PSZC

Join us for one of our services at the Zendo: 18005 Vashon Highway SW, Vashon, WA 98070, (previously Island Funeral Services.) Feel free to come 10 minutes early for instruction, or just jump right in.

  • Sunday Service: 10:00am-12pm
    Early Sunday Sit: 8:30-9:30am
  • Monday – Friday: 6:30-7:30am
  • Monday Evening: 7:00-8:45pm
  • Wednesday Evening: 7:00-8:30pm
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Talks

March 29 -  Koshin: “Empty of What?”   Shunyata, or Emptiness, is central to Zen practice, and one of it's most misunderstood concepts. How can...

April 6, 2020

How do we meditate in Zen? What are some techniques we can use for quieting down? What does posture have to do with it? In...

March 14, 2020

Ritual is central to every religious tradition known to us. Buddhist traditions are no exception.Even in the most streamlined of Zen traditions, meditation occurs in...

February 26, 2020

On February 9, 2020  Keri Pederson spoke at the PSZC on Finding (and Taking) Refuge: Reflections on trust, safety, and belonging in practice. Keri has...

February 15, 2020

Nansen famously told Joshu, “Ordinary mind is the way.” What did he mean, and what does it tell us about our practice? Koshin Chris Cain...

February 6, 2020

Zen Master Rinzai told his students to become people with nothing to do.  How does that work? On January 19, 2020 - Rinzai’s Death Day...

January 23, 2020

Zen practice teaches us to see things anew, but first we have to learn to drop our everyday habitual way of seeing things.  There’s a...

January 15, 2020

'Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha: A Different Light.' Genko poses the question, Enlightenment - what's time got to do with it? On Sunday, December 15, 2019,...

December 18, 2019

Elizabeth Fitterer talks about the Sanskrit language, its place in history and religious philosophy, the struggles and joys of being a Sanskrit student, and how...

December 10, 2019

One sure way to a more grateful heart — understanding our interconnection more deeply. Koshin Chris Cain speaks on Interdependence and Gratitude on November 24,...

November 30, 2019

Genko Kathy Blackman speaks at the Zen Center on October 27, 2019....

November 8, 2019

Jim Hunziker speaks at the Zen Center on Oct. 6, 2019 about his volunteer work....

October 9, 2019

Every six months we switch officer positions in the zendo - the Shoji (tea server), the Jiki (meditation leader) and so forth.  Together they are...

September 25, 2019

Eko Jeff Kelley from Seattle Soto Zen discusses Heroism and Humility at the Puget Sound Zen Center during a full day sit on Saturday July 13,...

September 7, 2019

Koshin Cain answers questions at Puget Sound Zen Center on September 1, 2019.  ...

September 7, 2019

Beth Glennon, who has completed her chaplaincy training though Upaya Zen Center, finds compassion all around in her work at Harborview Medical Center. Beth spoke...

August 7, 2019

Genko Kathy Blackman talks of the interdependence of cause and effect at the Zen Center on July 28, 2019....

August 1, 2019

In Zen, freedom is gained by facing, not running away. Koshin Cain speaks at the Zen Center on July 3, 2019....

July 15, 2019

Koshin talks of the value to us as individuals and to our community of ritual, especially those maintained in our zen services....

June 18, 2019

Death and loss pervade the fabric of life, yet we spend a great deal of energy pushing this reality away. What would happen if, instead...

June 3, 2019

Hakuin Zenji’s Song in Praise of Zazen begins, “From the beginning, all beings are Buddha”. What does that mean? Is it true? Wes trained at the Rochester Zen Center,...

May 23, 2019

While the ancient Greeks did not like the concept of zero one bit, the ancient Indians ran with it. Working with our aversion to emptiness can be...

April 26, 2019

The Buddha identified two bright, natural qualities of the heart-mind as the roots of our ethical sensitivity, and therefore ‘guardians of the world.’  How can...

April 6, 2019

Robbie Rohr, Executive Director of the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank, has been working in the fields of human services and social justice for 40 years....

March 10, 2019

How do we build a healthy community? Koshin Cain speaks at the Zen Center, March 3, 2019....

March 10, 2019

On his deathbed the Buddha told his disciples to have confidence in the teaching, the disciplines, and in themselves.  Koshin Cain speaks at the Zen Center,...

March 10, 2019

The Japanese are said to love cherry blossoms, not only because they are beautiful, but also because their beauty is evanescent. For New Englanders, the...

March 10, 2019

How do we make the three refuges (the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha) a part of our life? Genko Kathy Blackman speaks at the Zen Center,...

February 9, 2019

The Zen and humanist traditions share a few fundamental tenets:  The central importance of human well-being; a belief in individual authority; a distrust of superstition....

February 2, 2019

Buddhism has a tradition of sange, or confession and repentance.  Where does that fit into the Zen tradition?   ...

February 2, 2019

The new year invites us to consider the coming and going of things. Dogen called the issue of birth and death (shoji) the "great matter." Tetsuzen Wirth will  explore living...

January 8, 2019

On New Year’s Day Master Ikkyu went door to door with a human skull on a pike:  “Happy New Year!” His message is more sanguine than you...

January 8, 2019

This may seem to be a contradiction in terms, but self-compassion is essential to true awakening. Genko Kathy Blackman speaks at the Zen Center, December 9,...

December 28, 2018

Hakuin Zenji’s Poem “Song of Zazen” starts by assuring us that beings are Buddhas as surely as ice is water. Grasping this tenet is key...

December 9, 2018

The first of the Buddhist perfections is Dana, or generosity.  Why is it first?  Koshin Chris Cain speaks at the Zen Center, November 25, 2018. Click...

December 2, 2018

It’s counterintuitive to be thankful for our troubles as well as our joys.  Zen helps us see the value in being grateful for all of it. ...

December 2, 2018

December 9 - Genko - This may seem to be a contradiction in terms, but self-compassion is essential to true awakening...

December 2, 2018

December 2 - Koshin - Hakuin Zenji’s Poem “Song of Zazen” starts by assuring us that beings are Buddhas as surely as ice is water....

December 1, 2018

 The Buddha makes an unusual request – that we make a spiritual practice of observing the impermanence of all things, including our own life. How...

October 7, 2018

How do we progress in Buddhist practice? Isn’t it about NOT progressing? In Rinzai Zen we ask you to diligently make an effort until there...

September 30, 2018

In every cycle of breath spirit travels through the body creating form, consciousness, formlessness and returning to emptiness. Each cycle is a microcosm of our...

September 23, 2018

Our practice helps us move through our lives with a deeper liberty, living and dying more freely....

July 25, 2018

Eko Jeff Kelley of Seattle Soto Zen speaks at our annual summer day sit, July 14, 2018....

July 14, 2018

Beth is a student in the Chaplaincy Program at Upaya Zen Center and is currently an intern at Harborview Medical Center. She shares experiences from...

April 19, 2018

Find us

18005 Vashon Highway SW
Vashon, WA 98070

Monday evenings we hold services at the Fauntleroy Church in West Seattle. United Church of Christ, 9140 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98136-2556 4th floor chapel, room 402

Our Services

In-Person
SUN MORNING: 8:30-9:30am and 10:00 - 12 noon
MON-FRI MORNING: 6:30-7:30am
MON EVENING: West Seattle, Fauntleroy Church. 7 to 8:30pm
TH EVENING: 7:00-8:30pm

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