EGZC Fundraiser 2025

Dear Sangha and friends of Empty Gate Zen Center,

We come to you each year asking for your financial support and each year you have responded generously. It is with your (tax-exempt) financial support that we have been able to grow and nurture our Sangha. Without your generosity over the years we would not have been able build our online infrastructure or attend to the physical needs of our buildings. 

Because of your generosity we have recently been able to put a new coat of paint and re-roof our Temple in Berkeley as well as creating a beautiful pollinator garden with a walking meditation path and fountain outside our Boise Temple.

For the past few years, we have been asking for your help in replacing our aging heating and hot water systems at our Berkeley location, and we are now happy to announce that because of your generosity, we have installed a new Heat Pump system. This system provide us with heating, cooling and air circulation for our building. It was much more comfortable in the Dharma Room for our September retreat!

We now are embarking on finishing the environmental upgrade of our building by finally replacing our gas fired hot water heater and stove. We ask for your financial support again so that we may complete these infrastructure projects. In order to move from gas to electric, we need to upgrade our electrical service to 200 amps. Once that is complete, we can exchange our old gas hot water heater and stove with a modern, high efficiency electric version. We estimate the cost of these improvements to be approximately $15,000.

Please give what you can. Can you give us $108, 250, $500, or more?

Each dollar you can donate will be used to help us live our values and help us do our part to combat global warming.

Sangha Updates

We are now in the final stages of merging Cold Mountain Zen Center, located in Fairbanks Alaska, into Empty Gate Zen Center. Cold Mountain has been a sister Zen Center of Empty Gate for many years, sharing a Guiding Teacher and sitting Saturday morning practice together. For many years members of Cold Mountain have participated in retreats held by Empty Gate. Since the early 2000’s Zen Master Bon Soeng has traveled to Fairbanks annually to lead retreats. Our Abbot, Clinton Smith (who lives in Boise) began his Kwan Um practice at Cold Mountain Zen Center. Both boards have approved the merger and we are now integrating our systems and practice schedule. This merger will streamline operations for Empty Gate and for the national office of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Empty Gate Zen Center has changed so much over the past ten years. We now have three physical locations—Berkeley, Boise, and Fairbanks—along with a thriving online practice community that includes participants from many parts of the globe. Each week, more than 50 sangha members and friends join together for morning and evening practices, Dharma talks, and interviews. Our mix of one day, weekend, and week-long retreats continue to be well attended, both in person and online. In a world that often glorifies cruelty and egocentric living, our shared inquiry into true nature—asking “What am I?”—while cultivating love, compassion, and the great Bodhisattva Way, becomes an ever more important counterweight to mainstream culture.

In Memoriam

This past year, our sangha experienced two significant losses. In late 2024, Stuart Resnick—a member of Empty Gate Zen Center from 1988 to 2018—died suddenly from a recently discovered heart condition. Without Stuart’s dedication and leadership, I’m not sure Empty Gate Zen Center would exist today. He served as our longtime treasurer, balancing the books down to the penny. He sat nearly every retreat we held during those years and led Tuesday and Thursday evening practice for decades. His memorial service in May was a joyful gathering of family, friends, and longtime members of Empty Gate. 

Ed Klopfenstein, a founding member of our Boise sangha, passed away on May 20, 2025. Ed built the Boise website that helps direct people to our and other Buddhist practices within the community. He was always willing to help with any needs during our meditation or work retreats. Ed’s steady participation and leadership helped our Boise community grow, grounded in friendship and connection.

Both Stuart and Ed were shining examples of how to be part of a living, breathing sangha. They were strong practitioners and generous leaders who gave their time, energy, and financial backing, to support and grow our community.

We thank you deeply for the support you have given us in the past. With your generous financial support this year, we can complete our environmentally focused infrastructure update and ensure that all of our practitioners have a warm, comfortable, space for practice. With your help we will have done our part to help prevent the worst outcomes of climate change, for the benefit of future generations.

Clinton Smith, Abbot                         
Zen Master Bon Soeng, Guiding Teacher