The SFZC Audio Archive

Serial: SF-07905 06/15/2022, Jisan Anna Thorn, dharma talk at City Center. The new Tanto's Way Seeking Mind Talk - returning to City Center and a different world. The talk explores themes of belonging and practice within the Zen tradition, reflecting on personal transitions from being a householder to engaging in deeper practice roles within the San Francisco Zen Center. There is a strong...

Serial: SF-07785 06/12/2022, Furyu Nancy Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbess Fu Schroeder talks about addressing conflict through the wisdom of the ancient teachings of the Buddha and the modern day wisdom of the Harvard... The talk explores the profound insights of Zen Buddhism, focusing on personal and communal suffering, and the teachings designed to alleviate it. It highlights the pivotal role of Zen texts such as "The Transmission of Light" by...

Serial: SF-07878 06/08/2022, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Seeking our Master Far and Wide is remembering our Buddha Nature. The talk centers on the concept of remembering, particularly in relation to recognizing and reclaiming one's true or Buddha nature. It explores the tendency to seek external validation or solutions, as illustrated through...

Serial: SF-07831 06/05/2022, Sokaku Kathie Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Our practice is simple and immense, returning over and over to just this, inhaling the earth's atmosphere, exhaling falling into the earth, meeting each other... The talk explores the central Zen practice of respecting all beings and experiences, emphasizing interconnectivity with ancestors and the elements. It integrates personal narrative with Zen teachings, particularly the Bodhisattva...

Serial: SF-07874 06/04/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. On the final day of the sesshin and Intensive, we consider the source of true happiness, and take up the interwoven themes of gratitude, generosity and giving. The talk focuses on the relation between preferences, suffering, and faith, emphasizing that while preferences are not inherently bad, they lead to difficulty and suffering which can open the door to faith. The discussion also...

Serial: SF-07787 Talk by Pamela Weiss at City Center on 2022-06-03 The talk explores the concept of "grandmotherly mind" or Ro Bai Shin, a principle of deep compassion and receptivity in Zen Buddhism, as exemplified by historical and personal narratives. It discusses the teachings and...

Serial: SF-07815 06/02/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. On the first day of sesshin, exploring Daishin, Big or Great Mind, described in Dogen’s Tenzo Kyokun, and considering a different relationship to darkness and light. The talk examines Dogen's concept of "Three Minds" from the "Tenzo Kyokun," focusing on Daishin, or Great Mind, and its embodiment of qualities like stability and impartiality. This serves as a metaphor for a mind of great faith...

Serial: SF-08020 06/01/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. This talk invites everyone—those sitting and those practicing at home—into wholehearted engagement and simplicity as we enter the Intensive 3-day sesshin, and shares lesser-... The talk focuses on the concepts of time and wholeheartedness in Zen practice, using the Xin Xin Ming as a foundational text. It explores the dual concepts of chronos and kairos time, emphasizing the importance of engaging fully...

Serial: SF-07901 05/28/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Is the world full of pain, brutality and violence, or brimming with beauty, courage and generosity? This talk explores the deepening of faith as love, and shares stories from... The talk examines the duality of the world as both beautiful and painful, urging practitioners to navigate this through love and compassion. It references teachings on cultivating faith in love, citing the Xin Xin Ming, and...

Serial: SF-07964 05/25/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. This talk shares stories from Layman Pang and his daughter Ling Zhou, and considers how to respond to the cries of the world. The talk addresses themes of suffering, connection, and socially engaged Zen practice in the context of recent societal violence. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging collective pain, engaging in compassionate action,...

Serial: SF-07996 05/22/2022, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this dharma talk, Senior Dharma Teacher Norman Fischer tells stories about his time living at Green Gulch in the mid-1980's, and reflects about the past and... This dharma talk explores reflections on the existence and perception of the past, especially in the context of personal experiences at Green Gulch Farm during the 1980s. The discussion raises questions about the nature of time...

Serial: SF-07871 Talk by Dojin Sarah Emerson at Tassajara on 2022-05-19 The talk explores the evolution and reinterpretation of Sangha within Buddhist practice, emphasizing the embodied wisdom in contemporary settings. It highlights Thich Nhat Hanh's concept that "the next Buddha will be the Sangha...

