Soto Zen center

An American Soto Zen center: an independent sangha in the Zen school of Dogen, whose practice is shikantaza, just sitting. The pattern is the convert center that grew from Shunryu Suzuki's San Francisco Zen Center and the other lineages that came to America in the 1960s and 70s; most are small, in a house, a storefront, or a rented room, and the Japanese American Soto temples, which work more like the Buddhist Churches of America, aren't described here. The schedule is daily, early, and quiet: zazen at dawn and at dusk, facing the wall on zafu and zabuton in the zendo, with a short service of chanting and bows, and once a week the main program, two periods of zazen, a service, and the teacher's dharma talk (on Sunday mornings at many centers, Saturday at San Francisco). There is no music, only the han, bells, clappers, and the wooden fish; shoes come off at the door; the kitchen is vegetarian. Retreats are the big events: sesshin of one to seven days, Rohatsu in December, and practice periods at residential centers. A center is its own nonprofit, with a board and a guiding teacher (a priest who has received dharma transmission, addressed as Sensei, or Roshi when senior), often unpaid or on a modest stipend, chosen by the board or the sangha; there is no wider body with authority, only the lineages and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of priests. Members pay tiered dues with no one turned away, and fees for retreats; commitment is marked by jukai, receiving the precepts. Women priests and abbots are common, priests may marry, and centers are liberal and welcoming. Practice varies widely from center to center.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Buddhism
Its words	Zen center, Zen center, zendo; the teacher leads the sitting; the dharma talk; Sunday; the sutras
Worship	meditation focus, reserved, high formality (1.00 of 1); seated on floor
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant expected; song leader discouraged; recorded discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	soto zen; full observance; fasts none
Leans	liberal on moral questions, liberal on economic ones
Polity	congregational; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, bivocational, trained by apprenticeship; marriage any
Belonging	moderate commitment, none discipline, admitted by board
Giving	tithing not emphasised; collected by dues, boxes, online; also rentals
Way of life	alcohol moderation, dress casual, sabbath relaxed, meat vegetarian

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	9:00 am	Zazen and dharma talk	the teacher	expected
Every day but Sunday	5:40 am	Morning zazen (short, and plays quickly: people come 8% as often as to a main service)	the laity	expected
Monday to Friday	5:40 pm	Evening zazen (short, and plays quickly: people come 12% as often as to a main service)	the laity	expected

Leader: a teacher. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the Zen center holds a Lay-led practice in place of its own, led by the laity, which costs everyone at it 0.04; on sabbatical a supply teacher stands in ($800 a month). The short daily services go on whether or not anyone leads them, and move no one's satisfaction.
Its table: vegetarian: meals cost 0.85× as much.

Rites

Jukai (on request, +0.03 to those there, asked for 0.04 times a year by a household, 60 minutes): Receiving the precepts: after a year or more of practice and with the teacher's permission, a student sews a rakusu (the small robe worn over the chest) by hand, then receives the sixteen bodhisattva precepts and a dharma name from the teacher in a ceremony before the sangha.
Hanamatsuri (yearly, +0.025 to those there): The Buddha's birthday, the flower festival: a small image of the infant Buddha stands in a shrine of flowers (the hanamido), and everyone, children first, pours sweet tea over it with a ladle.
Memorial service for the dead (on request, +0.015 to those there): Chanting for someone who has died: on the seventh days after a death through the forty-ninth, and on the anniversaries after, the family comes before the altar, the names are read, incense, tea, and food are offered, and the merit is dedicated to the one who died. The family gives the temple an offering.
Jizo ceremony (on request, +0.02 to those there, asked for 0.02 times a year by a household, 45 minutes): A quiet ceremony in the garden for children who have died, before or after birth: parents sew small bibs or make offerings for Jizo, the bodhisattva who protects children and travellers, and the priests chant.
Buddhist wedding (on request, +0.02 to those there): A couple marries before the Buddha: they offer incense together, exchange vows and rings (and, in Japanese temples, the beads of the onenju) before the teacher, who chants and gives them a short talk.

Joining

Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 8 weeks.
Joining age: 18.
Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); friends; received by its board.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the dana, by dues, boxes, and giving online. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
Dues: each November member households take up their dues, about 70% of what they could give (±15%), with the chance a pledge would be made (0.9 × engagement), and pay them monthly, nearly always; regulars who haven't joined pay none, so membership is most of the income.
Renting space: its congregations are known for it, so tenants pay 15% more.
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: nothing: it has no wider body.

