Tassajara Zen Center announces robust guest season to go with hot springs and glorious vegetarian food.

Just thinking about my favorite vegetarian restaurant on the planet revs up a massive appetite.

And one that's only amplified by the epic trek to reach it.

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center nestles into a mountain valley in a remote part of the Ventana Wilderness accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles braving a twisting 14-mile dirt road.

In addition to the incredible food, it enjoys hot springs, gorgeous hikes, beautiful gardens and inspiring monks.

For the upcoming public segment of the calendar year, the incentives to visit multiply, with a guest season stuffed with cooking classes, spirituality seminars and collaborations with big thinkers. 

Call it a wealth of spiritual riches.

The season runs April 30-Sept. 13, 2015, drawing Zen and meditation seekers, yoga lovers, foodies, outdoor adventurists and people looking to unplug and experience a truly relaxing environment.

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder of San Francisco Zen Center and author of the seminal Buddhist book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind established Tassajara as the first Zen training monastery outside of Japan in 1967.

Suzuki Roshi searched for a mountain temple similar to the monasteries in Japan and China, and was able to purchase Tassajara through the support of the Zen community, friends and patrons.

Today, Tassajara is internationally recognized as the most remote Zen center in the United States and beckons as a magnetic destination for Buddhist practitioners and vacationers alike.

The upcoming season will spotlight its new eco-retreat center designed with the highest standards in green development,by architect Helen Degenhardt (JSW/D Architects).  

The wider Tassajara is an eco-efficient paradise drawing a full 100 percent of its energy from solar panels and the adjacent hot springs.

On my visits I gravitate toward the incredible vegetarian cuisine, the soothing springs and the river hikes. (On the food front, check out word on the relatively new cookbook Tassajara: Dinners and Desserts.)

The Tassajara Guest Season Program Schedule 2015 gravitates toward five areas: Body and Mind, Engaging Earth, Spiritual Practice, Mindful Living and Creative Expression.

Below appears a list of the life-deepening retreats scheduled for the upcoming 2015 Guest Season; additional detailed information can be found on the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center website.

Body and Mind Retreats (Yoga, Healing, Awareness, Qi)

Zen and Swimming Dragon Tai Chi (April 30 - May 7, 2015)

-Featuring Liping Julia Zhu (Certified Qigong and Tai Chi Instructor) and Jisan Anna Thorn (Guest Program Manager, Green Gulch Farm)

Healing Art of Qigong Walking (May 7 - 11, 2015)

-Featuring Liping Julia Zhu (Certified Qigong and Tai Chi Instructor) and Jisan Anna Thorn (Guest Program Manager, Green Gulch Farm)

Aligning with Stillness: Embody Freedom and Vitality through Yoga and Zen (May 11 - 14, 2015)

-Featuring Athena Pappas (Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher) and Cloud Mountain Graham Ross (Head of Practice, Austin Zen Center)

Blown Through with Light: A Yoga and Zen Retreat (May 31 - June 4, 2015)

-Featuring Darcy Lyon (Certified Anusara Teacher and Expressive Arts Therapist) and Zenshin Greg Fain (Zen Buddhist Priest and Head of Practice, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

Enter the Dharma Gate of Repose and Bliss: A Zen Meditation and Yoga Therapeutics Retreat (June 5 - June 8, 2015)

-Featuring Lirio Ohlson (Yoga Instructor, E-RYT 500) and Zenshin Greg Fain (Zen Buddhist Priest and Head of Practice, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

The Infinite Compassion: A Tai Chi Chuan and Zen Retreat (June 8 - 11, 2015)

-Featuring Dario Doshin Girolami (Authorized Tai Chi Chuan Teacher and Founder, Centro Zen L'Arco)

Pure Mind: Yoga Practice Nourishment (June 11 - 14, 2015)

-Featuring Brian Hogencamp (Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher) and Shosan Victoria Austin (Zen Buddhist Priest, San Francisco Zen Center)

Reconnecting with the Flow of Life: A Yoga and Zen Retreat (June 15 - 18, 2015)

-Featuring Lisa Jansen (Yoga Instructor) and Shinchi Linda Galijan (Zen Buddhist Priest and Director, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

Satori, Salutations and Solstice: Opening to the Heart of Zen and Yoga (June 18 - 21, 2015)

-Featuring James Higgins (Yoga Instructor) and Unzan Mako Voelkel (Zen Buddhist Priest, Austin Zen Center)

Energy and Inquiry: The Merging Paths of Zen & Yoga (June 26 - 29, 2015)

-Featuring Rosemary Garrison (Renowned Yoga Instructor) and Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler (Soto Zen Priest)

Finding Balance: A Joyful Exploration into the Depths and Boundaries of Our Body and Mind (June 29 - July 2, 2015)

-Featuring Purusha Hickson (Hatha Yoga Instuctor) and Zenshin Greg Fain (Zen Buddhist Priest and Head of Practice, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

