Public lectures given at San Francisco Zen Center
Listeners of San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks that love the show mention: buddha, zen, dharma, thank, suzuki roshi.
The San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks podcast is a valuable resource for those interested in deepening their understanding and practice of Zen Buddhism. This podcast offers a collection of Dharma talks from various Buddhist teachers, providing listeners with different perspectives and insights into the Zen tradition. The talks serve as a reminder of why one practices Zen and how it can help them be more connected to their humanity. They offer guidance on mindfulness, meditation, and living a compassionate life.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the diverse range of teachings that are presented. Each talk brings something unique, allowing listeners to explore different aspects of Zen philosophy and practice. The speakers are knowledgeable and experienced in their field, offering valuable wisdom and guidance to those on the spiritual path. The talks also provide practical advice for incorporating Zen principles into everyday life, helping listeners find peace and clarity amidst the challenges they may face.
Another positive aspect of this podcast is its accessibility. For those who prefer listening over reading, this podcast provides a convenient way to engage with Zen teachings. With limited resources available in audio format on the topic of Zen, this podcast fills a gap by offering talks that can be enjoyed on-the-go or during moments when reading may not be feasible.
However, one potential downside of this podcast is that it may not cater to everyone's specific interests or needs. While the diverse range of teachings is a strength, it also means that certain episodes may resonate more strongly with some listeners than others. Additionally, as with any spiritual teachings, personal preferences and beliefs may vary, so not all episodes may align perfectly with an individual's worldview or understanding.
In conclusion, The San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks podcast is a valuable resource for anyone interested in deepening their understanding and practice of Zen Buddhism. With its diverse range of teachings and accessible format, this podcast provides valuable insights into Zen philosophy and offers practical guidance for incorporating its principles into daily life. Despite some episodes potentially not resonating with all listeners, the overall quality and richness of the talks make this podcast a worthwhile listen for those interested in Zen Buddhism.
08/10/2025, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho discusses the reality that a human body will turn to dust and yet it is the body in which we carry the dharma and come to know it. As Dogen Zenji, founder of Soto Zen, taught, "To expound the dharma with this body is foremost."
08/09/2025, Shundo David Haye, dharma talk at City Center. Shundo David Haye reflects on the way we hold stories about ourselves and others, and how our practice of dwelling in silence can help us change our relationship with them.
08/06/2025, Sozan Michael McCord, dharma talk at City Center. Sozan Michael McCord discusses working with and growing in our awareness of how the three poisons—greed, hatred and delusion—manifest in our lives, on this 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.
08/03/ 2025, Sessei Meg Levie, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Sessei Meg Levie offers the teaching of the Four Elements and how seeing Dharma in nature can help us open our hearts to all beings.
07/27/2025, Zenshin Greg Fain, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Zenshin Greg Fain talks about gratitude and grief in the context of Thusness. Gratitude and grief can both be dharma gates to bring us closer to a felt sense of connection with each other, and all of existence.
07/23/2025, Yogetsu Akasaka, dharma talk at City Center. Yogetsu Akasaka, a priest from the Sōtō Zen School in Japan, asks What if cleaning a bathroom could be one of your most profound spiritual practices?
07/20/2025, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler reflects on recent departures from Green Gulch of the elder teachers of the founding generation, and how at the same time as that loss, a new flower of teaching blossoms as "Becoming Yourself," the new book of Suzuki Roshi's talks, is released.
07/19/2025, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at City Center. Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler celebrates together with the sangha the launch of the first new book of Suzuki Roshi's teachings in over 20 years, "Becoming Yourself," sharing about its fundamental teachings and how it came about.
07/26/2025, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Roger Hillyard offers a look into the origins of Lay Entrustment and how it has manifested in American Zen.
07/06/2025, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Zoketsu Norman Fischer discusses a forthcoming book by the Japanese Zen Master Kosho Uchiyama about his experience practicing chanting the name of Kanzeon Bodhisattva.
07/05/2025, Mark Lesser, dharma talk at City Center. Marc Lesser discusses a teaching from Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh: Breathing, smiling and living are three ways to practice.
07/02/2025, Doshin Dan Gudgel, dharma talk at City Center. Doshin Dan Gudgel explores the image of Indra's Net and how it relates to life in this complicated, messy modern world.
06/29/2025, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Kokyo Henkel explores what is really transmitted from teacher to student, and some classic Zen stories about Dharma transmission.
This talk was given at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (Zenshinji) by Gendo Lucy Xiao 玄道. Lucy reflects on different aspects of harmony. Recorded on June 28, 2025.
06/22/2025, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. As senior dharma teacher Linda Ruth Cutts prepares to move from Green Gulch and SFZC residency after 54 years she brings up the practice of being upright in the midst of great change.
06/21/2025, Chikudo Catherine Spaeth, dharma talk at Tassajara.
06/21/2025, Esho Sudan, dharma talk at City Center. Esho Sudan explores the life-story and great legacy of Sozen Nagasawa Roshi, a Soto Zen abbess and teacher, founder of the only women's training monastery in WW2-era Japan.
06/18/2025, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. Jisan Tova Green shares how Zen practice has influenced her long engagement with peace and justice issues, and draws from the words and actions of three of her mentors, Joanna Macy, Maylie Scott, and Alan Senauke.
06/15/2025, Gyokuden Stephanie Blank, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Gyokuden Steph Blank shares her experience of grief and gratitude arising through the intimate process of accompanying her father during his recent transition from the miracle of life into the miracle of death.
06/14/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the final section of the Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon by Dogen Zenji.
