The SFZC Audio Archive

Serial: SF-08748 05/06/2023, Grace Dammann, dharma talk at City Center. Grace Damman, in this dharma talk from Beginner’s Mind Temple, discusses how the Noble 8-Fold Path and Buddhist practice have supported her through grave injury, the healing... The talk primarily explores personal experiences with disability and how Buddhist practice, specifically the Eightfold Path, offers a transformative path to understanding and overcoming suffering. Detailed reflections on personal...

Serial: SF-09760 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2023-04-30 The talk is an exploration of Dogen Zenji's teachings, emphasizing the integration of meditation and enlightenment as one practice. The discussion highlights Dogen's belief that meditation is itself enlightenment, not a path to...

Serial: SF-08917 04/26/2023, Heather Shoren Iarusso, dharma talk at City Center. Heather Shoren Iarusso, in this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, examines aversion, one of the mental afflictions the Buddha calls The Five Hindrances, which hinder... The talk focuses on the second hindrance in Buddhist practice—ill will or aversion—using personal anecdotes to explore its impact on the mind and spiritual development. The discussion emphasizes how these hindrances disrupt...

Serial: SF-09848 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2023-04-23 The talk explores the teachings of Dogen Zenji, emphasizing the intersection of Zen practice and philosophical inquiry through the Avatamsaka Sutra and the application of Zazen as not just a path but an expression of...

Serial: SF-08738 04/19/2023, Kodo Conlin, dharma talk at City Center. Kodo Conlin, in this dharma talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, explores images, tales, and inspiration to celebrate our Zen practice as a path that reshapes our lives and opens... The talk delves into transformation as the core of Zen practice, envisioning it as a path of metamorphosis. This involves relinquishing the old self to embrace new forms of self-understanding and existence. Key elements of the...

Serial: SF-09811 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2023-04-16 The talk centers on Dogen Zenji's reflections upon his awakening and subsequent teachings on the principles of original wholeness and the nature of Buddha. The discussion includes an exploration of the Five Ranks from Dongshan as...

Serial: SF-08710 04/12/2023, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Roger Hillyard explores accepting and practicing with darkness, in this dharma talk from Beginner's Mind Temple. The talk focuses on the figure of Mara in Buddhist tradition, symbolizing obstacles to enlightenment such as desire and denial. The narrative explores the interaction between Mara and the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, illustrating...

Serial: SF-08856 Talk by Doshin Mako Voelkel at City Center on 2023-04-08 The talk commemorates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha, exploring its celebration and symbolic meaning within Zen practice. It discusses the interpretation of self or "I" in Buddhist teachings, drawing from stories, koans, and...

Serial: SF-08753 02/04/2023, Grace Dammann, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Covid and the Eightfold Path; what can they teach each other? The talk explores the interplay between the COVID-19 pandemic and Buddhism, emphasizing how the pandemic has reinforced Buddhist teachings on interdependence and impermanence. The Eightfold Path's role in alleviating suffering is...

Serial: SF-08829 Talk by Sesshin Day Ryushin Paul Haller at City Center on 2023-04-01 This talk, delivered on the final day of a seven-day meditation retreat, revolves around the concept of constructing and deconstructing the self in Zen practice. The discussion centers on the notion of "kaya," or constructed...

Serial: SF-08806 Talk by Sesshin Day Ryushin Paul Haller at City Center on 2023-03-30 The talk explores the concept of "entering the stream" in both early Buddhism and Zen, focusing on the practice and experience of harmonizing with the current of existence and Dharma. The discussion emphasizes the indirect nature...

Serial: SF-08758 Talk by Sesshin Day Ryushin Paul Haller at City Center on 2023-03-28 The talk explores the integration of Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) within Zen practices, emphasizing its role in harmonizing the heart-mind (shin). Through Dogen Zenji's teachings, the discussion focuses on three types...