The Healing Power of Stillness: Restorative Yoga and Zen (July 2 - 5, 2015)

-Featuring Britt Fohrman (Iyengar and Prenatal Yoga Instructor) and Unzan Mako Voelkel (Zen Buddhist Priest, Austin Zen Center)

Deep Restoration, Deep Healing: A Zen Mind, Yoga Body Retreat (July 10 - 12, 2015)

-Featuring Samantha Ostergaard (Iyengar Yoga Instructor) and Do-On Robert Thomas (Zen Buddhist Priest and Dharma Teacher)

The Healing Power of Stillness: Restorative Yoga and Zen (July 21 - 26, 2015)

-Featuring Britt Fohrman (Iyengar and Prenatal Yoga Instructor) and Yo-on Jeremy Levie (Zen Buddhist Priest and Head of Practice, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center)

Thriving in Uncertainty: A Workshop in the Mindfulness Practice of Sensory Awareness (July 12 - 17, 2015)

-Featuring Lee Klinger Lesser (Sensory Awareness Expert)

True Body, True Self: Radical Presence through Zen and Yoga (July 17 - 21, 2015)

-Featuring Christy Brown (Yoga Instructor) and Ango Sara Tashker (Director, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center)

Stepping Back - Stepping Forth (July 26 - 31, 2015)

-Featuring Patricia Sullivan (Yoga Instructor) and Eijun Linda Cutts (Central Abbess, San Francisco Zen Center)

Vital Body - Beginner's Mind: A Zen and Vinyasa Yoga Retreat (July 31 - August 3, 2015)

-Featuring Rex Stromness (Yoga Instructor) and Shogen Danielson (Zen Buddhist Priest)

Pure Mind, Joyful Heart: Practice and Breath in Vinyasa, Kundalini and Zen (August 3 - 6, 2015)

-Featuring Ann Averbach (Founder, DiviniTree Yoga Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara), Denise Kirpal Lapides (Director of Teacher Training, DiviniTree Yoga), and Zesho Susan O'Connell (President, San Francisco Zen Center)

Long Spine, Spacious Mind: The Cultivation of Yoga and Zen (August 6 - 9, 2015)

-Featuring Jim Gallas (Yoga, Qigong, and Shiatsu Teacher) and Gendo Lucy Xiao (Zen Buddhist Priest, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

Stepping Back - Stepping Forth (August 9 - 14, 2015)

-Featuring Patricia Sullivan (Yoga Instructor) and Eijun Linda Cutts (Central Abbess, San Francisco Zen Center)

Yoga and Zen: Sitting, Settling and Turning the Light Inward (August 14 - 16, 2015)

-Featuring Christy Brown (Yoga Instructor) and Sessei Meg Levie (Zen Buddhist Priest and Life Coach)

Replenishing Your Inner Reservoir: Prajna Yoga and Zen Meditation (August 16 - 20, 2015)

-Featuring Djuna Mascall (Prajna Yoga Senior Instructor) and Jisan Anna Thorn (Guest Program Manager, Green Gulch Farm)

Balanced and Awake: Zen and Yoga to Harmonize Mind and Body (August 20 - 23, 2015)

-Featuring Letitia Bartlett (Professor, Clown, Mime, and Yoga Instructor) and Kanzan David Zimmerman (Zen Buddhist Priest and Program Director, San Francisco Zen Center)

Manifesting the Wisdom of the Body: A Zen Mind, Yoga Body Retreat (August 28 - 31, 2015)

-Featuring Samantha Ostergaard (Iyengar Yoga Instructor) and Do-On Robert Thomas (Zen Buddhist Priest and Dharma Teacher)

Bringing Yoga and Zen Home: Creating and Sustaining a Home Practice (August 31 - September 3, 2015)

-Featuring Shogen Jody Greene (Professor of Literature, Feminist Studies, and the History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz) and Shinchi Linda Galijan (Zen Buddhist Priest and Director, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

Being Grace - Finding Effortlessness in All Things: A Yoga and Zen Meditation Retreat (September 3 - 6, 2015)

-Featuring Stacie Overby (Yoga Instructor) and Cloud Mountain Graham Ross (Head of Practice, Austin Zen Center)

The Mind and Body Practice in Zen and Yoga (September 10 - 13, 2015)

-Featuring Shokuchi Deidre Carrigan (Yoga Teacher and Conference Coordinator, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center) and Ingen Breen (Zen Buddhist Priest and Member, Soto Zen Buddhist Association of America)

Engaging Earth Retreats (Nature, Wildflowers, Culinary Arts)

The Nature of Zen (April 30 - May 3, 2015)

-Featuring Steven Harper (Wilderness Guide, Author) and Leslie James (Abiding Teacher, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)

Wildflowers and Birds of Tassajara (May 7 - 10, 2015)

