Sacramento Zen Center – Meadowmind
Ordinary Mind Zen Buddhist Meditation and Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong in Sacramento
We offer twice a week Zen practice sessions in Sacramento comprising of sitting meditation, qigong and group practice discussion. We are devoted to realizing practice in everyday life, integrating contemporary Ordinary Mind and Soto Zen teachings with their ancient Tao-Te roots.
In case you are interested in other Buddhist Meditation resources in Sacramento, you may be interested in the groups at the Sacramento Dharma Center (sacdharma.org). offer formal Soto Zen (Valley Streams Zen), Vipassana Mindfulness (Sacramento Insight Meditation) and a wide range of nonsectarian Buddhist practices at the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group). We are friendly with these groups and sometimes share events.
Our Core Practices
Zen Meditation
Sitting meditation is one of the core practices of traditional Zen Buddhism. Known as “zazen”, this type of meditation allows us to manifest our inherent enlightened nature and wisdom and equanimity into our daily lives.
Qigong
Qigong promotes wellness by promoting the healthy functioning of the acupuncture meridians – removing blockages and improving the flow of qi, “vital energy.” By addressing the whole person, harmonizing body and mind, it plays a vital role in both traditional and modern Chinese medicine.
Our video introduction to Dayan Qigong is available at .https://www.youtube.com/@zendayanqigong
Practice Instruction
A fundamental element and distinguishing feature of Zen Buddhism is the importance placed on private “face-to-face” instruction. All participants are warmly encouraged to meet one-on-one with our teachers to further their way on the Zen Path.
Upcoming Sacramento Zen Events
Our Sacramento Ordinary Mind Zen Community
At Ordinary Mind Zen Sacramento we cultivate a path that is down-to-earth, centered in the heart of our daily life. We develop our enlightened nature by learning how to bring mindful clarity, intelligence, and love to our homes, our workplaces, our intimate relationships and our community.
We are committed to developing a non-hierarchical sangha. All sangha members are commoners – we hold the Dharma in common with each other. As lay people our practice is to return, again and again, to our original true home without clinging to anything or pushing anything away.
We value our ancestors, recognize the importance of teachers, and celebrate the open minds of beginners. Any member willing to undergo the necessary training is eligible to fulfill all practice positions. We offer the Buddhist precepts to anyone who is willing to commit to a year-long study and practice program.
Teachers at Sacramento Ordinary Mind Zen
Robert Rosenbaum
Robert is a longtime Zen teacher with teaching authority through both the Suzuki Roshi and Ordinary Mind traditions. He is also a lineage holder in Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong. Read more.
Jeanne Courtney
Jeanne is Qigong teacher and is a lineage holder in Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong. She teaches Qigong to her students and also trains other Qigong instructors. Read more.
Ordinary Mind Zen
Ordinary Mind Zen was founded by dharma successors of Charlotte Joko Beck (1917-2011) to continue evolving a style of Zen that is adapted to Western temperaments and ways of life but maintains the rigor and discipline of its traditional roots. We are primarily concerned with cultivating insight into the whole of life and how this contributes to our whole character and promotes skillful action. We treat practice as working with whatever comes up in our everyday lives, including being in a relationship, family life, the workplace as well as the formal and structured practice of Zen.
Ordinary Mind rests on all beings’ fundamental enlightened nature. We meditate not to become enlightened, but to put our basic enlightened nature into play. Zen enlightenment experiences can help us appreciate our interconnectedness with all being, but it’s important that we address individual psychological barriers and emotions rather than avoid them or bypass them. Like the foot before and the foot behind in walking, psychological insight and harmonious behavior complement the vast emptiness of nothing special
The OMZ school is taught by people who have been formally authorized as dharma successors of Joko Beck. All successors acknowledge they are ongoing students committed to a non-hierarchical openness and fluidity in practice. Each dharma successor may apply diverse approaches and structure to facilitate practice..
May the practice of this School manifest wisdom and compassion, benefitting all beings.
Zen Meditation
Our style of meditation is based in shikantaza, “just sitting.” We do not try to stop thoughts or feelings or perceptions; we do not try to control them but we also do not let them control us. We just make room for everything. We bring our whole body and mind to each moment not to learn concentration, but to open the gateways of ease and joy.
When we let go of self-centered views and stop worrying about our rights and your wrongs, our set views of good and bad, everything and everyone becomes a teacher re-minding us of our true self. We practice responding to all with a clear heart and a gentle smile.
More information on meditation and practice forms is available on the Zazen page.