“Enso village,” in Sonoma County, will have 220 apartments, a meditation hall, and a vegetarian bistro.
San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) has announced a “Zen-inspired” continuing care retirement community in Northern California. The project, called Enso Village, A Kendal Affiliate, a senior living provider based in Pennsylvania.
The project is in the final stages of the approval process with the city of Healdsburg. Enso Village plans to offer 220 apartments for independent living, 24 for assisted living and 30 for memory support. The Village is estimated to cost $300 million to complete.
SFZC will provide a variety of special services to residents of the retirement facility, including hospice services from Zen Hospice Project, a zendo meditation hall, and a bistro operated by Greens, a popular vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco run by the Zen Center.
“Enso Village will offer daily meditation in our zendo, and dharma teachings in our community hall,” a representative of San Francisco Zen Center told Lion’s Roar. “Since there will be around 20 retired San Francisco Zen Center Teachers in residence, we expect that they will be available for practice discussion with those who are interested.”
Zen and elder care are a particularly good fit, said the representative, because “it is about turning towards what is happening, instead of perpetually distracting ourselves from inevitable sensations, and thoughts that arise with aging. If we do not stay present with whatever arises, we will not be able to experience fully the joy of the awareness of the finiteness of our human lives.”
Though Enso Village is only in the early stages of development, there is already significant interest in the project.
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