Our zendo is at 113 New Street. New Street is anything but new. Many of the homes on this one-block, tree-lined street date from the 1800's, and this small enclave is a quiet oasis situated on the edge of busy downtown Santa Cruz.
The house next door is a Santa Cruz Historical Site, and was built about 1873. The landscape for the entire street seems as if it were carved out of the late 1800's. Timeless. Our Zen Center is a small stucco building with a red-tiled roof. For many years it was the Kali Ray Yoga Center and it even had a serene feel to it before we moved in. We don't use the handsome red front door because it opens directly into our zendo. Rather, we take the sidewalk along the side of the building, through the tall yellow gate and around to the small porch and the second door. The "back" door is actually our "front" door.
We are just a little over two blocks west of Pacific Avenue, near the Nickelodeon Theatre and the Calvary Episcopal Church. The Baptist church is around the corner on Center Street and we can sometimes hear them singing. The Boys' and Girls' Club is across New street, and we can often hear them swimming. It's a perfect location for an everyday practice--at the heart of town, and accessible, but quiet.
Sunday morning is the loveliest time to sit at our zendo. It's the quietest time of the whole week, downtown parking is easy, the whole city is settled down more than it is at any other time of the week. And Sunday morning is traditionally, in our culture, a time for pausing, a time for perhaps turning our attention in a more spiritual direction. It can help us set out intentions for the coming week, it can help us choose Mindfulness & Stillness in a much more focused way. It is a naturally sacred time for us. it can be a way to remember to begin again, in a much more conscious manner. Starting August 2010, we will hold our weekly meditation on Sunday mornings.
