Santa Barbara Zen Center

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Santa Barbara Zen Center

The Santa Barbara Zen Center (formerly the Santa Barbara Zen Group) consists of students from various Go to our webpage: www.santabarbarazencenter.org!

ALL IN PERSON SERVICES SUSPENDED DURING COVID...But please join us online. On Sunday mornings there is zazen (sitting meditation) and a short service at Hospice Santa Barbara (Administrative Offices) at:
2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Ste. 100 -
Santa Barbara, California 93103

Our mailing address is: Santa Barbara Zen Center P.O. Box 1331 Santa Barbara, CA 93102

Our Sunday morning schedule

is as follows:

9:00 AM Zazen
9:30 AM Walking Meditation
9:40 AM Zazen
10:10 AM Sutra Service

Please arrive a bit early to get settled or if you desire some beginning instructions. On the third Sunday of each month, zazen and the sutra service are followed by tea and conversation.

05/27/2026

This Sunday: "Beyond The Sound Bath" with Bob Sedivy.

Join us for an immersive, hands-on experience where you become part of the music. Participants will have the opportunity to play gongs, Tibetan bells and bowls, tingshas, shakers, rattles, and more together, as a group. We'll also explore placing Tibetan bowls directly on the body to feel sound vibrations on a deep, cellular level. Unlike a traditional sound bath where participants are passive participants, this is an interactive journey.

We will end our gathering with tea and treats to share and reflect on the effects of the sounds on our bodies, as well as our individual and shared experiences. Feel free to bring your own instruments though it's not required.

All are welcome — no experience necessary.

Join in person or on Zoom — link in bio.

Sunday, 10:00 AM
Santa Barbara Hospice
2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Unit 100

05/20/2026

This Sunday: "Dharma Tears" with Meido Barbara Anderson.

Meido Barbara Anderson is the Resident Guiding Teacher at O-An Zendo. She began practicing meditation in 1967 soon after receiving her doctorate in philosophy from Penn State University.

She began her formal study and practice of Zen with the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, receiving the Five Precepts from him in 1994. Thereafter, she studied and practiced in the Soto and Rinzai styles with Dai-en Bennage NiOsho, abbess of Mt. Equity Zen Center; Genro Lee Milton Sensei, abbot of Endless Mountain Zendo, and Jiro Andy Afable Osho of Early Light Zendo.

In 2010 she received the Ten Grave Buddhist Precepts from her guiding teacher Shoho Michael Newhall, abbot of Jikoji and Dharma heir of Kobun Chino Roshi. She was ordained as a Zen priest in 2011, and transmitted to become a Dharma heir in the Cloud Phoenix lineage in 2019 by Shoho Michael Newhall.

All are welcome — no experience necessary.

Join in person or on Zoom — link in bio.

Afterwards, we’d like to invite everyone to stay for tea and refreshments. Please feel free to bring something to share.

Sunday, 10:00 AM
Santa Barbara Hospice
2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Unit 100

05/06/2026

This Sunday: a dharma talk with Alan Eustace.

Alan, a native of Ireland, now living in Oakland, California, was drawn to Zen by its message of intrinsic wholeness, its Taoist roots, and its simplicity. He began zazen practice at home in the mid 1990s, and started formal Zen practice in 1999. He subsequently practiced for several years in the Tibetan Buddhist Gelug tradition under Panchen Otrul Rinpoche with whom he formally took refuge/jukai in 2000. He traveled to hear teachings by HH the Dalai Lama in India and Europe during this period, and also acted as the Buddhist representative for various Irish interfaith gatherings. He returned to formal Zen practice in 2014, connected with Tim Burkett in 2017, and was ordained as a priest by Tim in 2019. He acted as Shuso for the 2023 winter practice period.

Alan is committed to making Zen practice accessible to all, and to bringing it to life in the everyday. In attunement with this, he and his partner Barbara have chosen to raise and home-educate their 2 children following an auto-didactic approach that is guided by principles of self-inquiry, curiosity and compassion. He works as a coach and guide in the area of organizational effectiveness. He has taught mindfulness in various settings since 2005.

All are welcome — no experience necessary.

Join in person or on Zoom — link in bio.

Sunday, 10:00 AM
Santa Barbara Hospice
2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Unit 100

04/22/2026

This Sunday: "The Heart of Stillness: Intimacy with All Things" with Cynthia Overweg.

Sunday, 10:00 AM
Santa Barbara Hospice
2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Unit 100

Cynthia facilitates retreats and educational programs that center on the unifying presence of inner stillness. A frequent theme in her retreats and programs is that our daily lives can be a meditation when the mind is quiet. Her work is inspired by the non-dual wisdom teachings of East and West. Her approach is influenced by J. Krishnamurti, G.I. Gurdjieff, Tibetan Buddhism and by Dogen Zenji, whose profound insight that “enlightenment is intimacy with all things,” beautifully expresses the oneness that underpins the matrix of life. Cynthia is the author of Silent Awareness: The Revelation that changes Everything. To learn more about her, please visit: https://cynthiaoverweg.com/

All are welcome — no experience necessary.

Join in person or on Zoom — link in bio.

Stay afterwards for tea and refreshments.

