About us
In 1962 and 1963, a small group of Zen practitioners coalesced around visits that Hakuun Yasutani Roshi made to the Washington area to teach and lead retreats. Soon after, several of Yasutani's students began sitting regularly in a home in Accokeek, Maryland. In 1971, the zendo moved to 1717 P Street NW in Washington, the home of Norman Hoegberg, who led the group for many years. In 1972, the group was officially dedicated and named Ka Shin Zendo (Flowering Heart/Mind Zendo; the kanji characters on our home page read "ka shin"). Since the 1980s, the zendo has been located the Takoma section of Washington, then Chevy Chase, and now Takoma Park.
We are a group of lay practitioners with many years of collective experience with various teachers from the Japanese Rinzai and Soto schools of Zen. We emphasize a consistent, focused zazen practice based on traditional Zen Buddhist principles. We welcome beginners, experienced Zen students, and Buddhist practitioners from different traditions. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit/religious organization and accept electronic donations via Venmo, or by cash or check. For more on donations see our schedule page. Questions? Please email us or visit.
We are a group of lay practitioners with many years of collective experience with various teachers from the Japanese Rinzai and Soto schools of Zen. We emphasize a consistent, focused zazen practice based on traditional Zen Buddhist principles. We welcome beginners, experienced Zen students, and Buddhist practitioners from different traditions. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit/religious organization and accept electronic donations via Venmo, or by cash or check. For more on donations see our schedule page. Questions? Please email us or visit.