dharma.

zen centers I've found helpful.

• Dharma Field Learning and Meditation Center in Minneapolis, MN. I regard Steve Hagen as my teacher, I regard Dharma Field as my home sangha. The website, specifically the podcasts, have been vital to my practice. I would not be the zen student I am today without the Dharma Field website. I sat my second sesshin here in October of 2007.
• The Friends of Western Buddhist Order in NYC is not a zen community but they welcome all. The beginning meditation classes here are excellent for people completely new to meditation. If you are in NYC and want to learn to meditation and basic buddhism from friendly, unpretentious people, this is a great resource.
• Ordinary Mind Austin is my "zendo away from my zendo" in Austin, Texas. I recommend it for newcomers. They are mindful, kind and welcoming.
• Ordinary Mind NYC   Barry Magid is the teacher. He is also a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. If you tread the territory between zen and psychotherapy, either as a client or a therapist, Barry's writing deserves your attention. If you are curious about how zen buddhism specifically interdepends with psychotherapeutic models and Greek Classical archetypes, there is a lot of rich material in Barry's teachings to work with.
• San Francisco Zen Center, the center that Shunryu Suzuki Roshi established in the US. I sat my first sesshin at the City Center, it was where I really took the empty-handed leap, and it will always be a little bit of home for me. They have a very active organization and there's a lot happening on the website.
• Sanshin Zen Community. The head teacher here is Shohaku Okumura. Rev. Okumura is certainly the most prominent and accessible contemporary scholar of Dogen available to English speakers. I highly recommend his Genzo-e retreats. He teaches as often as a guest in centers around the country as he does at Sanshinji.