06/13/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the second section of the Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon by Dogen Zenji.
06/12/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the opening paragraphs of the Eihei Koso Hotsugonmon by Dogen Zenji.
06/11/2025, Rebecca Li, dharma talk at City Center. Dr. Rebecca Li explains how the practice of Silent Illumination is to actualize the Buddha's teachings to be free from suffering.
06/07/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the stories of our early women ancestors, Mahapajapati and Yasodhara.
06/04/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the life of Huineng and living a life of vow, in this talk from the summer 2025 practice intensive at Beginner's Mind Temple.
06/01/2025, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler takes up the theme of “Becoming Yourself,” the title of a new book of talks by Suzuki Roshi, by reflecting on two lines from the book.
05/31/2025, Teah Strozer, dharma talk at City Center. Teah Strozer explores the ways that our assumptions and fixed ideas about people or situations can blind us to change and to what's actually in front of us.
05/25/2025, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Shosan Victoria Austin examines the Memorial Day holiday through a Buddhist lens, particularly looking at the ethical dilemmas in the oaths taken in our society.
05/24/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the twin themes of refuge and compassion in Cases 4 and 54 of the Book of Serenity.
05/21/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the theme of True Refuge as reorientation and wholehearted dedication to awakening, truth and love.
This talk was given at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (Zenshinji) by Shoren Heather Iarusso. Shoren discusses how we get stuck in concepts and cause our own suffering. Recorded on May 21, 2025.
05/17/2025, Zentatsu Richard Baker Roshi, dharma talk at City Center. Former Abbot Zentatsu Richard Baker Roshi discusses lessons from a life of practice, and from close observation of Shunryu Suzuki's life and teachings.
05/14/2025, Myogen Kathryn Stark, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, Myogen Kathryn Stark talks about Shantideva, his work on the Way of the Bodhisattva, and how we apply this to our own lives.
05/14/2025, Tatsudo Nicole Baden, dharma talk at City Center. Tatsudo Nicole Baden explores two foundational Buddhist perspectives: that everything changes (impermanence) and that everything is interconnected (interdependence).
05/11/2025, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, drawing on Suzuki Roshi's teachings, points to Zen practice as fundamentally about opening to the innate love and innate wonder that is our basic nature as human beings.
05/10/2025, Jisho Lisa Hoffman, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, Jisho Lisa Hoffman reflects on Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, and her teacher Darlene Cohen.
Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman takes up Case 12 from the Book of Serenity, titled ‘Dizang Planting the Fields', which touches upon a number of key practice questions that can be beneficial to consider as we encounter and navigate the distressing state of the world.
05/07/2025, Ryotan Cynthia Kear, dharma talk at Tassajara. During a study week devoted to her teachings, Cynthia shares her memories of her teacher, Darlene Cohen.
05/07/2025, Kim Kōgen Daihō Hart, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk Kim explores where we find the sacred. She considers the foundational Buddhist teaching of the Three Marks of Existence and considers how they might influence what we hold as sacred.
05/04/2025, Myles Cowherd, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Myles Cowherd outlines core Zen Buddhist teachings and practices, emphasizing the discovery of inherent Buddha-nature, a guided meditation for presence and compassion, and a positive reframing of the precepts as a guide for life.
05/03/2025, Peter van der Sterre, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, given at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (Zenshinnji), Peter van der Sterre reflects on his years of practice at Zen Center, the people who particularly inspired him, and the value of sitting in community.
05/03/2025, Yogetsu Akasaka, dharma talk at City Center. Yogetsu Akasaka discusses ikigai, a Japanese concept that refers to having a purpose in life.
04/27/2025, Myoju Erin Merk, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Myoju Erin Merk reflects on the yogic power of simplicity in Zen practice, emphasizing how grounding ourselves in the present moment can restore steadiness and wholeness amid overwhelm.
04/26/2025, Sozan Miglioli, dharma talk at City Center. Sozan Miglioli explores the vertical and horizontal dimensions of practice. Understanding this balance between depth and breadth, between going deep and going wide, is key. In today's world, we often lean too far toward one at the expense of the other.
04/23/2025, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma talk at City Center. Shosan Victoria Austin uses Keizan Zenji's teachings to explore the questions: What is intentional service? And, how does this help very different people build an environment of wholeness and trust?
04/16/2025, Shundo David Haye, dharma talk at City Center. Shundo David Haye reflects on the upcoming lay ordination ceremony at Beginner's Mind Temple, and talks about how a teacher sees a student: both how they are right now, and the potential of who they will become through practice.
04/13/2025, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler reflects on comments from Suzuki Roshi's talks on Case #36 of the Blue Cliff Record, exploring lines like “Buddhists resign from the world of suffering in order to live in the world of perpetual joy” and “human beings prefer the unreal to the real.”
04/12/2025, Ryuko Laura Burges, dharma talk at City Center. Ryuko Laura Burges, a lay entrusted teacher, talks about the timeless power of story and shares her recent book, Wisdom Stories of Tibet: Tales of Magic, Adventure, and Bravery.
04/06/2025, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Kokyo Henkel concludes sesshin and a 6-week study of Zen Ancestor Dongshan's "Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi.”
04/05/3035, Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at City Center. Central Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman marks Buddha's birthday by recounting the story of Shakyamuni Buddha's birth over 2500 years ago while exploring the meaning of some of the more fantastical details.
04/02/2025, So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson, dharma talk at City Center. So-on Eli Brown-Stevenson examines the rich intersection between Zen practice and artistic expression—not as a pursuit of perfection, but as a way to return to our true nature.
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