Volunteers Needed for the Branching Streams Conference

Branching Streams’ is the name for Dharma centers and sanghas affiliated with the San Francisco Zen Center in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki.  Branching Streams was founded to create a closer connection between these ‘sister’ centers.  Meetings of affiliates are held about every 2 years, though COVID derailed a planned 2021 conference.  

These meetings reinforce our close connection to the Suzuki Roshi teaching lineage and to each other, and create energy, develop camaraderie, and provide opportunities for mutual friendship and support.  Branching Streams has nearly 63 affiliate member sanghas in nine countries.

This year’s meeting will be held April 25th -28th at the retreat center at Radha Madhav Dham, the huge Hindu temple in Hays County. As the host sangha, Austin Zen Center has a beautiful opportunity to practice service in a myriad of ways through volunteering to help the conference run smoothly. We will also be hosting a reception for the conference attendees at AZC at the conclusion of the conference. 

Some ways that you can volunteer to support this effort include: driving attendees from the airport to the conference venue, and back; delivering supplies such as zafus and zabutons to and from the conference site; and helping to prepare food and set up/clean up for the reception at AZC. More information on how to volunteer will be forthcoming as time draws closer to the April 25th date.

Please note: to keep the conference small enough to promote an environment of heart-to-heart sharing there are a limited number of attendees allowed from each center.  Attendees from AZC will be chosen by our Head Teacher & Practice Committee from among our teachers, leaders, and long-time students. For everyone else in our sangha, we can show our support for the mission of the Branching Streams by sharing our time and talent in helping the event run smoothly. 

If you have any questions or comments about the Branching Streams Conference, please reach out to the members of the Local Logistics Committee: Choro, Karen, Pat, and Wendy (firstname@austinzencenter.org).