11/09/2025

Sunday, November 9th, 10am SBZC at SB Hospice and on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81058779606

Join us this Sunday at the Hospice of Santa Barbara for Zazen, Kinhin, and a talk on “Mindfulness and Zen: Two Ways, Same Home” by Julianna Raye

Designer of the Unified Mindfulness Teacher Training, Julianna Raye is devoted to deepening people’s ability to practice and understand research-supported mindfulness and to empowering anyone to guide others in its practice. She has been training individuals and groups in the Unified Mindfulness system for over two decades.

We would like to invite everyone to stay for tea and refreshments after Julianna Raye's dharma talk. If you could bring something to share, it would be much appreciated!

10/12/2025

Sunday, October 12th, 10am SBZC at SB Hospice and on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81058779606

Join us this Sunday at the Hospice of Santa Barbara for Zazen, Kinhin, and a talk on Attachment, Non-Attachment, and Secure Attachment by Laurie Senauke

Laurie Senauke has been a resident at Berkeley Zen Center since 1989. She was a lay teacher for many years, and then in 2018 she ordained as a priest with Steve Weintraub, and received dharma transmission from him in 2021. She was married to BZC's abbot, Hozan Alan Senauke, until his death in December 2024.

First photo by Ben P.

11/09/2024

Announcements

Please mark your calendar for an upcoming New Years Celebration at Elisa & Joe Atwill’s home.
We welcome Carolyn Dille as a guest speaker via Zoom in SB Hospice on Sunday, November 24

Dear Sangha,

The SBZC Board of Directors met on November 2nd for our annual meeting. We are happy to share some updates with you.

First, we express gratitude to Monica Reede and Michael Kinsella, who have stepped down from the board.

We are pleased to announce that Elisa Atwill has rejoined the board and will be serving as both Treasurer and Secretary for the coming year. The current board is now:

Anton Borzov, President
Elisa Atwill, Treasurer/Secretary
Susan Tova, Member-at-Large

In a spirit of shared stewardship, our community is exploring a transition to a "working circle" model to encourage wider participation and leadership in key areas like Program/Study and Sunday Logistics. Stay tuned for more information on how you can get involved.

Program/Study Circle

Board rep/leadership: Elisa Atwill

Content planning for dharma sharing
Teacher search
Coordinating visiting teachers or senior students for 2nd/4th Sundays
Organizing community events:
Potlucks
Workshops/Classes
New Year's celebration

Sunday Services Logistics Circle

Board rep: Suzan Tova

Michael Daly, Michael Kinsella, Bob Sedivy, Dave Dietrich

Temple Manager coordination
Doan Team scheduling
Service logistics
Training new volunteers

Board of Directors Circle for centralized functions
Financially, SBZC remains stable, ending the fiscal year close to budget. Deep thanks to all who supported the center with your generous donations. Our annual year-end appeal will launch later this month.

Our website now includes transcripts for more than 90 dharma talks from our Youtube channel.

Our next board meeting will be December 15th. As always, board meetings are open to all members to attend. Minutes are also available by request. We welcome your feedback and participation.

With gratitude, SBZC Board

10/26/2024

Dear friends: it is with heavy heart that we share our founding Teacher Koan Sensei passed away peacefully surrounded by family and close circle this morning. While he has lived in hospice for some months and we know “life and death are of supreme importance,” we also know this news of his death will affect many and we respect the grieving and celebration-of-life processes look different for everyone.

We cherish his legacy, continued teachings, and radiant kindness and authentic compassion. From planting trees around ZCLA and Santa Barbara, to planting seeds of dharma through prison chaplaincy, and his founding of our Center- Koan’s magnetic presence and centralizing force continue to ripple out to all whom he touched.

We invite all to dedicate merit of our practice to him, his wife Genji and children, extended family, colleagues in prison chaplaincy work, dear friends, and all beings everywhere 🌱🌳 welcoming any memories via the comments 🙏🙏

10/19/2024

This Sunday — October 20th
No meeting @ SB Hospice

November 2nd · 1PM
SBZC Annual Board Meeting
on Zoom

The Santa Barbara Zen Center Annual Board Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 2nd at 1 PM. This gathering will include discussion of the board slate for the coming year and other significant matters that shape our shared practice and community.

Everyone is welcome to attend via Zoom. To join, please use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81058779606
Your presence and input are valued as we collaboratively nurture the future of our Zen community. This meeting reflects our commitment to shared stewardship and transparent governance.

We warmly invite all who are interested in the well-being and direction of SBZC to join us for this annual event. Together, we can continue to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive sangha.

For any questions or more information, please contact [email protected].

10/11/2024

October 13th @ Hospice

In response to the curiosity shown by some members of the SBZC Sangha concerning the nature and function of our chants and Buddhist chanting in general, our next meeting will be devoted to the topic. Guided by Bill Powell our discussion will focus more specifically on chants and chanting within the context of Zen practice.

William (Bill) Powell is Professor Emeritus of two UCSB departments, Religious Studies and East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies. He was trained in the philological methods of Buddhist studies, which was the basis for his translation and study of the prominent 9th century Chan (Zen) monk, D**g shan. His more recent work focused on the relationship between Chinese Buddhism, pilgrimage and sacred space, particularly mountains.

Address

2050 Alameda Padre Serra Suite 100, P. O. Box 1331
Santa Barbara, CA
93103

Opening Hours

9am - 11am

Telephone

+18052450619

Website

http://santabarbarazencenter.org/

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