San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

Given by Shoren Heather Iarusso at Green Gulch Farm on June 28th, 2026 Shōren Heather Iarusso explores the intersection of Buddhism, gender fluidity and the PRIDE movement using a rainbow as a metaphor.

Given by Guo Gu at City Center on June 16th, 2026

Given by Nyokai Kristin Diggs at Green Gulch Farm on June 14th, 2026 Nyokai Kristin Diggs talks about zazen as a practice of realizing the non-separation of body and mind, and about the dynamic relationship that is the body-mind.

Given by Sozan Michael McCord at City Center on June 13th, 2026 Sozan Michael McCord teaches that when we look at the cause of suffering, we see that it is grasping and clinging or aversion and not accepting what is. We have known since the Industrial Revolution, very clearly, but now have it even more greatly elucidated in the age of artificial intelligence: if a human being equates their va...

Given by Anshi Zachary Smith at City Center on June 10th, 2026 Anshi Zachary Smith examines the "doing nothing” of zazen, and how much it actually does.

Given by Ryotan Cynthia Kear at City Center on June 6th, 2026 Ryotan Cynthia Kear shares Darlene Cohen’s core teachings on the importance of cultivating concentration, personal koans, transformation of suffering and vow.

Given by Chikudo Catherine Spaeth at City Center on June 3rd, 2026 Chikudo Catherine Spaeth teaches that a whole world of forms catches us up in personal emotions and stories, and when we see through them there can be a feeling of heartsickness. How, in our illness, does emptiness use emptiness to liberate us in true feeling?

Given by Sokaku Kathie Fischer at Green Gulch Farm on May 31st, 2026 Sokaku Kathie Fischer examines examines Case 32 of the Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate), likening this story to Suzuki Roshi's teaching that if you want to control your cows, give them a really large field.

Given by Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 at City Center on May 30th, 2026 Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 explores the dynamic interplay between our awakened nature and the ongoing cultivation of practice within the conditions of our lives, by drawing on the story and teachings of Zen Master Dongshan.

Given by Sozan Michael McCord at Green Gulch Farm on May 24th, 2026 Sozan Michael McCord takes a deep dive into the motivations behind acceptance and rejection, and the many ways they play out in everyday life.

Given by Nyokai Kristin Diggs at City Center on May 23rd, 2026 Nyokai Kristin Diggs talks about the difference between the zazen of Soto Zen and styles of sitting practice that aim at attaining an ideal or special state of mind.

Given by Tenmyo Dojima at City Center on May 20th, 2026 Tenmyo Dojima 堂島典明 reflects on interfaith dialogue in Italy and lessons learned through injury and recovery, and invites us to slow down, breathe, and rediscover the ordinary miracles of daily life.

Given by So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson at Green Gulch Farm on May 17th, 2026 So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson uses somatic meditation, the image of the hand, and Zen teachings on non-separation, to explore how we move from contraction and self-protection toward a more open participation in reality, compassion, and ordinary mind.

Given by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at Green Gulch Farm on May 10th, 2026 Jiryu Rutschman-Byler explores and invites the practice of profound ease, which we can touch by exhaling completely enough to “let go of hundreds of years,” and which can feel like, as Suzuki Roshi teaches, being back in the lap of our mother, or of the Buddha.

Given by Kim Kogen Daiho Hart at City Center on May 6th, 2026 Kim Kōgen Daihō Hart, who was raised in apartheid South Africa, explores themes of accepting what is unacceptable and what our practice asks of us.

Given by Gengyoko Tim Wicks at City Center on May 2nd, 2026 The talk discusses the significance of the Platform Sutra in Zen practice, highlighting its role in the exploration of sudden versus gradual enlightenment and the inherent purity of the mind. The discussion also emphasizes the historical continuity of Zen teachings through the teacher-student lineage, notably the transmission from Bodhidh...

Given by Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 at City Center on April 29th, 2026 Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 explores the theme of the Spring Practice Period and explores the relationship between “nothing lacking” and “continuous practice”.

Given by Kiku Christina Lehnherr at Green Gulch Farm on April 26th, 2026 Kiku Christina Lehnherr teaches that cultivating generosity, patience, tolerance, compassion, gentleness and steadfastness are essential to create, and be in intimate relationship with our body. Taking care of it is simultaneously taking care of all existence.

Given by Ben Connelly at City Center on April 25th, 2026 Ben shares from his new book “Inside the Flower Garland Sutra, Huayan Buddhism and the Modern World.” Ben illustrates the teachings with stories and lessons from his recent involvement with an array of nonviolent community responses to the violence ICE brought to his hometown Minneapolis in 2026.

Given by Shosan Victoria Austin at City Center on April 22nd, 2026 Shosan Victoria Austin, in this Earth Day lecture, invites us to contemplate how practicing ethics protects both us and the world.

Given by Doshin Dan Gudgel at City Center on April 15th, 2026 Doshin Dan Gudgel expresses a hope for lasting peace in this world, based on deep belief in interconnection and impermanence, and the incredible cosmic rarity of life itself.

Given by Rinso Ed Sattizahn at Green Gulch Farm on April 12th, 2026 Rinso Ed Sattizahn reflects on the meaning of Jizo’s staff and comments on David Chadwick and the Shunryu Suzuki teaching story “Everything Changes.”

Given by Hondo Dave Rutschman at City Center on April 11th, 2026 Hondo Dave Rutschman explores how we enter a ritual space with our effort and intention, without attempting to control the outcome.

04/08/2026, Dan Zigmond, dharma talk at City Center. Dan Zigmond explores how the "monkey mind" the Buddha diagnosed 2,500 years ago is exactly what today's algorithms are engineered to exploit, drawing on nearly thirty years of building attention-capturing technology at Google, Facebook, Apple, and Headspace, alongside four decades of Zen practice.

04/04/2026, Marc Lesser, dharma talk at City Center. Marc Lesser weaves together personal stories, Shunryu Suzuki, Dogen, and the Enneagram, in an exploration of how we interpret our identities and the world.