What we’re about
The Sky Creek Dharma Center ( https://skycreekdharmacenter.org ) is a non-profit, donation-based meditation center founded in 2004 that attracts a diverse group of meditators and spiritual seekers from Chico and the surrounding area. There are meditation groups meeting every Sunday through Thursday evening, and on Sunday mornings. Each of the groups are hosted and run by individual volunteers as mentioned below. We have no paid staff, and board members are not paid.
Note that these groups have been meeting for many years independent of Meetup.com, and we are cross-posting these meetings to promote them, thus signups on meetup.com do not reflect the true attendance to these events. The typical weekly attendance for each of these groups varies from 4 to 20+ people.
If you are an experienced meditator, we welcome you to our dedicated communities. Group meditation can be a powerful support for those seeking to develop and maintain a regular practice. Come explore translations of the Tao Te Ching on Sunday mornings, the Soto Zen of the Wednesday night group, the mystery of Zen koan practice on Thursday night, or the Five Mindfulness Trainings with the Monday night Thich Nhat Hanh group. If you are new to meditation, group leaders and experienced volunteers will provide basic instructions and guidance.
There is never a charge for joining us in meditation, but we accept donations to support the center. Although the groups are run by volunteers and the center has no paid staff, we do have a regular monthly mortgage and operating expenses that paid solely through voluntary donations.
Buddhism is a practice and a religion. There is a full spectrum of regular members who vary on the continuum of religiosity, some seeing meditation as a spiritual/religious practice, while others practice mindfulness meditation and see it as a purely secular activity to reduce stress and improve mental health; we welcome all!
Slowly Ripening Sangha
Monday Night 6:45 – 8:45PM. Practicing Zen Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese monk, scholar, author and poet Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. The weekly sitting group leader is Jasper Lerch. It is affiliated with Plum Village and the Order of Interbeing and its hundreds of sanghas (groups) throughout the world. See https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/thich-nhat-hanh. We meditate and socialize in accordance with the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Currently masks are optional. For your first visit, come at 6:45pm. Meditation begins promptly at 7PM. No meditation experience needed. We welcome newcomers and a brief orientation & instructions will be provided. We begin with an hour of meditation— two sitting meditations and one walking meditation. After a short fellowship break, we return to the hall for a brief ceremony, reading, or discussion of our individual practices. Group Contact: Jasper Lerch, jasperlerch@sbcglobal.net
The Heart of the Lotus Sangha
Tuesday Night 6:30 - 8:15 PM. The group leader for this meditation group is Rebecca Cook, with weekly sittings and discussion led by a rotating list of volunteers. This is a peer-led group that practices Vipassana, or Insight Meditation and is loosely affiliated with Mountain Stream Meditation Center in Nevada City. This is Vipassana in the Western Insight Tradition, typically associated with Spirit Rock Meditation Center, in Marin County, and teachers such as Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Tara Brach are often an inspiration to our sangha in the form of books chosen for dharma study. We encourage those new to the center and/or meditation to join us 15-20 minutes early.
The Chico Serene Reflection Meditation Group
Wednesday evenings 6:00 – 7:30 PM. We are affiliated with the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives and Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery near the town of Mt Shasta, California. Our practice is Soto Zen, also known as Serene Reflection Meditation. The primary group leaders are Ja'nice Hoobler and Chris Perske. Our practice includes: meditation, ceremony and study of the Dharma. Our weekly meetings consist of meditation, both sitting and walking. Afterwards we have tea, cookies and discuss some aspect of the Dharma. We cordially invite newcomers and visitors to come any time to learn about our practice. Please contact Chris at 3perskes@gmail.com or srmchico@gmail.com with questions.
Mud and Sky Sangha
Thursday evenings 7:00 – 8:30PM. The mission of our Sangha is to help one another open our minds and hearts to the Buddha nature inherent in all beings. Our practice is one of silent meditation, koan inquiry, and Dharma conversation. The use of koans – stories which provide a bridge between the spoken and the unspoken, and thereby provide a path to fuller embodiment of spiritual practice – is key in our Sangha. We begin with silent meditation, a koan having been dropped into the silence at the beginning of meditation. After silent meditation, both sitting and walking, we have a dharma talk, usually by Chris Gaffney. After the talk, we share experiences we have had in our meditation and in the conversation. Questions? Contact Chris at cgaffney@csuchico.edu (530-588-4941).
3pm - 5pm Afternoon Open House. Come visit, take a tour, discuss meditation and our groups. Check our Google calendar to confirm that there are no special events planned.
Sunday Morning
The Chico Taoist Group meets 11:00 AM-Noon Sunday to practice ongoing contemplative meditation and discuss the 81 Chapters of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching.