The teacher, the staff, and who decides

How the teacher comes: advertised and called: the board of directors votes, consulting the members.
Paid: part time, alongside other work (a bivocational leader).
Candidates: three apply; trained by apprenticeship (less skilled; they ask 85%); women among them (about a third); most married.
Tenure: settled, then may be called elsewhere; the associate succeeds at once.
Ranks: Shuso (head student), Osho (dharma transmission), Roshi; a candidate holds one by skill, and rises with the years.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational teacher ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Associate teacher ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Tanto (head of practice) ($6,000–$20,000; cares for 40 more)
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Zen center secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the board of directors (deciding, over everything).
Renovations: The members vote.
New construction: The members vote.
Calling a leader: The board of directors votes, consulting the members.
Who votes: members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Hospital and prison chaplaincy, Meditation for beginners, Sesshin.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Dance classes, Parties and receptions.
Outreach: invitation Sunday (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): Through the fence.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required Buddha imageThe Buddha's image sits at the front of the hall, with offerings of light, flowers, and incense.
required Meditation cushionsZazen is sat on a zafu on its zabuton, in rows facing the wall or the hall.
expected Incense burnerIncense is offered before the altar at every service.
expected Shoe rackShoes come off at the door of the hall, onto racks.
discouraged BannerBanners are not part of this tradition's worship space.
discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged National flagThis tradition keeps the nation's symbols out of worship.
discouraged Oak pewSitting meditation is on the floor; a few chairs serve those who can't.
discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick -0.012; Modern synagogue +0.006; Gurdwara +0.012; Japanese temple +0.024; Islamic +0.03; Shinto shrine +0.03; Chinese temple +0.036; Dravidian temple +0.042; Nagara temple +0.042; Thai temple +0.042; Jain marble +0.048; Gothic +0.054.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in their seasons, the bon lanterns and vesak lanterns are worth up to ±0.040 (missing them, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
The dharma talk lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the teacher's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
The daily services move no one's satisfaction: no offering, sermon, or welcome; people come one by one, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five.

How each dharma talk lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Racial Justice & Reconciliation+0.06
Radical Inclusion+0.06
Social Justice Call+0.06
Care for Creation+0.04
Healing for All+0.04
Interfaith Understanding+0.04
Reading Scripture in Context+0.04
Swords into Ploughshares+0.04
Welcome the Stranger+0.04
Compassion for All Beings+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Impermanence+0.015
Interdependence+0.015
Mindfulness in Daily Life+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
Suffering and Its End+0.015
The Noble Eightfold Path+0.015
Faith & Family-0.05
Faith of Our Fathers-0.05
Resisting Temptation-0.05
The Five Precepts-0.05
Sanctity of Life-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+1
Meditation cushions	+0.5	required Zazen is sat on a zafu on its zabuton, in rows facing the wall or the hall.
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit	discouraged Sitting meditation is on the floor; a few chairs serve those who can't.
Row of chairs	-1
Liturgical furniture
Alms bowls	no fit
Buddha image	+0.5	required The Buddha's image sits at the front of the hall, with offerings of light, flowers, and incense.
Butsudan with the Gohonzon	0
Columbarium niches	+1
Incense burner	+0.5	expected Incense is offered before the altar at every service.
Lectern	no fit
Onaijin altar	0
Pulpit	no fit
Three Buddhas	0
Music
Drum kit	-1	discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	-1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Kansho	0
Mokugyo	+1
Pipe organ	0	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	-1
Taiko	0
Temple bell	0
Upright piano	-1	discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Decor
Ancestor tablets	0
Banner	-1	discouraged Banners are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Bon lanterns	0
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+1
Guanyin statue	0
Lamps of brightness	0
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	-1	discouraged This tradition keeps the nation's symbols out of worship.
New Year couplets	0
Pagoda	0
Red lanterns	0
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	+1
Stupa	0
Thangka	0
Vesak lanterns	0
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Amulet counter	0
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	+1
Projection screen	-1
Shoe rack	+0.5	expected Shoes come off at the door of the hall, onto racks.
Vestment cabinet	+1
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Guardian lions	0
Hedge	no fit
Paifang	0
Playground	no fit
Prayer wheels	0
Shade tree	no fit
Temple censer	0

Sources

Soto Zen Buddhist Association (link)
SZBA Membership (link)
San Francisco Zen Center, Wikipedia (link)
Daily Schedule at City Center, SFZC (link)
Zendo Etiquette, North Carolina Zen Center (link)
Wearing Buddha's Robe: the Rakusu, SFZC blog (link)
Zen Center of Philadelphia, membership (link)
Jizo Ceremony for Children Who Have Died, Berkeley Zen Center (link)