The SFZC Audio Archive

Serial: SF-09535 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha Sessions Zen Mind Beginners Mind Gui Spina on 2024-05-26 This talk delves into the concept of "right effort" within Zen practice, emphasizing its role in bridging achievement and non-achievement to avoid the extremes of self-importance and asceticism. It highlights the importance of...

Serial: SF-08284 Talk by Paul Haller at City Center on 2024-05-25 The talk emphasizes the foundational aspect of awareness in Zen practice, offering a guided meditation to explore sensory experiences as a means of developing a deeper connection to the present moment and human condition. The...

Serial: SF-08475 Talk by Paul Haller at City Center on 2024-05-25 The talk focuses on the significance of sensory awareness in Zen practice, using a guided meditation to highlight the importance of opening to sensory experiences as a foundation for awakening. It is emphasized that the...

Serial: SF-08477 05/19/2024, Kathie Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Dharma is all around us. We find it in the earth's atmosphere as we breathe in, energized, and in the earth's gravity as we breathe out, letting go. We are creatures of... This talk explores meditation practice in the context of gravity and how it serves as an organizing principle for life on Earth. The discussion transitions to a study of early Buddhist nuns—Bada Kundalakesa, Patachara, and...

Serial: SF-09772 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2024-05-19 The talk explores the teachings of Suzuki Roshi, focusing on Zen's approach to everyday life and the pitfalls of seeking excitement. By drawing metaphorical parallels with bread-making, the discussion highlights the importance of...

Serial: SF-08655 Talk by Kokyo Henkel at City Center on 2024-05-18 The talk explores the intersections between Zen Buddhism and Vajrayana practices, emphasizing the shared foundations in non-dual awareness and Buddha-nature. The discussion covers the historical development of Buddhism's main...

Serial: SF-08623 Talk by Dan Gudgel at City Center on 2024-05-15 The talk explores the concept of "enemies," arguing that viewing others as enemies confines our responses and perpetuates suffering. The central assertion is that we have no true enemies, as enmity is a self-limiting belief that...

Serial: SF-09527 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha Sessions Zen Mind Beginners Mind Gui Spina on 2024-05-12 The main focus of the discussion is on the Zen practice of repetition and the embodiment of presence through seemingly mundane tasks, as articulated through the koan "count the stars" and teachings from Suzuki Roshi's Zen Mind,...

Serial: SF-08333 05/11/2024, Gengyoko Tim Wicks, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple’s monthly one-day sitting, (this time held at Haight Street Art Center) Gengyoko Tim Wicks discusses reincarnation and... The talk, titled "The Stranger in the Mirror," explores rebirth and reincarnation, focusing on the interconnectedness of life experiences and karmic energy. Drawing from Buddhist teachings, the discussion examines how personal...

Serial: SF-08507 Talk by Gengyoko Tim Wicks Audio Only at City Center on 2024-05-11 The talk titled "The Stranger in the Mirror" discusses the concepts of reincarnation, rebirth, and the interconnectedness of all phenomena within Buddhist philosophy, contrasting the idea of a permanent soul with that of karmic...

Serial: SF-08684 Talk by Gengyoko Tim Wicks Full Edited Audio Only at City Center on 2024-05-11 The talk explores the concepts of rebirth and reincarnation within Buddhist philosophy, contrasting them with more traditional views and highlighting their impact on understanding karmic continuity. It delves into how personal...

Serial: SF-08675 Talk by Eli Brown Stevenson at City Center on 2024-05-08 The talk explores the dynamic between expectations and Zen practice, emphasizing the pitfalls of imposing expectations in Zen practice, including the pursuit of enlightenment, as illustrated by a koan from Suzuki Roshi. The...

Serial: SF-08461 Talk by Caroline Meister at Green Gulch Farm on 2024-05-05 The talk is a memorial service honoring Caroline Meister, emphasizing the enduring connection between the speaker and Caroline, despite her passing. It highlights the practice of Zen ceremonies as a means to connect with and...

Serial: SF-08492 The talk explores methods of integrating younger generations into Zen practice by highlighting community-first approaches and cross-lineage openness. Both the San Francisco Zen Center and Community Village emphasize the...

Serial: SF-08330 Talk by Zoketsu Norman Fischer at Green Gulch Farm on 2024-04-28 The talk centers on the Zen concept that "ordinary mind is the way," illustrated by the story of Zhaozhou and Nanchuan from case 19 in "The Mumonkan" (The Gateless Gate). It emphasizes that true practice involves shedding desires...

Serial: SF-09819 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2024-04-28 The talk focuses on the integration of Zen teachings into daily life, referencing various texts and personal experiences to elucidate Zen practices such as koan study, the tea ceremony, and living with awareness and gratitude. A...

Serial: SF-08257 04/24/2024, Kodo Conlin, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Kodo Conlin discusses this rich topic. Here, we resolve the distance between speaker and listener to turn the questions, "What is... The talk investigates the enduring shape of Zen practice, exploring the transition from formal temple life to individual practice in varied environments. It emphasizes the concept of "beginner's mind" and the intimate awareness...

Serial: SF-09544 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha Sessions Zen Mind Beginners Mind Gui Spina on 2024-04-21 The talk centers on the ideas presented in "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki, particularly the concept of "nothing special." This concept emphasizes the egalitarian nature of Buddhism, suggesting that rather than...

Serial: SF-08332 04/20/2024, Kiku Christina Lehnherr, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Kiku Christina Lehnherr discusses the dharma implications and importance of rest. By being with and clearly seeing... The talk emphasizes the importance of rest as a spiritual practice, advocating for the integration of rest into daily rituals to nurture the self and sustain presence. It explores cultural and personal barriers to rest,...

Serial: SF-08279 04/14/2024, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk, Jiryu suggests that by reflecting on the potential of Artificial Intelligence in Buddhism, in the form, for example, of the Suzuki Roshi chatbot,... The talk examines the limitations of prioritizing intellectual engagement in Zen practice, instead highlighting the importance of an embodied, present-moment awareness that transcends words. It's noted that while AI can mimic the...

Serial: SF-09765 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2024-04-14 In this talk, the discussion centers around the practice of bowing as elucidated in Shunryu Suzuki Roshi's teachings, emphasizing the significance of integrating body and mind in spiritual practice. The exploration of how...

Serial: SF-08235 04/10/2024, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Jisan Tova Green speaks of her recent visit to Montana de Silencio, a Suzuki Roshi lineage Zen Center in Medellin, Colombia... The talk focuses on elevating women's voices in Zen practice, sharing experiences at the Montaña de Silencio Zen center in Medellin and highlighting the significance of having women teachers. The discussion includes insights from...

Serial: SF-09786 Talk by Fu Schroeder Sangha on 2024-04-08 This talk explores concepts of Zen practice with emphasis on non-duality and the practice of zazen. The discussion uses the analogy of form and emptiness, as described in the Heart Sutra, affirming the non-separation of existence...

Serial: SF-08322 04/06/2024, Ryuko Laura Burges, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Ryuko Laura Burges opens the City Center temple’s celebration of Buddha’s Birthday by recounting the story of the Buddha’s... This talk provides a detailed narrative of Siddhartha Gautama's early life, characterizing him as a unique child who demonstrated peace, compassion, and a profound inclination towards meditative practices. The discussion...