The road that took me to the Green Dragon Temple was as convoluted and as linear as the pilgrim’s path.
It wound down into a long but narrow property, fenced with mature eucalyptus trees. After a few more uncertain forks I ended up, eventually and inevitably, at the edge of a campus of some 20-odd buildings suited to farming, hosting and Zen monasticism.
Some of the buildings in that redwood stand were traditional Japanese. Some were Western. The most charming of them were a blended mix of the two, including the zendo or meditation hall, where the Buddha of infinite wisdom sits under rustic barn timbers in endless twilit repose.
I had arrived at the famous Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Marin. It is the third of the three locations of the San Francisco Zen Center to be established. First was the San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center, founded by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi himself (author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind) amid the endless urban bustle. Then came Tassajara, which mounted its famous bread ovens in the remote pinnacles of the Ventana wilderness.
Last came Green Gulch, the happy medium, which descends from the Green Dragon Temple to the sea in a graceful series of terraces broken by stands of cypress. There, sunburnt organic farmers chant for the relief of all beings as they cultivate their green valley.
In many respects, Green Gulch remains unchanged from the time of its establishment and early heyday in the mid-’70s. Then again, it is poised for a transformation: The gradual generational turnover of its senior leadership and monastics became precipitous with the recent opening of Enso Village—the Zen-inspired retirement village in Healdsburg. There are now numerous opportunities for internal advancement and the recruitment of young blood.
It was to participate in this Renaissance reawakening of Green Gulch that Sessei Meg Levie returned to take up the position of “head of practice.”
As we sat together in the restless shade of a stand of bamboo, Sessei openly pondered the new potential of the center to serve the wider community and the world with a quiet excitement. I found her to be a fine embodiment of her own peaceful doctrine. Sessei is a Dharma name meaning “embracing life.”
Cincinnatus Hibbard: What message or answer does Zen Buddhism have for us in these times of change and turmoil?
Sessei Meg Levie: There is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, and there is a lot of suffering. Zen offers a path of settling down and opening up to a bigger view—of whom we really are beyond our limited, individual stories, and to the deep interconnectedness of life. Understanding that no one really is “other” naturally leads to greater empathy and kindness, and less fear.
When you realize also that everything in life changes and there’s nothing permanent to hold on to, including ourselves, it creates the possibility of being fully in this moment, right now, in all its beauty and aliveness, even in the midst of difficulty.
I appreciate that you develop this awareness in zazen sitting meditation. But again, your center emphasizes hard farm work. How do you access it in your working life?
Work practice has a long tradition in Zen. It’s about bringing awareness to what you are doing in each moment and remembering your intention. If what you care about is serving others and cultivating clarity in your own mind and heart, then whatever you are doing becomes Zen practice.
Learn more at linktr.ee/GreenGulchZen.
