San Francisco Zen Center

11/26/2023, Furyu Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In times of trouble, may the gracious teachings of the gentle Buddhas aid us in healing ourselves and the world.

11/19/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. The one practice for every moment of our life is just to welcome and care for whatever is right here - why do we forget that so easily, and how can we train in staying with that?

11/05/2023, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. After finishing 11 days on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Linda brings up the koan, Case 20 in the Book of Serenity, "Not Knowing is Most Intimate," which brings up the practice of pilgrimage.

10/29/2023, Tenshin Reb Anderson, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. During this talk it was suggested that all Buddha ancestors who uphold the true Dharma have made it the true path of awakening to sit upright, practicing our individual samadhis in the midst of, in the presence of, the universal samadhi of all Buddha ancestors.

10/14/2023, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, on the occasion of SFZC’s Members and Volunteers Appreciation Day, central abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman speaks to the value and place of Sangha in our practice, highlighting some of the benefits as well as the challenges. If we want to create a harmonious and vibrant community that supports ou...

10/22/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. For those who have vowed to "do all good" and "avoid all evil," Zen offers a compassionate but counter-intuitive teaching, equally relevant to meditation and to the ethics of daily living: "do not think good or evil," but include absolutely everything.

10/15/2023, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk, Kokyo discusses Case 16 in the Gateless Barrier koan collection: The world is so vast and wide - why do you always put on the robe at the sound of the bell?...When in the heard there is just the heard, there is no "you" in relation to that.

07/10/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Ryushin Paul Haller discusses how taking refuge from the afflictions of desire, aversion and confusion, supports our commitment to take refuge in the wholesome qualities of the six Paramitas. Each of the Three Refuges — refuge in Buddha, refuge in Dharma and refuge in Sangha — has many expression...

04/10/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Ryushin Paul Haller discusses the three Refuges, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, which are the first three Bodhisattva precepts. They express the shift from a life based on getting what is wanted, avoiding what is not wanted and the turmoil they create; to instead replacing those motives with a commit...

09/30/2023, Zesho Susan O'Connell, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Susan O’Connell discusses how the joy of practice can support us when, as always seems to be the case, “there’s a lot going on.” Susan teaches that not resisting the present moment can open space for joy to arise spontaneously — the same joy that Suzuki Roshi described when he said: “Just being...

10/18/2023, Steve Weintraub, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk, Senior Dharma Teacher Steve Weintraub explains that our practice is a big help to us; but it may not be a help in the way we usually think. How our practice helps us and 'where' our practice helps us is the topic of this talk.

09/23/2023, Kiku Christina Lehnherr, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Kiku Christina Lehnherr explores both the equinox and ordination ceremonies as invitations for EVERYONE to live our daily lives for the benefit of all beings; guided by intention, by cultivating internal equilibrium and a level playing field for all, and by letting go of identifications and f...

10/01/2023, Sonja Gardenswartz, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk, Sonja Gardenswartz, a 30-year resident of SFZC illuminates the three pillars of her practice: zazen, impermanence, and awe.

09/27/2023, Eli Brown-Stevenson, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Eli Brown-Stevenson discusses what happens when you apply the components of a practice period to a sabbatical. Whether sabbatical or practice period, when we take the backwards step to intentionally attune to our life, it can have a transformative shift in how we connect, experience and navigate...

09/24/2023, Tenshin Reb Anderson, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk Senior Dharma Teacher Tenshin Reb Anderson invites us to notice that our ancestors' samadhi is the simple practice in which just sitting is offered to all living beings and all buddhas as a token of everything everywhere all at once.

09/17/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk, Jiryu explores Yunmen’s statement “Everyone has a light” (from Blue Cliff Record Case 86) and expresses the how the simple practice of sitting still with eyes open can fulfill our deep longing to be fully alive - while we can, and so that we can be more fully available for the suffering of the world.

09/16/2023, Sozan Michael McCord, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Sozan Michael McCord explores how each of the precepts come with an intention of living so as to avoid ending up in a place to potentially break the precept. The vow to not kill has an intention to live life in a way that cultivates the appreciation and cherishing of life. We start with ourselve...

08/30/2023, Dawn Neal, dharma talk at City Center. In this dharma talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, San Francisco Zen Center, Dawn Neal discusses the Mahayana Buddhist ethical precepts, with a particular focus on how to bring these precepts to life in our daily practice.

09/13/2023, Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Roger Hillyard explores the Boddhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance - a fascicle from Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo on how to help all beings move toward awakening. Roger brings this practice into our modern world and everyday experience, using concrete examples of practice.

09/10/2023, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. This talk is about the uncertainty of the effects of climate change, and how the practice of zazen can help us to be prepared for uncertainty.

09/06/2023, Dan Gudgel, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Dan Gudgel discusses practice lessons and methods of practice that emerged around the experiences of having COViD, and having a common head cold. Dan suggests close attention to our everyday suffering, to highlight the different experiences of unavoidable physical pain, and optional mental affliction.

09/03/2023, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. The practice of Upright Speech touches every aspect of our life. How do we cultivate it and include all beings and the Great Earth in this practice?

09/02/2023, Marcia Lieberman, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Marcia Lieberman explores the connection between books and practice. When reading the Dharma, listening to talks, or visiting websites, there is no guarantee that there will be any real benefit in understanding. It is good to accumulate knowledge, but it is better to let that knowledge transform you...

08/26/2023, Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道 explores the meaning of community with stories of her experiences living within San Francisco Zen Center, and in China.

08/19/2023, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, given as part of a one-day sitting, acting tanto Jisan Tova Green discusses what we can learn from a fictional elephant about slowing down and practicing with patience.