The Central Valley Zen Foundation has three Zen Buddhist practice groups in the Central Valley of California: Empty Nest Zen Group in North Fork, Modesto Valley Heartland Zen Group in Modesto, and Zen Center of Fresno in Fresno.
We also support the Modesto Zen Recovery Group, a group which explores the ways in which Zen buddhist practice supports and strengthens all kinds of 12-step work.
All four main practice groups offer training and practice opportunities in the Soto Zen tradition and are led by Myoan Grace Schireson, an ordained Zen priest in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. Abbess Schireson’s husband, Rev. Kuzan Peter Schireson, leads the Zen & Interfaith Meditation Group in Fresno. All four groups offer a range of practice opportunities including the following:
- Regular zazen (sitting meditation), introductory classes, and intensive multi-day retreats
- One-to-one instruction, group lectures, and individual consultations with the teacher
- Teaching and practice in the spirit of the Suzuki Roshi lineage
- Common traditions with Berkeley, San Francisco, Green Gulch, and Tassajara Zen Centers
- Guidance by an ordained Zen priest and experienced lay practitioners
- Opportunity to affirm one’s faith in the Buddha Way through training and lay ordination
- Opportunity to participate in engaged Buddhism through the Prison Meditation Project
