San Francisco Zen Center

03/26/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. This talk explores "Yusan Gansui," a Zen term for an easeful, open way of "strolling through the mountains" of life, indicating a way of being that is not stuck to any feeling but that is open to any feeling, and a way that does not just express joy and freedom for oneself, but also serves as a gateway to real compassion and prese...

03/15/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. How equanimity and patience cultivate the capacity to respond rather than react.

03/08/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. A description of the function and symbolism of the Mountain Seat ceremony.

03/25/2023, Kyoshin Wendy Lewis, dharma talk at City Center. The theme of this practice period is Dogen's "To study the Buddha Way is to study the self." This is followed in Genjokoan by "When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away." ... In one sense, women's history is a history of gender definitions.

03/19/2023, Fu Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Dogen Zenji’s great awakening took place on hearing his teacher Rujing scold a student for sleeping during zazen saying, “Zen study is the dropping of body and mind.”

03/05/2023, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Case 12 in the Gateless Barrier: Every day Ruiyan called out to himself "Master!" and answered himself "Yes!" Then he would say to himself "Be aware!" and reply "Yes!" "Don't be deceived by others!" "Yes, yes!"... Big mind, the host, experiences everything within itself, so there really are no others.

02/04/2023, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. In commemorating Zen’s first Chinese Ancestor, Abbot David provides an overview of Bodhidharma’s seminal work, the “Outline of Practice”, which posits that there are essentially two ways to enter the path of Zen ─ by ‘Principle’ and by ‘Practice’. He describes the four all-inclusive habits that Bodhidharma says lead to awakening, with...

02/22/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. Chao Chou quotes the ShinShin Ming (Trust in Mind) and says “Just avoid picking and choosing.” Equanimity is not an issue of control but rather it requests us to not get stuck in what we want and what we don’t want.

02/18/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. Centering in body and breath helps cultivate the the capacity to respond rather than react to life’s challenges.

02/15/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. Zen practice emphasizes meeting each situation “face to face” - that is, meeting it fully with radical honesty. How do remember to do so when it’s unpleasant?

01/28/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. The light is the capacity to be aware. In sitting zazen we immerse in the endless variety of Being. Each time we are aware of what’s happening, that moment reveals the particular Being of the moment and shows us who and what we are.

01/25/2023, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. Ceremony calls forth sacredness. In the opening ceremony we enliven the sacredness of each of the centers of activity in our lives.

02/26/2023, Shoho Kuebast, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Contemplating the teachings of buddha-nature as taught in Maitreya's Uttaratantra Shastra.

02/25/2023, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma talk at City Center. How does mindfulness of breathing help untangle our experience of the self and the world? Guided meditations and commentary based on ancient words of the Buddha, Prajnatara, and Bodhidharma; on contemporary teachings from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and on personal study with Tenshin Reb Anderson and Sojun Mel Weitsman.

02/11/2023, Onryu Mary Stares, dharma talk at City Center. In a culture where we are going faster and faster, this talk gives one permission and encouragement to slow down and reflect.

01/21/2023, Horin Nancy Petrin, dharma talk at City Center. A talk, given in the day of a Lay Ordination ceremony, exploring the Mahayana Bodhisattva Vow.

01/11/2023, Gengyoko Tim Wicks, dharma talk at City Center. Focusing on the first words of the day for Zen temples: the Robe Chant. Tim talks about our relationship with time, those who came before us bringing this deep paractice, and how we enliven our ancestors by practicing in the present. There is a living thread that passes through them to us today.

02/19/2023, Rinso Ed Sattizahn, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Dogen Zenji said, “Breathing in or breathing out, after all, what is it?” No one can tell what it is.

02/12/2023, Fu Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Knowing the grief and despair that humans suffer in their lifetimes, the Buddha offered teachings to lessen the impact of those losses through practices based in compassion and wisdom. By coming to a greater understanding of the causes of suffering -namely desire and ignorance - the Buddha showed us the same pathway to freedom that he had...

02/05/2023, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch. In this talk, Jiryu raises the line chanted before Zen lectures, "I vow to taste the truth of Tathagata's words," and reflects on what it could mean for us not just to listen to formal talks with this heart, but to live our whole life in every moment in this way, looking deeply for the element of truth and beauty and liberative teachin...

12/21/2022, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. How can an awareness of our interconnectedness ease the sense of separation many of us experience during the winter holidays?

12/14/2022, Kodo Conlin, dharma talk at City Center. Reflections on our mortality as our common humanity. As a basis for Dharma practice, fit for regular contemplation, the truth of our death, approached wisely and with a bright mind, can inspire care, energy for practice, and a compassionate connection with all beings.

01/14/2023, Rhonda Magee, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, Hoshi Rhonda Myozen Magee reflects on the concept of Beloved Community through the lens of those who have breathed life and meaning into the concept over the past century. In the spirit of contemplative reflection and deep listening to our inner voice, she invites us all to discern what Beloved Community means to each of us, and c...

12/31/2022, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Don’t work harder, resist less.

01/18/2023, Sozan Michael McCord, dharma talk at City Center. Living life like we have infinite social capital, like a generous benefactor to all those around us, allows a great freedom of spirit. When we realize that promoting and worrying about the self is a small minded path that leads to suffering, we start to see our interconnectedness - that none of us win until we all win. The precept of "n...