Beginner's Mind Zen Center

The Story So Far

On Lasaine Avenue in a quiet residential stretch near California State University, Northridge, a small neighborhood zendo calls a house-like address its practice space. The public record places Beginner's Mind Zen Center at 9325 Lasaine Ave, and the center appears to serve people who want a regular, low-friction way to practice Soto Zen meditation without formal membership.

The center's own site and pages describe it as "The Zen House," started in 2003 by Zen Priests Peter and Jane Schneider, long-time students in the Shunryu Suzuki lineage. The public materials point toward a community that mixes daily sittings, weekend dharma talks and occasional multi-day intensive retreats. The teachers named on the site are presented as experienced practitioners; their biographies and the center's affiliation with Branching Streams and the San Francisco Zen Center suggest a practice framed by a particular Soto tradition.

This draft is built from the address, the center's website, and directory details. It is easy to imagine early-morning arrivals heading in for zazen, or neighbors dropping by on Saturday for a talk; a fuller, human account would come from people who show up regularly and from the teachers themselves.

What This Place Seems To Offer The Neighborhood

Beginner's Mind appears to be a neighborhood practice space aimed at both newcomers and continuing practitioners. The schedule on the website shows weekday morning sittings and an evening practice with discussion, plus a Saturday program that pairs seated meditation with a dharma talk and service. That rhythm suggests a place that fits into both commuters' early routines and the weekend lives of people seeking deeper study.

Beyond weekly practice the center lists one-day zazenkai events and longer sesshins (multi-day retreats), and it hosts talks and study groups such as a Zen book club. The site also notes the option to join sessions online, which may make the zendo accessible to people who cannot attend in person. The public pages mention a reliance on donations and an organizational status as a nonprofit, which hints at volunteer support, small-group intimacy, and the usual financial fragility of neighborhood spiritual spaces.

A visit could reveal how a typical sitting is led, who arrives most mornings, and how the center balances newcomers' questions with the needs of long-term students. The center's ties to the Suzuki-roshi lineage suggest a particular tone of instruction; an on-the-record conversation with the teachers would clarify what that lineage means in daily practice here.

Practical Details

• Address: 9325 Lasaine Ave, Northridge, CA 91325
• Phone: (818) 620-0455 (listed on the center's contact page)
• Website: https://www.beginnersmindzencenter.org/
• Programs noted on the site: weekday zazen (morning and evening sessions), Saturday zazen plus dharma talk and service, zazenkai (one-day retreats), sesshin (multi-day retreats), dharma talks, and a Zen book club
• Online access: the center offers Zoom participation for many events (see the website for current join links and details)

Follow-Up Questions

• What drew Peter and Jane Schneider to open a zendo on this block, and how did the place evolve since 2003?
• Who shows up most often — students from CSUN, neighborhood residents, commuters — and how do their needs differ?
• How does the center support itself now, and what changed after the COVID period the site mentions?
• What does "beginner's mind" mean to the teachers here, in practical terms, when someone walks in for their first sitting?
• How are retreats and longer practices staffed and run; who helps keep the daily schedule going?

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