Nia (March 15, 2023). "Tassajara Hot Springs: The Key to The Ultimate Spiritual Restoration". Traxplorio. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ Erwin G. Gudde (2004). California Place Names: the Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names (4th ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24217-3.
- ^ a b Janet Fullwood (November 29, 2006). "Serene escapes: Where less is more". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013.
- ^ "Interview with Robert Beck". February 19, 2002. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ a b David Chadwick (February 19, 2002). "Interview with Robert Beck". cuke.com.
- ^ a b Frederick C. Crews (March 28, 2002). "Michael Downing's Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center". The New York Review of Books (Review). Zen & the Art of Success – via cuke.com.
[The] book begins with, and then encircles in widening orbits, a conference held in March 1983 at Zenshinji, or Zen Mind Temple, better known to the world as Tassajara … Tassajara in summer sees too much traffic to be called a true monastery. Rather, it is part training camp, part profitable tourist enterprise, and part showcase for potential donors who may be inspired to support Zen Center's instruction in zazen.
(abstract) - ^ Matthai Kuruvila (February 11, 2012) [July 10, 2008]. "Tassajara monks practice Zen of firefighting". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Letter from Robert Thomas, President: 7/17/2008 - Tassajara - San Francisco Zen Center". September 27, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Don Lattin (November 23, 2016). "Fighting fire with Zen at Tassajara". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Lakshmi Sarah (June 21, 2021). "'Fire Monks' Prepared to Defend Tassajara Zen Center as Willow Fire Threatens". KQED News. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "'Fire monks' ready to defend monastery from Big Sur blaze". Associated Press. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ Zen center News, "Because of the ongoing smoky conditions and the risk of fire, we have taken the difficult decision to close the Tassajara 2016 guest season". Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ San Francisco Zen Center. "Pure Standards and Guidelines for Practice Period" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2007.
- ^ San Francisco Zen Center. "Guidelines of Conduct & Precepts for Summer Practice" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2007.
- ^ San Francisco Zen Center. "Summer Work Practice". Archived from the original on November 28, 2010.
- ^ Alan Liddle (September 29, 1986). "Fresh seafood, produce mold 565 Clay's success – San Francisco restaurant". Nation's Restaurant News.
- ^ a b Eileen Hansen, review of Greens Restaurant (August 29, 2004). "It's good to be greens". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Peter Sinton (April 10, 1999). "Staff of Life Not Enough For Tassajara". San Francisco Chronicle. (photo)
- ^ Ann Hodgman (March 30, 2003). "Flour Power". The New York Times.
- ^ Edward Espe Brown (1995). The Tassajara Bread Book (25th Anniversary ed.). Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-57062-089-8.
- ^ Edward Espe Brown (2000). The Tassajara Recipe Book (rev. ed.). Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1-57062-580-8.
External links
[edit]- Buddhist temples in California
- Buddhist monasteries in the United States
- San Francisco Zen Center
- Soto temples
- Religious buildings and structures in Monterey County, California
- Buddhism in California
- Buddhist organizations based in the United States
- Spiritual retreats
- Tourist attractions in Monterey County, California
- Zen centers in California
- Hot springs of California
- 1967 establishments in California