About
Tenzen David Zimmerman is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center since 1999 and spent eight years at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where he served as monastery director. He received Zen priest ordination from Teah Strozer in 2006 and Dharma Transmission in 2018. He holds a Certificate of Zen Ministry from the Shogaku Zen Institute. Zimmerman currently serves as Central Abbot at SFZC and previously held positions including Abiding Abbot of City Center, Head of Practice, and programs director. He leads retreats, workshops, and classes, with particular focus on depression and anxiety. He is a co-facilitator of Queer Dharma and serves on SFZC's Promoting Inclusivity & Equity Committee.
Teaching focus
Tenzen David Zimmerman's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. Several threads come up: dharma for LGBTQ practitioners;. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Tenzen David Zimmerman works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include anxiety, retreat, LGBTQ+. The bigger move Tenzen David Zimmerman keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Tenzen David Zimmerman's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Tenzen David Zimmerman's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Tenzen David Zimmerman teaches in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. The teaching home is San Francisco Zen Center. From the teacher's own profile: Rev. Tenzen David Zimmerman has been practicing Soto Zen since the early 90s, and has lived and practiced at San Francisco Zen Center since 1999. He was ordained as a Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi by Teah Strozer in 2006 and received Dharma Transmission from her in 2018. David spent eight years at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where he held a number of positions, including monastery director. Prior to his current role as SFZC's Central Abbot, David served as Abiding Abbot of City Center; he has also served as the Tanto (Head of Practice), programs director, and corporate secretary. David has a Certificate of Zen Ministry through the Shogaku Zen Institute/Zen Priest Training Seminary, serves on the SFZC Promoting Inclusivity & Equity Committee, and is a co-facilitator of Queer Dharma. He regularly leads retreats, workshops, and classes at SFZC and other Dharma centers, particularly on transforming depression and anxiety. In a Zen container, what Tenzen David Zimmerman offers is steady, mostly silent practice with short pointed teachings. The form is the teaching as much as the words are. Sitting, walking, work practice, and the relationship with a teacher all carry weight. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Tenzen David Zimmerman's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Tenzen David Zimmerman teaches as a monastic teacher in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is San Francisco Zen Center, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Zen lineage frame here, where stated, is what authorizes a teacher to lead practice, and the source page usually names the dharma teacher or root teacher when relevant.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Tenzen David Zimmerman, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. Retreats are part of the offering, usually a few days to a week, mostly silent. The container is shaped by San Francisco Zen Center, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
