Ocean Gate Zen Center is a community temple in the Sōtō Zen tradition, the second largest Buddhist denomination in Japan. Founded by the great master Eihei Dogen Zenji in the 13th century; there are Sōtō Zen temples and communities worldwide.

Sōtō Zen is a living tradition, handed down, warm-hand-to-warm-hand, through generations, and across cultures to be realized in our ordinary life with others. Our Guiding Teachers, Rev. Jaku Kinst and Rev. Shinshu Roberts, are lineage holders in this tradition through their teacher Rev. Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi and his teacher Rev. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, the founder of San Francisco Zen Center.

There is joy and liveliness in this Way, an appreciation for the beauty of this world, and respect and care for all beings. We honor the innate capacity of all beings to realize their inherent wisdom and compassion.

In a welcoming and inclusive environment, we offer the teachings and practices of Sōtō Zen to Santa Cruz’s South Side, Capitola, Soquel, Aptos, and the wider Santa Cruz area. We offer zazen (meditation), dharma talks, study and classes, ceremony, other practice opportunities, and outreach to the wider community.  At our temple, everyone is welcome to come for a dharma talk, join us for zazen, a class, or group, or spend a lifetime in practice.

Grounded in zazen (sitting meditation) and offering many paths and ways to encounter the teachings, our practice opens a way to live a life of wisdom, compassion, and generosity together with others.

It is our hope that all of us will learn the art of compassion and skillful interaction with self and other through dedication to the Buddha’s Way.

Important things to know about Ocean Gate Zen Center:

• Our doors are wide open, and all people are warmly invited to enter and discover the teaching and practices of Sōtō Zen with us, in a welcoming and inclusive environment.

• Since we opened our doors, we have relied on the generosity of those who have found meaning, peace, and path of practice here. We offer all dharma programs free of charge and welcome donations of any amount. (For more on the practice of supporting our temple see Stewardship.)

• Ours is a tradition that values and honors inquiry and questioning. At Ocean Gate, all questions are respected, welcomed, and encouraged. We recognize that everyone grows in such an environment.

• We understand and respect that engagement with the teachings and the practice can take many diverse forms and invite and support each of us to discover how the practice unfolds in our own lives.

• Encountering the Dharma in community is central to our Way. The practice of community is the practice of mutual respect and care, both within and beyond the temple sangha, and we value and encourage service to the wider community both individually and as a sangha.

• We respect the living tradition of Sōtō Zen, by maintaining it and adapting it in order to acknowledge and respond to our lives in the 21st century.

Ocean Gate Zen Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit religious organization founded in 2007.