San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks
Alle afleveringen
109 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Untangling the Tangle
3 november 2026 · 40 min
Given by Myoju Erin Merk at City Center on September 19th, 2026 Lees meer
Myoju Erin Merk explores an ancient teaching from the Samyutta Nikaya, offering practice nourishment to fuel our collective journey toward justice and upright humanity.
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The Paramita of Renunciation
3 november 2026 · 45 min
Given by Tenzen David Zimmerman at City Center on October 21st, 2026 Lees meer
Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman addresses some of the misconceptions we might have about renunciation, including that it means foregoing altogether both worldly pleasures and our freedom.
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May Our Life Reveal Their Compassion
3 november 2026 · 39 min
Given by Shundo David Haye at City Center on October 17th, 2026 Lees meer
In a talk given after completing dharma transmission, Shundo David Haye reflects on the generosity of the ancestors in ensuring that the dharma continues to be available to us and those to come.
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Paramitas and Crossing the Ocean of Life
28 oktober 2026 · 41 min
Given by Tenzen David Zimmerman at City Center on October 3rd, 2026 Lees meer
Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman uses ancient water analogies and parables to unpack the concept of paramita, which can be translated as “perfection” or “transcendent,” as well as “crossing over to the other shore.”
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Introducing the Six Paramitas: Bodhisattva Practices for an Uncertain World
30 september 2026 · 46 min
Given by Tenzen David Zimmerman at City Center on September 30th, 2026 Lees meer
Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman provides an overview of the structure of a traditional “ango” and how it serves as a supportive, intensified practice container. He then introduces the topic of study for the ango, the transcendent virtue or practices of the Six Paramitas: generosity, ethical conduct, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom.
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You Are Already an Ancestor
26 september 2026 · 38 min
Given by Doshin Dan Gudgel at City Center on September 26th, 2026 Lees meer
Doshin Dan Gudgel offers gratitude to our Buddhist and personal ancestors, who have made it possible for us to practice, and who were just human beings like us.
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The Friendliness of Not Knowing
23 september 2026 · 38 min
Given by Anlor Davin at City Center on September 23rd, 2026 Lees meer
Anlor Davin examines the Zen teaching of “not knowing is most intimate” and from her perspective as an autistic Zen priest, adds that not-knowing is also friendly.
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Awe, the Satipatthana Sutra and Zen Practice
20 september 2026 · 57 min
Given by Gengyoko Tim Wicks at Green Gulch Farm on September 20th, 2026 Lees meer
Gengyoko Tim Wicks explores the experience of awe, the Satipatthana Sutra—an important Theravadan sutra—and the relationship of both awe and this sutra to Zen practice.
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I Don’t Know, And I Know
13 september 2026 · 51 min
Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on September 13th, 2026 Lees meer
Jiryu Rutschman-Byler discusses and appreciates Suzuki Roshi’s teaching that: “We should understand ourselves in two ways: as a particular person and as someone who has no name, no body, and no mind.”
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The Satipatthana Sutra and Zen Practice
12 september 2026 · 34 min
Given by Gengyoko Tim Wicks at City Center on September 12th, 2026 Lees meer
Gengyoku Tim Wicks explores the Satipatthana Sutra, an important Theravadan sutra and its relationship to Zen practice. How does Shikantaza, "just sitting" make use of this early Buddhist technique?
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Being Where You Are: Dogen and Huaishen
9 september 2026 · 38 min
Given by Henzan Roger Hillyard at City Center on September 9th, 2026 Lees meer
Roger Hillyard explores how we need not travel from teacher to teacher or temple to temple to receive the dharma, we must be present where we are.
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Women Wielding Liberating Power
5 september 2026 · 47 min
Given by Paula Arai at City Center on September 5th, 2026 Lees meer
Dr. Paula Arai explores the question that drives her book Of Mud & Lotuses: Dreaming the Lives of Buddhist Women: How do we wield liberating power in a context with oppressive institutions, teachings, and practices?