-Featuring Diane Renshaw (Ecologist), Daiyu Judith Randall (Zen Buddhist Priest, Assistant to the Abiding Abbott, San Francisco Zen Center), and Myo-on Gloria Lee (Zen Priest, Gardener)

The Zen of Baking (June 1 - 4, 2015)

-Featuring Rusan Dale Kent (Author, Tassajara: Dinner and Desserts) and Korin Charlie Pokorny (Zen Buddhist Priest and Chef)

Zen in the Kitchen (July 2 - 5, 2015)

-Featuring Rusan Dale Kent (Author, Tassajara: Dinner and Desserts) and Korin Charlie Pokorny (Zen Buddhist Priest and Chef)

Spiritual Practice Retreats (Buddhism, Wisdom, Interfaith)

The Path to Wholeness (June 11 - 14, 2015)

-Featuring Ryushin Paul Haller (Zen Buddhist Priest, Senior Dharma Teacher, San Francisco Zen Center)

Presenting Suzuki Roshi's Teachings (July 17 - 19, 2015)

-Featuring Sojun Mel Weitsman (Abbot, Berkeley Zen Center)

The Spirit of Practice: Christian and Zen (July 19 - 26, 2015)

-Featuring Brother David Steindl-Rast (Catholic Benedictine Monk, www.gratefulness.org) and Ryushin Paul Haller (Zen Buddhist Priest, Senior Dharma Teacher, San Francisco Zen Center)

Body and Nature: Exploring Women's Wisdom and the Natural World (August 24 - 28, 2015)

-Featuring Zenshin Florence Caplow and Reigetsu Susan Moon (Co-Authors, The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women)

Mindful Living Retreats (Visioning, Leadership, Change, Well-being)

Practice is Recovery, Recovery is Practice (May 19 - 22, 2015)

-Featuring Ryotan Cynthia Kear (Zen Buddhist Priest) and Steve Tierney (Professor of Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies)

Finding Equanimity in a Difficult Profession: A Retreat for Lawyers (May 27 - 31, 2015)

-Featuring Zenki Mary Mocine (Zen Buddhist Priest, Former Lawyer)

Know Yourself, Forget Yourself: The Mindful Leader (June 4 - 7, 2015)

-Featuring Jackie McGrath (Certified Professional Executive Coach) and Marc Lesser (CEO, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute)

Mindfulness and Zen Meditation: Opening and Closing, Like Bird Wings (June 29 - July 2, 2015)

-Featuring Nomon Tim Burnett (Zen Buddhist Priest, Guiding Teacher, Red Cedar Zen Community, and Executive Director, Mindfulness Northwest) and Lisa Hardmeyer Gray (Teacher, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction)

Embracing Change: Zen and the Art of Creating a Life You Want (July 31 - August 2, 2015)

-Featuring Keiryu Liên Shutt (Teacher, East Bay Meditation Center, Social Worker)

Real Leadership: Inspiration from the Life of the Buddha (August 10 - 13, 2015)

-Featuring Pamela Weiss (Founder and Chief Wisdom Officer of Appropriate Response)

True Person Retreat: Discovering the Life You're Meant to Live (August 20 - 23, 2015)

-Featuring Sessei Meg Levie (Zen Buddhist Priest and Life Coach)

Getting to What Matters: More Love, Less Stuff (August 28 - 31, 2015)

-Featuring Andrew Mellen (Author, Speaker, Professional Organizer) and Kanzan David Zimmerman (Zen Buddhist Priest and Program Director, San Francisco Zen Center)

Creative Expression Retreats (Visual Arts, Poetry, Music)

Loving the Mountains: A Zen Photography Retreat (May 3 - 6, 2015)

-Featuring Shundo David Haye (Zen Buddhist Priest and Director, San Francisco Zen Center)

Words Under the Words (May 22 - 27, 2015)

-Featuring Naomi Shihab Nye (Published Poet) and Ryushin Paul Haller (Zen Buddhist Priest, Senior Dharma Teacher, San Francisco Zen Center)

Meditation, Mindfulness and Songwriting (May 27 - 31, 2015)

-Featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Grammy-Nominated Country Artist), Al Staehely (Musician, Music Attorney), and Jamie Howell (Former Musician, Dharma Teacher)

Brush Mind (June 21 - 26, 2015)

-Featuring Kazuaki Tanahashi (Internationally Renowned Calligraphist)

Practicing Poetry, Practicing Compassion (July 5 - 10, 2014)

-Featuring Jane Hirshfield (Internationally Renowned Poet)

Learning To Sit, Learning To Draw, Learning To See (July 5 - 9, 2015)

-Featuring Christine Bailey (Artist, Educator, Zen Practitioner) and Furyu Nancy Schroeder (Abiding Abbess, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center)

Wild Heart Writing: Allowing the Creative through Zen (August 16 - 20, 2015)

-Featuring Cynthia Cummins (Blogger, Novelist, Former Journalist) and Laurie Senauke (Writer, Editor)