Welcome

At Stanford Zen Society, our mission is to create and sustain a platform to support the Zen practice of the Stanford community. We host group meditation sessions with professional teachers twice a week in addition to other special programs. We meet in the Sanctuary Room on the third floor of Stanford Old Union (Lasuen Mall Old Union Stanford, CA 94305), and members of all religious backgrounds are welcome.

We invite you to join our weekly and special offerings. Details are as follows:

REGULAR AND RECENT EVENTS

Meditations:

Tuesdays, 7 to 8 pm: Community Silent Meditation w/ Teddy Suisman

Fridays, 4-5pm: Formal Sit w/ Zen Buddhist Chaplain Rebecca Nie

Mental Health Building Hours:

Fridays, 3-4pm: w/Juan Pablo

BCAS Bookclub:

Sundays

Special Events (Autumn 2025):

Speaker Event with Ajahn Kovilo from Clear Mountain Monastery!

Time: October 28th, 2025 7- 8 pm 

Location: CIRCLE Santuary at Old Union, 3rd floor

Title:

Wellbeing Cascading: A Buddhist DIY Guide for Getting Better at Joy

About speaker:

Ajahn Kovilo first encountered meditation through the Goenka tradition and entered the monastery in 2006, receiving full ordination from Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro at Abhayagiri Monastery in 2010. He spent the next decade training in Ajahn Chah monasteries in the U.S. and Thailand, completing all levels of the Nak-Tham Exams in Thai while there. In 2020, after a year at a Pa Auk Sayadaw monastery, he enrolled at Dharma Realm Buddhist University to study Pāli and Mahāyāna practices. Ajahn Kovilo served as the editor of Stillness Flowing and Gold Wrapped in Rags, and is the compiler/translator of Thus Should You Train Yourselves and The Wellbeing Cascade. Ajahn Kovilo now lives in Seattle, devoted to Clear Mountain full time

RSVP here !

Past Events:

Dharma talk and doughnuts with Kodo Colin

October 14, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Sanctuary Room (Stanford Old Union’s third floor (CIRCLE).
Title: Zazen is Good for Nothing
Summary: The benefits of mindfulness are well-documented and worthwhile. Yet, a pith teaching from 20th century Japan, “Zazen is Good for Nothing,” points beyond our aims of self-improvement to freedom that refuses to be grasped by the mind bent on gain.
About Speaker:
Kodo Conlin has practiced Buddhist meditation for nearly 20 years. He has trained in both the Zen and Theravada traditions, ordained as a Soto Zen priest in 2015. A graduate of Spirit Rock’s Advanced Practitioner Program and a participant in the 2021-2025 IMC Dharma Teacher Training, Kodo’s practice has included extended residential training as well as long retreats. Kodo’s inspiration is the joyful, comprehensive freedom of the heart—liberation—available through the Buddhist path.

Interfaith Laughter Yoga (February 15, 2022):

Laughing into Spring: An Interfaith Celebration of the Chinese Lantern Festival & Purim Katan with Hillel & the Buddhist Communities of Stanford.
There will be free lunch, desserts, games, and lots of laughter. 
Please join me and Hillel’s SHEFA Director, Rebecca Schisler, for a joyous, interfaith, laughter-themed lunch! We will celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival and Purim Katan, two converging holidays that share themes of light-hearted play, festivity, and welcoming the renewal of spring. Come ready to laugh, craft, and eat some yummy treats! All are welcome.

Taiji Ball Workshop Friday (May 9), 4 to 5 p.m.

Heart Chan Workshop Fridays (May 16, 23, 30): Link

Past Programs:

Workshop by Dr. Kamilah Majied

(author of Joyfully Just: Black Wisdom and Buddhist Insights for Liberated Living) on Black Contemplative Traditions (Feb 24)

Talk by Professor Paula Arai

(Author of  The Little Book of Zen Healing) on Painting Enlightenment(interpreting Buddhist paintings by twentieth-century Japanese artist Iwasaki Tsuneoi) (Feb 20)

The Wisdom of the Dharma Traditions, Every Tuesday, from noon to 1 pm

Dharmic Transformational Expressions Practical Learning Series (in collaboration with BCAS!)

Dharma is a Sanskrit term and concept shared by four of the world’s largest Asian wisdom traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Emerging from the Indian Subcontinent, these Dharma traditions both share and differentiate a significant history of linguistics, philosophy, metaphysics, and practice.  We will dive into the diverse transformational expressions these spiritual cultures have in common and explore how they can contribute to enriching your life here and now.

The practical learning series meets once a week for 1 hour, from 12-1 pm, in the Sanctuary at Old Union, starting Week 1, April 2nd. We will spend two weeks on one topic, including breathing, body works, sacred hand gestures, caring compassion, and grounding. The participants are invited to chime in and connect it to the topic discussed. Together, we can enrich our communities by fostering a deeper and well-informed understanding and appreciation of our unique paths.

Friday Meditation & Dharma Study, Every Friday 4 to 5 pm
This ongoing event is SZS’ bread and butter. We will feature open-ended group discussions of direct quotes from the Buddha in Dhammapada and 42 Chapters Sutra this quarter.
Buddha Bathing Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 10:00 am
Please bring your jolly spring self, plus some sweets and flowers to celebrate Buddha’s birthday with our annual ceremony of bathing Baby Buddha and pot-luck dessert party. In addition, a precious member of our community will formally renew her commitment to the five precepts that morning. We will send a bit more information later this week.
Zen and the Art of Art  
October 6, 2023, 3 to 5 p.m., Harmony House (516 Lomita Dr)
Dharma talk and doughnuts with Megan Rundel, Sensei
January 27, 2023, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Sanctuary Room (Stanford Old Union’s third floor (CIRCLE).
Title: It’s Alive! Zen and Effortless Freedom
About Speaker: Megan Rundel, Sensei was authorized to teach in the koan Zen tradition by Joan Sutherland, Roshi. She has practiced Zen for over 25 years; she is also a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

Megan is committed to authentic Zen practice and awakening in the midst of our complicated and messy world. More than ever our Way helps us heal dualities, cultivate a kind and open heart, and make way for inquiry into our true natures. She is a clear and caring resource on the path of freedom from unnecessary suffering.

Zen 108

The why, the what, and the how
 
One of the difficulties in deepening our practices is scheduling. It’s hard to get everyone in the CIRCLE at the same time. We hardly have any time! In response, while we will still offer our regular meditation program, we invite you to join us in 108 consecutive days of meditation on your own time.
Here’s how it works: (1) you fill out this form; (2) at some point soon, Sean, Rebecca, and I will get your 108 (sandalwood!) prayer beads and a necklace string; (3) you meditate for 108 consecutive days, for any amount of time each day, on your own time, and on your own honor; (4) each day you meditate, you string a bead onto the necklace; (5) we all celebrate our deepened practice together with a special event at the end of it.
We will launch the event this Friday as a part of Dharma and Donuts (see attachment); if you cannot be here on Friday, please do not worry! You do not need to have come to SZS to join Zen 108; you do not need to already have a practice (though you do need to want to have one!) to join Zen 108.

Getting Started:

Sitting meditation how-to by our advisor Z.M. Rebecca Nie

Get our event updates!