Serial: SF-07950 Talk by Pam Weiss at City Center on 2022-05-19 The talk explores the themes of the Xin Xin Ming’s teachings on the relinquishment of opinions and preferences, connecting it with Buddhist practices and psychology. It emphasizes the harm of clinging to opinions and compares...

Serial: SF-07982 05/15/2022, Horin Nancy Petrin, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. A consideration of the importance of kindness, care and a tender heart in taking up our Bodhisattva Vows, inspired by a talk given by Suzuki Roshi to the students... The talk focuses on the Zen practice of embracing life's fullness and how the acknowledgment of experiences—both joyful and painful—is a fundamental human task. It discusses themes such as the bodhisattva vow, the practice of...

Serial: SF-07772 05/11/2022, Pamela WeissDeepening Faith, dharma talk at City Center. Breathing in inspiration, breathing out aspiration, this talk explores how living by vow reveals the true mind and body of faith. The talk introduces a study of the Xin Xin Ming by the third Zen ancestor, Sengcan, focusing on the concept of faith as an internal element beyond religious or external entities. The talk emphasizes faith as rooted in inherent...

Serial: SF-08002 Talk by Zenshin Greg Fain Devadatta on 2022-05-11 The talk delves into the character of Devadatta, traditionally viewed as the villain in Buddhist narratives, and explores his role through stories and scriptures that depict him as both a rival and integral catalyst for the...

Serial: SF-08049 05/08/2022, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. A tribute— with origin stories— to Green Dragon Temple- Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary.Practicing 50 years at Green Dragon... The talk reflects on the 50th anniversary of Green Gulch Farm, emphasizing its origins, evolution, and the spiritual and environmental stewardship it embodies. Central to this reflection are the teachings of impermanence from the...

Serial: SF-08039 Talk by Leslie James Understanding The Self on 2022-05-06 The talk explores the human quest for understanding the self within the context of Zen practice, particularly during practice periods at Tassajara. Emphasizing the complexity and unpredictability of existence, it discusses how...

Serial: SF-07944 05/04/2022, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. A personal and intimate reflection from Sr. Dharma Teacher Paul Haller, upon his return from caretaking for his daughter, on sickness, old age and death and the... The talk focuses on the interplay between caregiving, illness, and existential reflections on life and death. It contrasts the dispassionate approach of early Buddhist teachings with the more engaged, expressive path embodied by...

Serial: SF-07919 04/30/2022, Kanshin Ruth Ozeki, dharma talk at City Center. Rev. Kanshin Ruth Ozeki, novelist and Zen priest ordained by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, talks about the Buddhist foundations of her new novel The Book of Form and Emptiness... The talk focuses on intertwining themes of Zen Buddhism and literature, primarily exploring how Buddhist doctrines like Dogen Zenji's teachings intersect with the process of writing fiction. It highlights how novels can...

Serial: SF-07860 Talk by Keiryu Lein Shutt at City Center on 2022-04-29 The talk explores the transformative practice of Buddhist precepts as a framework for ethical conduct, personal awareness, and the awakening of Buddha nature. This transformation is described in three stages: using precepts as a...

Serial: SF-08001 04/24/2022, Steve Weintraub, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Commenting on teachings from Suzuki Roshi and Dogen Zenji, Steve Weintraub presents the Zen understanding of "everyday mind is the way" or "full spectrum practice" -... The talk explores the nature of Zen practice as articulated by Dogen and further referenced by Suzuki Roshi. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of practice with everyday life and describes realization as an event rather than a...

Serial: SF-07810 Talk by Linda Galijan at Tassajara on 2022-04-22 The talk discusses the revitalization of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center after a prolonged closure, emphasizing themes of gratitude, continuity, and adaptability in practice. The speaker reflects on the transformative power of...

Serial: SF-07880 04/20/2022, Kyoshin Wendy Lewis, dharma talk at City Center. The Heart Sutra teaches emptiness as a context for understanding Buddhist teaching as not static or rigid, but ever-evolving. The connection between the teachings and... The talk explores the Heart Sutra, focusing on its teachings of emptiness within Mahayana Buddhism. It discusses how the Sutra presents concepts such as the five skandhas, ayatanas, the twelve-fold chain of causation, and the...