We welcome you to the practice. There is no right or wrong way to be in the Tao. As soon as we try to name it, it eludes us. Yet speaking and our sitting with these paradoxes, we find, helps us to drop our suffering, recognize our common humanity and to live more openly in the world. We are all seekers and guides upon this path.
Newcomers are welcome. Instruction in meditation available on request.
For further information, contact David Philhour dphilhour@csuchico.edu.
Vipassana
Sunday Evening 6:00-7:00pm. We practice Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. This is a weekly group sitting for experienced students, as no instruction is provided. Here is a short introduction on the tradition. This organization conducts donation-based 10-day silent meditation retreats in Kelseyville (Clear Lake) California. Please contact: Lee at laltier@csuchico.edu
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Meditation Group Sitting In the Zen Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh120 Three Oaks Ct, Chico, CA
Sky Creek Dharma Center meetings are being cross-posted to Meetup.com but are not centered or dependent on meetup.com signups. We typically have 4-8 people in this Monday night group, which has been continuously meeting for over 20 years now.
"Slowly Ripening Sangha", led by Jasper Lerch, is the weekly 6:45pm Monday night meditation group at Sky Creek Dharma Center located at 120 Three Oaks Ct. Chico CA 95973. The Center is a non-profit organization founded in Chico in 2004. All meetings are held on a donation basis. Feel free to email Jasper at jasperlerch@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.
Slowly Ripening Sangha practices Zen Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese monk, scholar, author and poet Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It is affiliated with the Order of Interbeing and its hundreds of sanghas throughout the world.
Meetings are Monday 6:45–8:45PM at Sky Creek Dharma Center and are informal and relaxed.
We meditate and socialize in accordance with the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Masks are optional, please be mindful if you are not well.
For your first visit, come 15 minutes early to orient. Meditation begins promptly at 7PM. No meditation experience needed. A brief orientation & instructions will be provided.
We begin with an hour of meditation— two sitting meditations and one walking meditation. After a short fellowship break, we return to the hall for a brief ceremony, reading, or discussion of our individual practices.
There is no charge for joining us in meditation, but we will have a dana (generosity) bowl out for donations.
- Meditation Group Sitting In the Zen Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh120 Three Oaks Ct, Chico, CA
Sky Creek Dharma Center meetings are being cross-posted to Meetup.com but are not centered or dependent on meetup.com signups. We typically have 4-8 people in this Monday night group, which has been continuously meeting for over 20 years now.
"Slowly Ripening Sangha", led by Jasper Lerch, is the weekly 6:45pm Monday night meditation group at Sky Creek Dharma Center located at 120 Three Oaks Ct. Chico CA 95973. The Center is a non-profit organization founded in Chico in 2004. All meetings are held on a donation basis. Feel free to email Jasper at jasperlerch@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.
Slowly Ripening Sangha practices Zen Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese monk, scholar, author and poet Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It is affiliated with the Order of Interbeing and its hundreds of sanghas throughout the world.
Meetings are Monday 6:45–8:45PM at Sky Creek Dharma Center and are informal and relaxed.
We meditate and socialize in accordance with the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Masks are optional, please be mindful if you are not well.
For your first visit, come 15 minutes early to orient. Meditation begins promptly at 7PM. No meditation experience needed. A brief orientation & instructions will be provided.
We begin with an hour of meditation— two sitting meditations and one walking meditation. After a short fellowship break, we return to the hall for a brief ceremony, reading, or discussion of our individual practices.
There is no charge for joining us in meditation, but we will have a dana (generosity) bowl out for donations.
- Meditation Group Sitting In the Zen Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh120 Three Oaks Ct, Chico, CA
Sky Creek Dharma Center meetings are being cross-posted to Meetup.com but are not centered or dependent on meetup.com signups. We typically have 4-8 people in this Monday night group, which has been continuously meeting for over 20 years now.
"Slowly Ripening Sangha", led by Jasper Lerch, is the weekly 6:45pm Monday night meditation group at Sky Creek Dharma Center located at 120 Three Oaks Ct. Chico CA 95973. The Center is a non-profit organization founded in Chico in 2004. All meetings are held on a donation basis. Feel free to email Jasper at jasperlerch@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.
Slowly Ripening Sangha practices Zen Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese monk, scholar, author and poet Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It is affiliated with the Order of Interbeing and its hundreds of sanghas throughout the world.
Meetings are Monday 6:45–8:45PM at Sky Creek Dharma Center and are informal and relaxed.
We meditate and socialize in accordance with the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Masks are optional, please be mindful if you are not well.
For your first visit, come 15 minutes early to orient. Meditation begins promptly at 7PM. No meditation experience needed. A brief orientation & instructions will be provided.
We begin with an hour of meditation— two sitting meditations and one walking meditation. After a short fellowship break, we return to the hall for a brief ceremony, reading, or discussion of our individual practices.
There is no charge for joining us in meditation, but we will have a dana (generosity) bowl out for donations.
