Best Monastery Oakland Near Me

4worldlovers: Whoever you are – friend, oblate, guest or seeker – you are welcome to participate in our journey of faith, expressed in our daily liturgical prayer, meditation, Eucharist, and on other occasions when we gather to celebrate the creative action of God’s love in our hearts, community, city, and planet Earth.

We, Camaldolese Benedictine monks, are part of the great river of the monastic tradition that flows through all ages and spiritual paths, and has been nourished by the Benedictine Christian experience of Saint Benedict (sixth century), and renewed by the charism of Saint Romuald, an eleventh century Italian monk. In his existence he integrated what has become the characteristic of the living Camaldolese tradition: community, solitude, and evangelizing forms of life.

Incarnation Monastery is located in the Berkeley Hills just North of the University of California and the Graduate Theological Union. It is a quiet space and guests are welcome and encouraged to join in the prayer of the monastic community if they so desire. Each guest room, with its own balcony, enjoys a beautiful view of the whole San Francisco Bay. Adjacent to the Monastery is a lovely public park. Just a short distance away is the Graduate Theological Union, a remarkable ecumenical and inter-faith experience bonding nine seminaries (Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Dominican, Franciscan, Jesuit, Unitarian and interdenominational), together with Orthodox, Judaic, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist Institutes. The Chaplaincy Institute is also very close by.

Have you considered an urban retreat? Incarnation Priory offers a space in the heart of Berkeley. Your retreat can be structured around the Divine Office recited daily in the chapel. You can combine silence and meditation with walks around our charming North Berkeley neighborhood.

Berkeley and the Bay Area are unmatched for music, dance, art, literature, and other cultural expressions. Why not recreate yourself with a cultural retreat linked to the prayer and hospitality of the monastery? Are you visiting one of the seminaries in the Graduate Theological Union? The Chaplaincy Institute? The Berkeley campus? You might consider a stay at our nearby Incarnation Monastery. And be sure to visit nearby Tilden Park.

Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms — never leave it.

If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind.

And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more.

Realize above all that you are in God’s presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor.

Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him.

4worldlovers: If you are inclined to give a donation to the Carmelite Sisters, you may do so through the Diocese of Oakland. If you “click” on the image at the bottom of this paragraph, you will be taken directly to the secure Diocesan web page that facilitates on-line contributions.


Click on the files, below, to hear parts of the liturgy and Sister’s declaration of vows.

4worldlovers: Kojin-an means "Good People Hermitage". It's a second home to many people committed to bringing the spirit of Zen practice into daily their lives. This humble temple was built similarly to neighborhood and family temples all over Japan. It's a lovely space to practice within in the company of friends. You have our warmest invitation to join us and experience Zen through meditation (known as zazen) and in the traditional Japanese arts of calligraphy, tea ceremony, and enjoying the company of good people.


Shikantaza or “just sitting” emphasizes returning to proper posture, breath, and awareness moment by moment.

For several decades the Sunday morning Zazenkai, or "sitting group", has been the warm heart of practice at Kojin An. We sit Zazen, with the option of one or two 40 minute periods of sitting, followed by a brief formal service reciting the Great Heart Sutra, zendo cleaning, and ending with informal tea and conversation.


The way of tea provides a bridge between an internal practice, like Zazen, and our external relationships with people and objects. Tea focuses the mind in the present moment, in “ichi go ichi e” a unique meeting once in a lifetime. Tea class provides a bridge between the material and spiritual world, between the abstract and the pragmatic, between people and wider nature. It is a venue to appreciate beautiful works of art and share warm social interactions.


The Kojin An Sangha holds practice and lessons in traditional Japanese brush calligraphy most Saturdays. Usually taught by the accomplished Yoko Muroga sensei who has been practicing daily for many years. Both kanji and hiragana are practiced in a quiet and relaxed setting. A basic literacy in Japanese may be helpful, though not necessary.


Occasionally workshops are also held in Sumi-e painting, and in Shakyo sutra copying.

Not all residents on the property are involved in temple activities and we ask that their privacy at home is respected. Because we are not a strictly public space we kindly ask that new visitors contact us prior to their first visit. We also ask that people do not visit outside of scheduled practice times without previous arrangements.

Kojin-an has a warm community the atmosphere is rigorous and deep, yet open and friendly. Our sangha is led by Gengo and Yoshi Akiba who share a global vision of the dharma. For decades they have created venues for the like-minded to come together.

Rev. Gengo Akiba is an Eiheiji-trained Soto Zen priest who has participated in and supported Zen practice across the US, Japan, and Europe.

Ms. Yoshi Akiba is a spiritual-interpretive dancer, a multidisciplinary artist, a licensed teacher in the Omotesenke Way of Tea, the eponymous founder of Yoshi's jazz club, and co-founder of the educational nonprofit 51Oakland.

The Tenpyozan project is envisioned as a place for students of all the various lineages of Soto Zen to come together to practice. It will be a laboratory for the continuing process of transmission, translation, and adaptation. The project is supported by Zen teachers and practitioners from around the world. The buildings are currently under construction three hours drive North of San Francisco.