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The Summit of Heat and Cold
2 september 2026 · 42 min
Given by Shoren Heather Iarusso at City Center on September 2nd, 2026 Lees meer
Shoren Heather Iarusso discusses the koan story about avoiding heat and cold, pointing out what we learn when we look at our preferences and stay with our discomfort.
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Changsha and Radiant Light
30 augustus 2026 · 1 uur
Given by Kokyo Henkel at Green Gulch Farm on August 30th, 2026 Lees meer
Kokyo Henkel explores three classic Zen sayings by Ninth Century Chinese Zen Ancestor Changsha: the entire world is the radiant light of our true self; that we need to take a step forward from the top of a hundred-foot pole; and that when an earthworm is cut in two the buddha-nature can't be divided.
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The Koan of Silence and Words
29 augustus 2026 · 39 min
Given by Sozan Miglioli at City Center on August 29th, 2026 Lees meer
Sozan Miglioli examines key moments in the history of our practice: Mahakashyapa's smile, Vimalakirti's thundering silence, Dogen's teaching on “Dotoku" (the capacity to speak from realization), and Katagiri Roshi's two books. The question running through all of it: does something, spoken or unspoken, come from realization or from concept?
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Kindness and Oneness
23 augustus 2026 · 51 min
Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on August 23rd, 2026 Lees meer
Jiryu Rutschman-Byler reflects on Suzuki Roshi’s encouragement to “not lose these points: how to be kind to others and how to be one with others,” and offers practices and stories to support these inter-related practices.
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Spiritual Friendship & Dharma Friends
19 augustus 2026 · 45 min
Given by Odo Ellen Simpson at City Center on August 19th, 2026 Lees meer
Odo Ellen Simpson explores the nature of spiritual friendship in the context of Buddhist life is a support to our practice and a joyous component of our lives together.
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The Gift of Attention
13 augustus 2026 · 42 min
Given by Dan Zigmond at City Center on August 13th, 2026 Lees meer
Dan Zigmond explores attention itself as a form of generosity: dana, the first of the Buddhist perfections and, as he puts it, the ground floor of the whole path.
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Cleaning Our Environment/Cleaning Our Mind
9 augustus 2026 · 53 min
Given by Kika Susan Hellein at Green Gulch Farm on August 9th, 2026 Lees meer
Kika Hellein discusses the relationship between interior and external realities.
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On Gossip
5 augustus 2026 · 43 min
Given by Hokyo Lorenzo Garbo at City Center on August 5th, 2026 Lees meer
Hokyo Lorenzo Garbo examines how gossip can either protect or damage communities, arguing that harmful speech has lasting consequences while mindful communication strengthens trust and compassion.
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Heart-Teachings of a No-Good, Lazy Monk
2 augustus 2026 · 1 uur
Given by Jan Willis at Green Gulch Farm on August 2nd, 2026 Lees meer
Dr. Jan Willis discusses the life of eighth-century poet and philosopher, Shantideva, and what it can teach us about genuine bodhisattva practice.
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Attention: Practice to Benefit the World
26 juli 2026 · 59 min
Given by Eijun Linda Cutts at Green Gulch Farm on July 26th, 2026 Lees meer
Eijun Linda Ruth Cutts explores how caring with wholehearted attention to what is before us and within us realizes the practice of expressing the True Reality of All Things.
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Turning the Light Around to Illuminate the Light
25 juli 2026 · 53 min
Given by Tenzen David Zimmerman at City Center on July 25th, 2026 Lees meer
Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman offers three analogies related to light as supportive practices for zazen, noting that in Zen, light serves as a powerful analogy for awareness.
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Joy and Responsibility in Zen
22 juli 2026 · 45 min
Given by Doshin Dan Gudgel at City Center on July 22nd, 2026 Lees meer
Doshin Dan Gudgel explores joy as a fuel for practice and shares a practice for connecting with joy during daily meditation.
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Nothing Wasted
19 juli 2026 · 50 min
Given by So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson at Green Gulch Farm on July 19th, 2026 Lees meer
So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson explores a practice that rejects nothing, wastes nothing, and reveals how transformation begins when everything belongs through stories from Green Gulch Farm, Zen teachings, and an ecological view of dependent arising.
