Facing the Mountain Zen Group · Kōgakuji

Privacy and cookies

We try to collect as little information as possible and to be plain about the information we do receive. We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.

This policy describes the public website, our announcements mailing list, online community, contact email, and donation services.

Last updated July 17, 2026.

The short version

We do not sell or rent your personal information.
The public website does not use advertising cookies or behavioral analytics.
We receive information you choose to provide when you email us, join the announcements list, make a donation, or use the online community.
Our hosting and service providers may process limited technical information needed to deliver, secure, and operate their services.

Information you choose to give us

Email and practice inquiries

When you email us, we receive your email address and whatever information you include in your message. We use it to answer your question, arrange practice-related communication, or carry out the request you made.

Announcements mailing list

When you subscribe, we collect your email address and any other information you voluntarily provide through the signup form. We use this information only to send practice announcements, event information, and occasional sangha news.

When the announcements form is enabled, we will use Zeffy to manage subscriptions and deliver messages. Zeffy will process subscriber information on our behalf and may record operational information needed to provide the service. Every announcement will include an unsubscribe link.

Donations

If you make an online donation, our payment provider processes the payment details needed to complete the transaction. Facing the Mountain may receive information such as your name, email address, donation amount, date, and transaction reference. We do not intend to receive or store full payment-card details on this website.

Online community

Our invite-based community forum uses Discourse. If you create an account, the forum stores the account information you provide and the topics, replies, or other content you choose to post. We use this information to operate and moderate the community, support practice, and maintain the safety and security of the forum.

Forum content is shared according to the visibility of the space in which it is posted. Please do not place private or sensitive information in a public or broadly visible discussion.

Cookies and technical information

Cookies are small pieces of data that a website can store in your browser. They may be used for necessary functions such as keeping you signed in, or for optional purposes such as analytics and advertising.

The public Facing the Mountain website does not set advertising or behavioral-tracking cookies. Our Discourse community uses functional cookies needed for account registration, login, session security, and user preferences. Other providers, including our mailing-list and payment services, may use their own cookies when you interact with their forms or pages.

Like nearly all web hosting systems, our hosting and infrastructure providers may temporarily process standard connection information, such as an IP address, requested page, browser information, date, and time. This information is used to deliver the site, diagnose problems, and protect the service. We do not use it to build advertising profiles about visitors.

This site currently loads its Montserrat and Vollkorn typefaces through Google Fonts. Your browser therefore contacts Google to request those files. We do not use Google Analytics.

Photographs

This website includes photographs of actual Facing the Mountain practices, ceremonies, retreats, and community activities. We use photographs according to our sangha’s consent practices and try to represent people with care.

If you appear in a photograph and would like us to review, correct, or remove it, please contact us.

How we use and retain information

We use personal information only for the purpose for which it was provided, for the ordinary administration of the sangha, or when reasonably necessary for security, accounting, legal compliance, or the protection of our community.

We keep information only as long as it remains reasonably useful for those purposes. Some limited records may be retained to honor an unsubscribe request, preserve community moderation records, or meet accounting and legal obligations.

We may disclose information when required by law or when reasonably necessary to protect a person, the sangha, or the security of our services. We do not disclose personal information for third-party advertising.

Your choices

You can unsubscribe from announcements at any time by using the link included in each message. Community members can review and update much of their account information through the forum.

You may also ask us to review, correct, or delete personal information that we control, subject to information we reasonably need to retain for security, legal, or administrative purposes.