The SFZC Audio Archive

Serial: SF-07932 06/25/2022, Shoren Heather Iarusso, dharma talk at City Center. Just like a rainbow is "hidden" in the sunlight, the Buddha's teachings are a prism through which we can experience PRIDE and liberation amid the constrictions of... The talk explores the fluidity of gender identity and its parallels with Buddhist teachings on impermanence, suffering, and the not-self characteristic. It reflects on personal experiences of shame and societal gender norms,...

Serial: SF-07817 06/22/2022, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. This talk addresses the need for mending in our own lives, with friends or family, our communities, our country, and the world drawing from the work of contemporary... The talk explores the concept of "mending" in both personal relationships and broader community interactions, reflecting on how love and repair can sustain connections. It involves discussing personal anecdotes, specific conflict...

Serial: SF-07900 06/18/2022, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. Abbot David speaks to various themes, concerns, challenges, and visions related to the future of American Buddhism stemming from his participation in a recent... The talk discusses the transformation and future trajectory of American Buddhism, emphasizing its adaptation to contemporary social issues and technological advancements while retaining its core teachings. The speaker reflects on...

Serial: SF-07776 06/12/2022, Furyu 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 Negotiation... The talk explores the compassionate expressions within Zen practice and its role in alleviating human suffering, emphasizing teachings from Zen texts such as "The Transmission of Light" by Kezan Jokin. It discusses the...

Serial: SF-08022 06/11/2022, Rinso Ed Sattizahn, dharma talk at City Center. Things are broken, show me something that is not! The talk centers on Zen practice in the context of brokenness and impermanence, exemplified through the koan of the Rhinoceros Fan, which explores the response to loss and the call to express Buddha nature. It discusses the...

Serial: SF-07985 06/08/2022, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Seeking our Master far and wide is remembering our Buddha Nature The talk addresses the theme of remembrance in Zen practice, highlighting the process of remembering one's true self or Buddha nature. The discussion reflects on personal experiences and a shift from seeking external validation...

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-08026 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 delves into the Zen concept that while preferences themselves are not inherently negative, they often lead to suffering, serving as a transition to exploring faith and contentment. The discussion emphasizes how Dogen's...

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-07886 05/31/2022, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at Tassajara. The talk examines the role of Zen practice in navigating suffering and fostering compassion, framing it within the context of personal observations and anecdotes. The speaker highlights the significance of pausing, particularly...

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-07842 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... The talk examines the historical evolution and challenges of Green Gulch Farm over the past 50 years, touching on the tensions between preserving tradition and embracing change within the Zen Center community. The discussion...

Serial: SF-07945 05/21/2022, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. How do we see and see through the separation created by the binary mind? Drawing on teachings by Dogen, Suzuki Roshi and Robin Wall Kimmerer, we explore how intimacy and... The talk explores the concept of duality and non-duality within the context of Zen Buddhism, using the poem "Xin Xin Ming" as a focal point for understanding how the binary mind creates a sense of separation. The discussion...

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-08008 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. The talk reflects on the 50th anniversary of Green Gulch Farm, exploring its inception influenced by Suzuki Roshi's vision of integrating a Zen temple within a working farm, and reflecting on how its establishment was shaped by...

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-07843 04/27/2022, Chikudo Catherine Spaeth, dharma talk at City Center. This talk explores how in the tradition of Soto Zen awakening, equanimity and vow relate to each other in practice-realization. This talk explores the concept of equanimity from a Soto Zen perspective, emphasizing its function as both a feeling and a practice beyond simplistic interpretations found in earlier Pali literature. Through illustrative...

Serial: SF-08068 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 focuses on the Heart Sutra's theme of emptiness, exploring its application in Buddhism and its dialectic relationship between philosophy and practice. The discussion highlights how teachings within the Heart Sutra, such...

Serial: SF-07839 04/17/2022, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Suzuki Roshi had an unusual perspective on the practice of the Bodhisattva's ethical precepts. He emphasized zazen mind over rule-following, and saw precepts... The talk emphasizes the practice of incorporating Zazen mind into the observance of Zen precepts, distinguishing it from following a rigid, rule-based moral code. By connecting with one's innate Buddha nature and compassion,...

Serial: SF-07998 04/13/2022, Marcia Lieberman, dharma talk at City Center. Using the examples of Dogen, Suzuki Roshi, Hakuin, and Nun Abutsu, Marcia describes how koans, sutras, letters, and the notion of “only a Buddha together with a Buddha”... The talk examines the role and significance of correspondence in Zen practice, focusing on the theme of "butsu yo butsu" or face-to-face encounters between Buddhas as portrayed in the Lotus Sutra. Emphasizing the importance of...

Serial: SF-08007 A talk focusing on how the Wheel of Nourishment supports the turning of the Wheel of Dharma. 04/06/2022, Sozan Miglioli, dharma talk at City Center. This talk explores the pivotal concept of the "wheel of nourishment" alongside the "wheel of Dharma," examining their interconnectedness in Zen practice. Key themes include the historical and practical significance of generosity...

Serial: SF-07834 03/27/2022, Tenzen David Zimmerman, sesshin dharma talk at Tassajara. This talk explores themes of choice, choiceless awareness, and free will within Zen practice, using a tripartite structure: a preface, a main discussion, and a postscript. The discussion centers around the nature of picking and...