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We Are Buddhas and Ancestors
18 juli 2026 · 29 min
Given by Odo Ellen Simpson at City Center on July 18th, 2026 Lees meer
Odo Ellen Simpson explores the depth and complexity of Soto Zen ancestor practice in the context of monastic and lay life with consideration of cultural and family trauma perspectives.
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When A Buddha Breaks
12 juli 2026 · 55 min
Given by Tenzen David Zimmerman at Green Gulch Farm on July 12th, 2026 Lees meer
Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman speaks to the loss felt by the fire that destroyed the Tassajara Zendo in March 2026, and particularly the damage to the 1800-year-old Gandharan Buddha stone statue that had been on the altar (with slide accompaniment).
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Honoring My Teacher
11 juli 2026 · 37 min
Given by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho at City Center on July 11th, 2026 Lees meer
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho shares the experience of being a student and learning from a Zen teacher. What is needed? Are you prepared to have a teacher? What happens when you’re from different cultures?
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Returning and the Settled Self
8 juli 2026 · 42 min
Given by Horin Nancy Petrin at City Center on July 8th, 2026 Lees meer
Horin Nancy Petrin reflects on the ‘settled self’ inspired by Suzuki Roshi’s lecture ‘Be Kind with Yourself” from the collection “Not Always So.”
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To Shine One Corner
5 juli 2026 · 58 min
Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on July 5th, 2026 Lees meer
Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler shares some of Suzuki Roshi’s views on WWII, America and Japanese nationalism, and shares a story of Suzuki Roshi’s practice of “shining one corner” during the war.
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Taste The Truth
1 juli 2026 · 40 min
Given by Shundo David Haye at City Center on July 1st, 2026 Lees meer
Shundo David Haye reflects on the role and value of practice in imbuing us with inner integrity, in this age of social media and AI.
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The Dharma of Demi-Girls
28 juni 2026 · 58 min
Given by Shoren Heather Iarusso at Green Gulch Farm on June 28th, 2026 Lees meer
Shōren Heather Iarusso explores the intersection of Buddhism, gender fluidity and the PRIDE movement using a rainbow as a metaphor.
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Holding It All
27 juni 2026 · 28 min
Given by Jisho Lisa Beth Hoffman at City Center on June 27th, 2026 Lees meer
Jisho Lisa Beth Hoffman, in this Queer Pride weekend talk, asks “How do we practice so the poignant truth of impermanence deepens our experience of ‘just this’ – the life and moment before us?”
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The Gulch, the Valley, as the Embodiment of Silent Illumination
21 juni 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
Given by Guo Gu at Green Gulch Farm on June 21st, 2026 Lees meer
Chan Teacher Guo Gu speaks of the significance of the "gulch" in Green Gulch, connecting it with the qualities of being the “valley"—open receptive, responsive, hollow yet luminous qualities.
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The Historical-Political Rise of Silent Illumination, Shikantaza, and the Embodied Experiencing of this Practice
16 juni 2026 · 55 min
Given by Guo Gu at City Center on June 16th, 2026
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Zazen Sits Zazen for the Welfare of the World
14 juni 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
Given by Nyokai Kristin Diggs at Green Gulch Farm on June 14th, 2026 Lees meer
Nyokai Kristin Diggs talks about zazen as a practice of realizing the non-separation of body and mind, and about the dynamic relationship that is the body-mind.
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AI and the Second Noble Truth
13 juni 2026 · 42 min
Given by Sozan Michael McCord at City Center on June 13th, 2026 Lees meer
Sozan Michael McCord teaches that when we look at the cause of suffering, we see that it is grasping and clinging or aversion and not accepting what is. We have known since the Industrial Revolution, very clearly, but now have it even more greatly elucidated in the age of artificial intelligence: if a human being equates their value to production, they are obsolete.
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Body, Breath and Hara
10 juni 2026 · 46 min
Given by Anshi Zachary Smith at City Center on June 10th, 2026 Lees meer
Anshi Zachary Smith examines the "doing nothing” of zazen, and how much it actually does.
