Young Urban Zen SF

Kōgetsu talks about the 5 Remembrances, a very powerful Buddhist teaching on impermanence and on owning our karma and actions.

Resentment often lingers quietly, heavy, unspoken, and rooted in pain. But it can be your teacher, showing you where you are still holding on. In this talk, Hiro explores how Zen practice invites us to meet resentment with tenderness and curiosity. By turning toward it, we may uncover the hurt beneath and open the way to healing, compassion, and freedom. Even our hardest emotions can become gateways on the path of practice.

As children, many of us were raised by parents who told us to “be patient—and yet, few of us learned exactly what patience is or how to cultivate it. Mei Elliott explores what patience looks like, and how we can manifest it in our life and practice. If we're experiencing any form of suffering—large or small—patience can provide a doorway to freedom amidst difficulty.

Eli Brown-Stevenson talks about the transformative power of ‘affinity'—that natural resonance of being seen and welcomed—and how zazen practice can help us meet ourselves and others with openness, trust, and compassion.

Zachary Smith reflects on a talk given by Zentatsu Richard Baker, SFZC's second Abbot, in 2012 about the idea of “mental posture”. Zach discusses how this idea can help us both with sitting and with bringing practice to our daily activity outside the Zendo.

Kōgetsu talks about how our Zen practice can help us better approach love and intimacy. How can the Bodhisattva Precepts, Eightfold Path, and other tools help us be upright with our relationships to others and ourselves?

Michael discusses taking refuge in sangha, from the standpoint of Buddhist training for being with not only the sangha and the world, but clues to our own mystery of suffering. How good is our hearing for those with whom we do not agree? How do we cultivate being present with people whom we find oppressive or askew with our views, especially if we are trying to find our voice?

Zachary Smith unpacks the English word “Love”—perhaps the most overloaded word in the language—and talks about its experiential footprint in practice, as well as how practice can foster love in our everyday relationships.

How can zazen and our practice of the Bodhisattva Precepts help us be upright with our relationships to others and ourselves? Kōgetsu talks about how our Zen practice can help us better approach love and intimacy.

Michael talks about the Triple Treasure and taking refuge in Soto Zen Buddhism.

Zachary Smith shares two koans from the Blue Cliff Record.

Kodo Conlin says farewell and talks about practice and leadership transition at YUZ.

I will be sharing my thoughts and reflections on a poem The Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi and how understanding the nature of duality can alleviate suffering

The topic is (yet another) Zen story, suitable for the late season and the promise of a New Year, that brings up the question of what actually happens when the world ends. For those who have a copy of the Blue Cliff Record lying around, the case number is 29.

Our topic for this talk is A True Companion: Zazen & Mortality. We will begin with embodiment and stay close to our resources as we take an honest, Dharmic look into the transformative power of this journey from here to the end of our life.

The topic is focused on an old Zen story (Case 4 of the Blue Cliff Record for those who are familiar with the literature), which discusses the apparently paradoxical relationship between what we might call “spiritual ambition”—i.e. wishing to benefit in some way from a spiritual practice like Zen—and the way in which ambition of any sort (aka “grasping”) is a barrier to fruitful practice.

What is the intersection of Zen and Politics? What principles in Zen practice are most pertinent to engaging/not engaging/digesting the political discourses of our times?

When we're struggling or feeling lost, what do we have faith in? In other words, what do we believe will bring greater happiness? In this sense, we're all placing our faith in something-- whether that's the Dharma, a job promotion, romance, Netflix or cookies; we all seek happiness somewhere. Though faith isn't often associated with Buddhism, it's a fundamental part of the practice. During this session, we'll talk about the role of faith in our awakening, and how placing our faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, can provide a reliable refuge. For those that get the willies at the mere mention of faith, fear not-- we'll be exploring definitions of this term that go beyond the typical associations.

The topic is the koan of "Jumping Off the Hundred Foot Pole" (Case 79 Blue Cliff Record) and how we can find trust and faith in ourselves and our practice. How can we cultivate loving kindness and compassion within our zazen practice and how we spread that to the world around us?

We'll talk, inspired by a Koan—Case 30 of the Blue Cliff Record—about what we're actually “supposed" to be practicing with.

We have so many different types of work and yet, they are all governed by the same Zen principles: what does this moment ask for? What is my body sensation and mental formation around what is happening? How can I appropriately show up for "production" when Zen is about the "path" not necessarily the end result?

Each moment, the mind takes on an attitude, perspective, or way of seeing. These perspectives will often color our vision such that reality is missed and we see everything through me-colored glasses. We'll talk about what Zazen has to do with taking off distorted lenses and seeing the world anew.

We will discuss what it can be to be "awake" in the midst of our busy lives. Practically speaking, what is it to be "awake" in places like work and bring practice to our daily struggles? How can the practice of awakening help with the daily stresses and anxieties that arise? We'll look at embodied rituals and zazen that can help alleviate suffering and help us get through our difficulties with grace and integrity.

