The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is the oldest

Japanese Buddhist Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh� ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

monastery in the United States. It is on the border of the

Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act redesig ...

and within the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mo ...

, southeast of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The Center is only accessible over high Chews Ridge via a narrow, steep, one-lane dirt road from Jamesburg. During the winter months the Center can be inaccessible due to snow and rain. 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 A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

established outside Asia.

History

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.’" The 126-acre mountain property surrounding the

Tassajara Hot Springs Tassajara Hot Springs is a collection of natural hot springs within the Ventana Wilderness area of the Santa Lucia Range and Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County, California. The hot springs were used by the indigenous Native Americans f ...

was purchased by the San Francisco Zen Center in 1967 for the below-market price of $300,000 from Robert and Anna Beck. They improved the property and renamed it The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji (Zen Mind Temple), during Shunryu Suzuki's tenure as its first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

. When it was purchased in 1967, it was the first Zen monastery outside Asia. Tassajara's remote location in the Coastal Range means it is often threatened by

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s. In 2008 the Basin Complex Fire reached the monastery; some monks stayed 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". The Tassajara Center was threatened by the 2016 Soberanes Fire; it escaped damage but was closed to guests for the remainder of the year.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. In June 2021, the

Willow Fire The Willow Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Ventana Wilderness in Monterey County, California, in the United States as part of the 2021 California wildfire season. The fire started on June 17, 2021, burned , and was fully contained on July ...

threatened the monastery.

Calendars and schedules

Practice periods

A practice period ('' ango'' in Japanese) denotes a period of intensive

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. 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 ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

(

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

), study, and work.

Guest season

After the practice periods, Tassajara is open to the public from mid-April through early September. 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, is a cornerstone of Tassajara's economic well-being. The guest program includes a major kitchen operation. Tassajara is renowned for its vegetarian cuisine. Tassajara personnel also founded the Tassajara Bakery in Ashbury Heights and

Greens Restaurant Greens Restaurant is a landmark vegetarian restaurant in the Fort Mason Center in the Marina District, San Francisco, California, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Founded by the San Francisco Zen Center in 1979, Greens has been credited in ...

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

in the Marina District in San Francisco.

Edward Espe Brown "Kainei" Edward Espé Brown (born March 24, 1945) is an American Zen teacher and writer. He is the author of ''The Tassajara Bread Book'', written at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, as well as other cookbooks that are still influential. Early ...

's ''Tassajara Bread Book'', published by

Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications is an independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Man ...

in 1970 and revised in 1986 and 1995, is often credited as a major catalyst for the popularity of artisanal baking in the United States, while his ''Tassajara Recipe Book'' is the best known of several books of general vegetarian cuisine produced by authors connected with the Center.

Gallery

Image:Tassajara Hot Springs (Menu).jpg Image:Tassajara Kitchen (San Francisco Zen center, SFZC, Soto).jpg Image:Tassajara Dining Hall.jpg Image:Sitting area by office (Tassajara).jpg Image:Napkin Table at Dining Hall (Tassajara).jpg Image:Buddha statue at Tassajara.jpg

References

External links

Official Tassajara Zen Mountain Center website

{{Coord, 36.233611, -121.550314, display=title, type:landmark 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