The SFZC Audio Archive

Serial: SF-11372 12/05/2020, the final lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun Linda Cutts and Fu Schroeder. The central thesis of the talk focuses on the impermanence and interconnectedness of life, underscored by the teachings within the Heart Sutra and the Buddha's insights on emptiness. Emphasis is placed on the concept that all...

Serial: SF-11340 The fifth lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun and Fu - 12/04/2020. The talk emphasizes the interconnectedness of Zen practice with both historical teachings and personal experiences. It explores the compassion shared by Buddhas and ancestors, focusing on stories from Suzuki Roshi's life and his...

Serial: SF-11209 12/03/2020, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. The talk explores the application of Dogen's teachings on "beneficial action," emphasizing the Bodhisattva's practice as a means of awakening through the use of skillful means (upaya), derived from the Lotus Sutra. It...

Serial: SF-11304 12/03/2020, the fourth lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun Linda Cutts and Fu Schroeder. The talk focuses on the metaphoric teachings by Dogen: "Body like a mountain, heart like the ocean, mind like the sky," and emphasizes their relevance to Buddhist practice, especially during meditation. The speaker analyzes "...

Serial: SF-11210 12/02/2020, Rinso Ed Sattizahn, dharma talk at City Center. The talk discusses the Zen concept of "kind speech" as elaborated in Dogen's essay, "The Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance," emphasizing its transformative power in both personal and broader contexts. The discussion reflects...

Serial: SF-11257 The third lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun and Fu - 12/02/2020. The talk centers on the practice of zazen and its fundamental role in Zen Buddhism, emphasizing its simplicity and its deep connection to teachings of past Zen masters such as Dogen and Prajnatara. The discussion highlights the...

Serial: SF-11374 The second lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun and Fu - 12/01/2020. The talk explores the practice of Zazen meditation, emphasizing the importance of present awareness and detachment from feelings, drawing heavily on traditional Zen teachings, particularly those of Dogen. It discusses the...

Serial: SF-11186 12/01/2020, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. This talk focuses on the practice of giving as part of Zen Buddhism's Bodhisattva path, particularly referencing Dogen Zenji's essay "Bodhisatta Shishobo" or "The Bodhisattvas' Four Embracing Actions." The discussion explores the...

Serial: SF-11346 11/30/2020, Sozan Miglioli, dharma talk at City Center. The talk focuses on the interplay of trust, control, and curiosity within Zen practice, specifically during a Rohatsu Sesshin. It emphasizes cultivating trust in the practice without attaching expectations, letting go of the need...

Serial: SF-11166 The first lecture of the 2020 Rohatsu sesshin for Green Gulch residents, co-led by Eijun and Fu - 11/30/2020. The talk focuses on the fundamental aspects of Zen practice as highlighted during a Rohatsu Sesshin at Green Gulch Farm. The discussion centers on the ritualistic elements of the practice, such as the Vows of the High Priest,...

Serial: SF-11366 The koan of drowning in the deep spring and practicing with courage, clarity and resilience in the of awakening to climate collapse. 11/28/2020, Kritee Kanko, dharma talk at City Center. The talk discusses a koan from the Rinzai School of Zen, examining its implications not only for personal spiritual practice but also in the context of contemporary societal challenges such as the climate crisis. The speaker...

Serial: SF-11238 Reflecting on what it is that blocks our view from seeing this world and each other through the eyes of an awakened being. 11/22/2020, Furyu Nancy Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. The talk explores the question of what truly matters, using the backdrop of historical events and personal anecdotes to delve into Zen Buddhist teachings. Central to this discourse is the concept of awakening to the reality of '...

Serial: SF-11246 Training in the world. Are you willing to be an ordinary person bringing forth our best? 11/21/2020, Mushim Patricia Ikeda, dharma talk at City Center. The talk examines the interconnected crises of the global pandemic, climate change, and political unrest, emphasizing the need for a compassionate response rooted in Zen practice. It proposes the practice of non-fear and...

