Bay Zen Center

Bay Zen Center is an Oakland Zen practice community grounded in the view that everyday life itself is the field of practice. The center supports people seeking to cultivate meditation with openness, clarity, and compassionate action, integrating Zen with daily living and shared ethical responsibility. Its introductory one-hour class helps newcomers establish the foundations of practice through instruction in sitting posture, mindfulness of breathing, awareness of body sensations, and attention to thoughts and emotions, along with guided meditation and practical support for developing a regular practice. Bay Zen Center also emphasizes the forms, procedures, and mutual care that sustain sangha life. Its lineage is closely associated with Diane Eshin Rizzetto, Abbess Emeritus, who received Dharma Transmission from Charlotte Joko Beck in 1994 and became the center’s teacher.