Young Urban Zen SF

Eli will conclude our exploration of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness with the Fourth Foundation: Mindfulness of Phenomena ( dhammas ). This foundation invites us to look beyond individual experiences and begin noticing the patterns and conditions that shape them. Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with me?” we begin asking, “What conditions are present?” Together we’ll explore how the Buddha’s...

Hiro Ikushima leads us through a talk about the 3rd foundation of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of Mind, or citta (Pāli) . This practice invites us to notice the changing states of mind, such as calm or restless, contracted or open, clear or confused, without judgment. How can we meet the mind just as it is? And how does this awareness help us see our patterns? Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Min...

This podcast will be the second part in our series on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Feelings as told by Michael. By noticing how feelings arise and pass, practitioners learn that feelings themselves are not self and that attachment or aversion to them causes suffering. This awareness interrupts habitual reactions and fosters equanimity.   2026-06-16-Michael-mindfulness Young...

Kōgetsu Mok leads us through a very powerful breakdown of the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: the breath. How does breathing help us to come home to our bodies, our lives, and ourselves? We can maybe see how something as ordinary as the breath can become a doorway to intimacy, humility, connection, and freedom. Not for enlightenment. Not to unravel emptiness. Not to grok some complic...

Tim Wicks concludes our series on the Noble Eight-Fold Path with Right Intention. How does our practice direct our intention on the spiritual path, and how does that intention direct the practice? Right Intention Young Urban Zen

This week's theme is " Right View " of the Eightfold Path. How do our views shape the way we meet ourselves, each other, and the world? Right View invites us to see suffering, its causes, and the possibility of freedom more clearly. Join us with Hiro in exploring these themes. Right View Young Urban Zen

This week’s Young Urban Zen broadcast is a little different than usual. Abbot David leads us through a meditation instruction, a short meditation, and finally a Dharma talk about Generosity (Dāna). “The path of true liberation begins with Generosity.” Generosity / Dāna Young Urban Zen

In today’s talk Michael will be continuing our series on the 8 Fold Noble Path that we started a few weeks ago.  This week it will be on "Right Livelihood".  We spend much of our life working.  How do we determine if how we are spending our time is in alignment with our values in regards to how we support ourselves, pay our bills and save for the future? Please come a...

Kodo Conlin guides us through the topic of Right Samādhi: Sitting Buddha . We explore samādhi/concentration as part of Zen's rich heritage. This final factor of the Eightfold Path can be understood as the fruit of our wholehearted presence. Right Samadhi Young Urban Zen

This week’s theme is  Right Effort — Not Getting Anything, Not Causing Harm . We’ll touch on the simple but challenging guidelines of do no harm, do all good , and how our actions through body, speech, and mind shape our experience and those around us. Right Effort Young Urban Zen

Tonight Eli continues in the series on the 8 Fold Path. Tonight we will practice and talk about Right Mindfulness.  Right Mindfulness Young Urban Zen

Tim Wicks leads this weekly YUZ talk with an overview of The Four Noble Truths and a further focus on 2 folds of The Eight Fold Path: Right Speech & Right Action. Unfortunately, a fire occurred in late March which burned down the Zendo at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. No one was injured, but the damage is extensive. See below link for more details about donating and also another link about th...

As many of you may have heard, we did have a fire at our Tassajara monastery, and the meditation hall burned down. I'll talk a little bit about what's going on there at the beginning of the meeting tonight. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the fire was contained and did not spread beyond the meditation hall. Tonight's topic will be the second half of the Brahma Viharas: empathetic joy and equanimi...

Michael McCord leads tonight’s talk about The Four Brahmavihārās. This is part 1 of a 2 part series which focuses on the Brahmavihārās “Loving Kindness” & “Compassion.” In a world that can be  aggressive, combative, competitive, how do these traits work not only with those we love and trust but towards the world in general?  And how do they manifest in us, through a decision? Cu...

In Zen and traditional Buddhism there are a number of tools that can be cultivated to help us in these relationships and some of you may have wisdom to share in the practice of relationships and work. Relationship With Work Young Urban Zen

Eli opens a conversation on how to be in relationship with “people we don’t like”. He discusses how sitting zazen might help us practice with unpleasant feelings that come up in conflict—anger, frustration, judgement, resentment, and so on. What if we looked at relationships with “people we don’t like” not as imperfections in practice but as the practice itself?

Kōgetsu talks about Intimacy with the Self. We live in a world that constantly tells us we need to improve—to become better, more optimized versions of ourselves. Checklists, standards, performance reviews: we might even find ourselves trying to optimize our meditation practice. What would it mean to be truly intimate with ourselves—especially with our fear, shame, envy, anger, and the parts we’d...

Hiro Ikushima gives a talk about Relationships. This is part 1 of a series. This talk focused on family. Ram Dass once said, “If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” Many of us recognize the truth in that. Family can be both our deepest source of love and our greatest challenge. Hiro guides us on how explore remaining steady and compassionate in the midst of family dyn...

In our final paramita talk, Kristen Diggs leads a talk regarding the Paramita of Wisdom. What is complete and perfect wisdom? How can we look to find it? Six Paramitas Talk 6: Wisdom (Prajñā ) Young Urban Zen

Tim Wicks leads a talk regarding the Paramitas (aka crossing over) focusing on Concentration. Why do we meditate, and what is it that we are trying to do facing the wall? Working with the mind and our thoughts is central to Zen practice and, for many of us, the most difficult part. “We are trying to cross over away from the distractions and delusions that prevent us from full awareness.”...

Ho w do we ke ep sho wing up in ou r wo rk, relati onships, an d th e wo rld wit hout exha usting ours elves or betr aying wh at mat ters mo st to us ? Eli discusses joy ful eff ort ( vi rya): an appr oach to eff ort th at is n’ t ab out grin ding har der, cha sing outc omes, or meas uring wo rth thr ough produ ctivity. Dra wing on Ze n prac tice an d li ved expe rience, we unp ack ques tions ma n...

In this talk, Kōgetsu discusses generosity also known as Dana. Buddhist practice invites us to look more deeply at how we can meet the roots of suffering. We will explore how generosity includes how we relate to ourselves and others, how we listen, how we repair, how we set limits, and how wisdom guides what actually helps rather than what simply feels good in the moment. Zazen trains us to meet g...

In this talk, Mei discusses the paramita of ethical conduct. Sīla (ethical conduct) is one of the six paramitas (perfections) that develops a practitioner on the path of freedom, while simultaneously manifesting awakened activity. Though most Westerners don't initially delight in the topic of ethical behavior, Mei explains that virtue is one of the most beautiful expressions of the awakened m...

This talk is the beginning of a series on the paramitas which are the fruits of living the precepts of Buddhism. Michael will be discussing the paramita of patience in this talk. Paramitas are viewed as perfections to be addressed directly as a way of working with one's practice.  Please come and turn over not only this paramita but how it relates to our everyday life, no matter where we...

Tim Wicks closes out the year (2025) with a talk about Renunciation, letting go. He speaks about the grasping at the root of our suffering, our conditioning as "graspers," and how we help each other in learning to let go.  Renunciation Young Urban Zen