Phyllis and I were lucky earlier this week to spend a few hours at Green Gulch Farm.  Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, also known as Green Dragon Temple (Soryu-ji), is a Buddhist practice center in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition offering training in Zen meditation and ordinary work, and is part of the larger San Francisco Zen Center that also includes the Tassajara retreat.

From the cluster of buildings at the center of the Green Gulch community we walked down to the ocean through extensive gardens. The atmosphere was dense with the fog that often pervades coastal northern California. We made a loop and returned, noting well-maintained and handcrafted details throughout our excursion.

The Green Gulch valley borders the heart of the gorgeous scenery of the Marin Headlands. It’s amazing to feel like one has vanished into another world and a distant era when one is in actuality so close to the major metropolis of San Francisco.

On our way back out to the “real world” I snapped this image of diverging roads in the wood. Which path would you take? I know I always seem to follow the road that is less travelled.

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