Serial: SF-08909 03/26/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. This talk explores "Yusan Gansui," a Zen term for an easeful, open way of "strolling through the mountains" of life, indicating a way of being that is not stuck... The talk centers on the distinction between the feelings produced by Zen practice and the deeper freedom that true Zen practice aims to cultivate. It emphasizes that Zen is not about clinging to specific feelings, whether of calm...

Serial: SF-08769 03/25/2023, Kyoshin Wendy Lewis, dharma talk at City Center. The theme of this practice period is Dogen's "To study the Buddha Way is to study the self." This is followed in Genjokoan by "When actualized by myriad things, your... The talk explores the implications of gender norms in Zen practice, inspired by National Women's History Month, and considers how these norms relate to the Zen teaching, “To study the Buddha way is to study the self,” from Dogen'...

Serial: SF-08891 03/19/2023, Fu Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Dogen Zenji’s great awakening took place on hearing his teacher Rujing scold a student for sleeping during zazen saying, “Zen study is the dropping of body and mind.” The talk presents a Zen teaching emphasizing the concept of "non-achievement" and challenges traditional ideas of gain. Deep exploration into teachings by Suzuki Roshi and stories like Sumedha's Bodhisattva journey highlight the...

Serial: SF-08934 03/18/2023, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma talk at City Center. Shosan Victoria Austin explores the life and liveliness of Zen forms. How do the traditional forms of Soto Zen help us understand the teachings of the Buddha? How... The talk focuses on the significance of Zen forms and formality within Soto Zen practice, contrasting the priestly and lay approaches exemplified by Suzuki Roshi and Mitsuzuki Sensei. The discussion highlights vertical and...

Serial: SF-08907 The talk reflects on the significance of a Mountain Seat Ceremony at Green Gulch Farm and the responsibility that comes with ascending to the position of abbot. The speaker emphasizes the importance of patience, clarity,...

Serial: SF-08754 Talk by Hoitsu Suzuki at City Center on 2023-03-11 The talk explores the practice and significance of everyday Zen activities, such as Zazen, cleaning, and administrative duties, as foundational aspects of Zen training. It emphasizes the alignment of heart and mind through these...

Serial: SF-08800 Talk by Stepping Down For Abbot Ed And Abbess Fu at City Center on 2023-03-10 The talk "Passing the Torch: Zen Leadership Transition" focuses on the transition of leadership within a Zen center, expressing gratitude and reflections on nine years of service by the outgoing abbot. The discourse...

Serial: SF-08916 03/05/2023, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Case 12 in the Gateless Barrier: Every day Ruiyan called out to himself "Master!" and answered himself "Yes!" Then he would say to himself "Be aware!" and reply "Yes!" "... The talk elaborates on Zen koan "Ruyen Calls Master" from the Gateless Barrier collection, emphasizing the existential inquiry into the "fundamental constant principle." It reflects on the practice through the allegory of the...

Serial: SF-08918 Talk by Kokyo Henkel at Green Gulch Farm on 2023-03-05 The primary thesis of this talk is exploring the concept of non-dual awareness through the Zen practice of self-inquiry and koans, particularly focusing on the idea of the 'host' representing Big Mind. The discussion centers...

Serial: SF-08908 Talk by Dan Gudgel at City Center on 2023-03-01 The talk centers on the exploration of Zen teachings through kitchen practice, particularly emphasizing Eihei Dogen Zenji’s "Tenzo Kyokun," which is used as a spiritual guide for kitchen work. The discussion extends into how...

Serial: SF-09827 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2023-02-26 The talk explores the evolution of the Soto Zen School, emphasizing the impact of historical figures like Shurto, Gongshan (Tozan), and Hongzhi on Dogen Zenji's realization. It highlights the importance of seated meditation in...

Serial: SF-08837 Talk by Ryushin Paul Haller at City Center on 2023-02-23 The talk revolves around the theme of cultivating a "trustworthy consciousness" in Zen practice by engaging deeply with the present moment and avoiding judgment or preference. The speaker introduces a koan from "The Blue Cliff...