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Tassajara Widening the Circle Capital Campaign
SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER 8/5/2012
The Tassajara Temple Gate ProjectThe Tassajara Temple Gate ProjectThe Tassajara Temple Gate ProjectThe Tassajara Temple Gate Project
To arrive at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the San Francisco Zen Center’s winter mountain monastery and
summer guest retreat center, is to step into an extraordinary, beautiful place of refuge and renewal. The
dramatic drive through the rugged Santa Lucia Mountain Range (inland from Big Sur) leaves city lights,
computers, cell phones and everyday concerns far behind. Arriving at the temple gate marks the end of this
journey and the beginning of another journey.
The Tassajara temple gate upholds the Zen tradition of providing a physical and symbolic marker of the
threshold between the secular world and the sacred. The gate calls our attention to the profound moment
when we leave our day-to-day world and step into safe, sacred space. It is an opportunity to affirm our
intention to reconnect with that which is most important and meaningful for each of us. Similarly, departing
through the gate calls our attention to the moment we consciously step back out into our everyday lives. It is
an opportunity to be grateful that an exquisite place of practice and refuge like Tassajara exists for us all to
benefit from.
The temple gate also serves the ceremonial and practical function of announcing Tassajara’s status as a Zen
Buddhist monastery. The Tassajara gate is closed for six months of the year, from late September to early
April, to hold the winter monastic practice, when up to 70 people dedicate themselves to the rigors of
traditional monastic Zen practice. The gate is open for
six months, from early April to late September,
welcoming guests to participate in Zen community
practice and retreats, unwind in the hot springs and
enjoy nurturing vegetarian meals.
There are very practical reasons for building a new gate
and building it now: the existing gate is literally falling
apart! Despite tender care over decades (it was lowered
by four feet in 2009 because of deterioration and
instability), the existing gate has come to the end of its
useful life.
Another impetus to build the new gate right away is
that we have the expertise and wisdom of master
temple builder Paul Discoe, who has offered to design
and build the new temple gate. Ordained as a Zen
priest by Suzuki Roshi, Zen Center’s founding
teacher, Paul studied architecture as a Buddhist temple
builder in Kyoto, Japan, for five years during the
1970s. He designed and built the original gate at
Tassajara, as well as the Tassajara kitchen and zendo
and the Green Gulch guest house. Paul founded
Joinery Structures to continue pursuing his passion for
Asian architecture. Joinery Structures is a design-build
studio and mill specializing in custom projects that
integrate sustainable practices, innovative design and
precision craftsmanship.
Even though the Tassajara temple gate has not yet been designed, we anticipate it will have many of the elements of this gate.
Tassajara Widening the Circle Capital Campaign
SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER 8/5/2012
Our ProgressOur ProgressOur ProgressOur Progress
With Zen Center’s support, Paul Discoe is leading a unique nine-month project during which a select group
of apprentices will work with him to design and build the new gate for Tassajara. Under his guidance, the
apprentices will learn all aspects of the process through hands-
on experience. This is an ideal format for Paul to pass on his
deep knowledge and experience to the next generation,
preserving Zen building traditions. In addition, this format
will significantly reduce Zen Center’s cost of building a new
gate for Tassajara.
The new Tassajara temple gate is expected to be completed
by Spring 2013. Our hope is to have an “Opening of the
Gate” Ceremony at Tassajara in May 2013 at the beginning
of the summer guest season.
Because of Paul Discoe’s generous contributions and his team
of volunteers, the primary costs of the new temple gate will be for materials, transportation and site work.
The budget for the project is $75,500, and the community has already raised $26,000 toward this goal.
Financial contributors to the new Tassajara temple gate will be supporting the creation of a unique and
beautiful structure that for decades to come will welcome Zen practitioners and guests to Tassajara,
supporting their transition from the secular world to the sacred world, and back again.
Widening the Circle Capital CampaignWidening the Circle Capital CampaignWidening the Circle Capital CampaignWidening the Circle Capital Campaign
Recognizing the importance of the temple gate, the San Francisco Zen Center community is coming
together to support a new gate for Tassajara. The new temple gate for Tassajara is part of Zen Center’s
Widening the Circle Capital Campaign. Through the
capital campaign, the Zen Center community is
improving our three practice centers; increasing our
capacity to develop and support outstanding teachers and
programs; fostering innovating projects that connect
people with Zen teachers, practice, and community; and
establishing an endowment that will provide a
foundation for long-term financial sustainability. All
donations will be matched by a long-time benefactor.
To learn more or contribute to the Tassajara Temple Gate Project, please contact: Anne-Marie Rosché 415-268-0296 [email protected]
“In a Buddhist temple complex, when you walk “In a Buddhist temple complex, when you walk “In a Buddhist temple complex, when you walk “In a Buddhist temple complex, when you walk
through the san mon [temple gate] you are through the san mon [temple gate] you are through the san mon [temple gate] you are through the san mon [temple gate] you are
ascending the mountain, leaving everyday ascending the mountain, leaving everyday ascending the mountain, leaving everyday ascending the mountain, leaving everyday
cause and effect behind, both physically and cause and effect behind, both physically and cause and effect behind, both physically and cause and effect behind, both physically and
spiritually. The mental transformation and the spiritually. The mental transformation and the spiritually. The mental transformation and the spiritually. The mental transformation and the
physical transformation meet at the san mon, physical transformation meet at the san mon, physical transformation meet at the san mon, physical transformation meet at the san mon,
since in Buddhism mind and body are one.”since in Buddhism mind and body are one.”since in Buddhism mind and body are one.”since in Buddhism mind and body are one.”
————Paul Discoe, Zen ArchitecturePaul Discoe, Zen ArchitecturePaul Discoe, Zen ArchitecturePaul Discoe, Zen Architecture
Current Temple Gate