Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
| Tassajara Zen Mountain Center | |
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Zendo at Tassajara
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| Basic information | |
| Location | 39171 Tassajara Road Carmel Valley, CA 93924 |
| Affiliation | Soto Zen |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://sfzc.org/tassajara/ |
| Architectural description | |
| Founder | Shunryu Suzuki |
| Completed | 1967 |
The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in the Ventana Wilderness area of the Los Padres National Forest, southeast of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, is the oldest Japanese Buddhist Sōtō Zen monastery in the United States. The Center is very isolated, more than 16 miles (26 km) from the nearest paved road, and only accessible via a narrow, steep, one-lane dirt road. During the winter months, practitioners live alone on site. During the summer months, the Center is opened to day and overnight guests. The hot springs have been developed into Japanese-style baths. It is the first Zen monastery established outside of Asia.
The name is a corruption of Tasajera, a Spanish-American word derived from an indigenous Esselen word, which means ‘place where meat is hung to dry.’"
The 126-acre mountain property surrounding the Tassajara Hot Springs was purchased by the San Francisco Zen Center in 1967 for the below-market price of $300,000 from Robert and Anna Beck. They improved the property and renamed it The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, or Zenshinji (Zen Mind Temple), during Shunryu Suzuki's tenure as its first abbot. When it was purchased in 1967, it was the first Zen monastery outside of Asia.
Tassajara is threatened by the 2016 Soberanes Fire, but has escaped damage. The Center is closed to guests for the remainder of 2016.
A practice period (ango in Japanese) denotes a period of intensive monastic practice. During the fall (September–December) and spring (January–April) practice periods, Tassajara is closed to the public. The rigorous schedule is a defining feature. Activity revolves around zazen (meditation), study, and work.
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