Vallejo Zen Center Details

The Vallejo Zen Center (known informally as Clear Water Zendo)

The Vallejo Zen Center (known informally as Clear Water Zendo) was founded in January 2000 by the members of the sitting group that preceded it for two years, in Vallejo, California. The founding priest was Zenki Mary Mocine, installed as abbess of the Center in June of 2008. Zenki began practice at the Berkeley Zen Center in 1988 and began training at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery in 1990. She completed 8 ango at Tassajara and completed her training at Green Gulch Farm and the San Francisco City Center. During her time at San Francisco Zen Center, Zenki was Shika, Tenzo, Ino and Director at various of the locations. Zenki was shuso at Tassajara for the winter 1998 ango, led by Zoketsu Norman Fischer. Zenki left the San Francisco Zen Center to live full-time at Clear Water, in September of 1999.

The Center has grown over the years and now offers daily zazen most mornings and evenings, regular longer sittings and sesshins, classes, ceremonies (full-moon monthly, New Year’s, Buddha’s Birthday and Sejiki as well as jukai from time to time), training in doanryo positions and dokusan. We do a 6-week practice period each fall, ending with a five-day sesshin. The sangha has developed a large garden and ceremonial space which is used for Buddha’s Birthday and other ceremonies and celebrations. We have a website, www.vallejozencenter.org.

Clear Water has affiliated sangha groups. Zenki leads a sitting group in Pleasant Hill, California, which meets weekly. Members of the group attend events at Clear Water from time to time. Zenki also leads a dharma meditation group for lawyers that meets monthly, alternating between the Berkeley and San Francisco Zen Centers. Finally, Zenki and a student from the Berkeley Zen Center, John Mogey, lead a Zen Buddhist meditation group at a nearby prison, California State Prison, Solano. It is a medium-security men’s prison. The group meets monthly and has a one-day sitting twice a year.