Serial: SF-11197 The practice of being of the world and not being caught by it. 11/21/2020, Rinso Ed Sattizahn, dharma talk at City Center. The talk focuses on Vimalakirti as a bodhisattva archetype, using the "Vimalakirti Sutra" to illustrate the themes of fierce compassion and the archetype's engagement with worldly affairs without attachment. The key message...

Serial: SF-11177 Zen practices for practicing with the shadow side of intimacy. Maitreya's posture that supports future awakening while safely holding challenges and celebrations of the present moment. 11/14/2020, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma... The talk explores the shadow aspects of intimacy within relationships and self-awareness through Zen practice, emphasizing the importance of maintaining openness, uprightness, and depth in body postures during Zazen. The speaker...

Serial: SF-11252 In times of suffering bodhisattvas come forward. 11/07/2020, Rinso Ed Sattizahn, dharma talk at City Center. The talk addresses the embodiment of bodhisattva principles, focusing on fierce compassion in a world rife with challenges. Discussions include the study of various bodhisattvas like Shakyamuni, Manju Sri, Samantabhadra, and...

Serial: SF-11237 Suzuki Roshi’s teaching on warm-hearted zazen practice is the coming together of wisdom and compassion, and can be illuminated by Dr. King’s teaching on the three kinds of love. 11/01/2020, Jiryu Rutschman Byler, dharma talk at... The talk explores the practice of Zen, focusing on warm-hearted attention as central to spiritual engagement and zazen, emphasizing the integration of inner harmony to extend to universal compassion. It reflects on Nagarjuna's...

Serial: SF-11259 Living the insight of non-self & the "I" of mutuality. 10/31/2020, Keiryu Liên Shutt, dharma talk at City Center. The talk examines the concept of Bodhisattva archetypes through the lens of personal and collective shadow projections, emphasizing understanding and responding to suffering. A discussion on the transformative power of...

Serial: SF-11180 Practicing with the upside mind knowing it's the very mind of Buddha. 10/25/2020, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. The talk explores the Bodhisattva vow's theme of engaging with the "impossible" by examining conditioned perceptions versus reality. It delves into the subjective nature of reality, using the Blue Cliff Record Case 15 as an...

Serial: SF-11322 The koan of Dizang planting rice, and other stories; talking about ways that on the one hand we share a world, and on the other hand live in independent worlds - and the compassion practice of coming to appreciate one another's... The talk delves into the exploration of realms, specifically within Buddhist cosmology, including the realm of hungry ghosts and the human realm. It emphasizes understanding subjectivity and its impact on personal and collective...

Serial: SF-11206 The practice of developing prajna/wisdom. 10/14/2020, Dana Takagi, dharma talk at City Center. The talk explores the themes of wisdom (prajna) and racial identity within the context of contemporary social and environmental crises. The speaker discusses the practice of wisdom in Zen Buddhism, particularly through the lens...

Serial: SF-11274 Insights from the Therigata, "The First Free Women," and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 10/11/2020, Furyu Nancy Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. The talk primarily focuses on the exploration of women's liberation through ancient Buddhist texts and contemporary figures, discussing the personal and societal challenges faced by women. The speaker highlights "The First Free...

Serial: SF-11310 Considering how Zen Bodisattva practice supports us to cultivate the capacity to be in complexity and not- knowing. 10/04/2020,Dojin Sarah Emerson, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. The talk explores the dichotomy between separation and connection within the context of Bodhisattva Zen practice, emphasizing the importance of moving from a place of perceived individual separation to one of interconnectedness...

Serial: SF-11348 A lecture on the steadfast practice of the Bodhisattva; awakening beings. 10/03/2020, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. The talk discusses the bodhisattva ideal and the practice of fierce compassion in the context of a 10-week fall practice period at the San Francisco Zen Center. It focuses on finding resilience and peace during challenging times...