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The Great Miracle
7 juni 2026 · 44 min
Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on June 7th, 2026 Lees meer
Jiryu Rutschman-Byler shares the story from Dogen Zenji’s chapter "Jinzu" about the “great supernatural accomplishments” of the Zen ancestors Guishan and Yangshan, as they spend a morning together expressing the heart of Zen practice through their ordinary, everyday care and intimacy.
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How to Be Alive for It All
6 juni 2026 · 38 min
Given by Ryotan Cynthia Kear at City Center on June 6th, 2026 Lees meer
Ryotan Cynthia Kear shares Darlene Cohen’s core teachings on the importance of cultivating concentration, personal koans, transformation of suffering and vow.
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Awakening to the Sickened Heart
3 juni 2026 · 43 min
Given by Chikudo Catherine Spaeth at City Center on June 3rd, 2026 Lees meer
Chikudo Catherine Spaeth teaches that a whole world of forms catches us up in personal emotions and stories, and when we see through them there can be a feeling of heartsickness. How, in our illness, does emptiness use emptiness to liberate us in true feeling?
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A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha
31 mei 2026 · 59 min
Given by Sokaku Kathie Fischer at Green Gulch Farm on May 31st, 2026 Lees meer
Sokaku Kathie Fischer examines examines Case 32 of the Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate), likening this story to Suzuki Roshi's teaching that if you want to control your cows, give them a really large field.
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Come Home, Come Home!
30 mei 2026 · 41 min
Given by Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 at City Center on May 30th, 2026 Lees meer
Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 explores the dynamic interplay between our awakened nature and the ongoing cultivation of practice within the conditions of our lives, by drawing on the story and teachings of Zen Master Dongshan.
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Not Taking What Is Not Given
24 mei 2026 · 1 uur
Given by Sozan Michael McCord at Green Gulch Farm on May 24th, 2026 Lees meer
Sozan Michael McCord takes a deep dive into the motivations behind acceptance and rejection, and the many ways they play out in everyday life.
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Sitting Zazen—Whole & Complete Without Striving
23 mei 2026 · 35 min
Given by Nyokai Kristin Diggs at City Center on May 23rd, 2026 Lees meer
Nyokai Kristin Diggs talks about the difference between the zazen of Soto Zen and styles of sitting practice that aim at attaining an ideal or special state of mind.
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Teaching Without Words: An Invitation to Continuous Practice
20 mei 2026 · 45 min
Given by Tenmyo Dojima at City Center on May 20th, 2026 Lees meer
Tenmyo Dojima 堂島典明 reflects on interfaith dialogue in Italy and lessons learned through injury and recovery, and invites us to slow down, breathe, and rediscover the ordinary miracles of daily life.
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Held in the Vastness
17 mei 2026 · 1 uur 2 min
Given by So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson at Green Gulch Farm on May 17th, 2026 Lees meer
So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson uses somatic meditation, the image of the hand, and Zen teachings on non-separation, to explore how we move from contraction and self-protection toward a more open participation in reality, compassion, and ordinary mind.
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Study the Self First
13 mei 2026 · 41 min
Given by Gengyoko Tim Wicks at City Center on May 13th, 2026 Lees meer
Gengyoku Tim Wicks explores Dogen Zenji's famous teaching, "To study the Buddha way is to study the self," through the lens of recovery, trauma, and meditation practice.
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In the Lap of the Buddha
10 mei 2026 · 53 min
Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on May 10th, 2026 Lees meer
Jiryu Rutschman-Byler explores and invites the practice of profound ease, which we can touch by exhaling completely enough to “let go of hundreds of years,” and which can feel like, as Suzuki Roshi teaches, being back in the lap of our mother, or of the Buddha.
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Ordinary Mind is the Way
9 mei 2026 · 40 min
Given by Rinso Ed Sattizahn at City Center on May 9th, 2026 Lees meer
Rinso Ed Sattizahn presents a commentary on the koan, Case 19, from the Gateless Barrier with a sidebar on practicing with impermanence.