In Zen, words are tools to guide us, but they are not the destination. We will discuss how words can sometimes mislead us in practice, and how we can stay grounded in the direct, lived experience of our true nature rather than getting lost in concepts.

Zachary Smith: we'll answer the age-old and often-asked question, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?”

Michael McCord: Do Zen monks have difficult conversations that they wrestle with whether to have or not? What space does difficulty with others play in the Buddhist path? Tonight we will explore the subject of difficult conversations, and when it may or may not be best to engage. And if so, what we do before, during and after - so that we and others may suffer a little less and set tomorrow up for a bit more thriving.

Eli Brown-Stevenson: We will be discussing a few flavors of fear and the role of zazen (Zen meditation) in overcoming everyday anxieties.

Michael McCord: what does Zen elucidate about who we are if there is "no self"? A machine is looked at as a soulless collection of fallible parts that are subject to decay and failure. How is this different from the Zen concept of the self, an unfixed ever changing collection of matter with no permanent properties that eventually falls apart? And why does it matter?

Kogetsu Mok: we'll dive deep on ”Studying the Self” from Dogen Zenji's Genjo Koan.

For our discussion, let's see if we can point to the heart of the matter regarding our practice of Zazen.

The session will be inspired by Case 74 of the Book of Serenity, commonly known as “Fayan's ‘Substance and Name,'” which, frankly, gives the best-ever accounting of the vicissitudes of the human condition. With this gift in hand we will puzzle together over the central question of what, in Buddha's name, we should do about it.

Mei Elliott: The theme for the evening was the Buddha's Five Daily Recollections, with an emphasis on the third reflection, which focuses on death and dying. Recollections on death are common in the Buddhist tradition and can be a powerful source of wisdom and compassion.

Michael McCord: Compassion and Empathy, the difference between these two (compassion involves empathy but also brings in the element of action/no action as a decision) and how do concepts like “tough love” fit into and or work with these fundamental elements of practice? As a cornerstone of Buddhist practice (compassion cultivation) how do we set good/healthy boundaries while not veering into ruinous empathy or cold hearted disassociation from another's struggle?

The topic will be about Shikantaza and Emptiness. What is shikantaza practice? What is "emptiness"? How can that help us in our daily lives as we navigate the difficulties that come our way?

Kogetsu Mok: How can we use Zen practice to navigate the persistent mountains in our lives with poise and balance?

Kodo Conlin: We'll look directly into some of the basics and subtleties of Zazen.

Eli Brown-Stevenson: in this week's gathering we will talk about the heart/mind that brings us to practice and we will also do a welcoming exercise to help inspire our zazen practice.

Zachary Smith: Lately I've been thinking about all the cases where some teacher, for some reason, has been required to boil their knowledge and experience down to a single, simple compelling expression and deliver it. The Buddhist literature is full of examples and we'll talk, at least briefly, about some of them but I'll also be giving it a try as well.

Mei Elliott: Mindfulness has the extraordinary capacity to cultivate wholesome states and diminish unwholesome ones, illuminating the path to happiness. In this meeting we'll explore the Buddhist roots behind the buzzword, and discuss the liberating potential of this practice.

Kogetsu Mok: discussing the Buddhist principle of the "Perfection of Patience" and how this can help us to meet our suffering, anxieties, and difficulties. How can we examine the nature of our suffering with self-awareness and clarity? How can we cultivate patience and tolerance? How can we meet every moment of our lives with wisdom and equanimity?Patience can help us to find inner freedom and peace which can remind us that we are all interconnected. We can learn to find agency to act skillfully and to not be controlled by habitual patterns. In this, we can begin to create better karmic conditions for ourselves and others.

Michael McCord: in a world with so much suffering, how can a person (should a person?) be joyful? Is this not taking the cares of the world seriously? And in the face of so many existential threats (pandemics, climate change, political polarization, wars, etc.) - what is the appropriate way to live a life that is responsible, connected and thriving?We'll unpack this from the context of Zen Buddhist principles. Since Buddhism has at its core the concept of "liberation", one shouldn't have to wait until some distant time in the future to exhale and set down the baggage of the world, and find ways to live into mini-liberations all along the way.

Zachary Smith shares a collection of strange Zen stories, including Case 19 of the Blue Cliff Record, about a teacher named Jùzhī with a very eccentric teaching style.

In this week's gathering we will talk about practical application of some of the core Buddhist teachings by bringing inquiry and curiosity to the expectations we hold.

Kodo Conlin: In this brief dharmette, we collapse the gap between audience and speaker and set the stage for intimate exchange about the Zazen.

Michael McCord discusses “things that are broken” and celebrating the way we are.

Zachary Smith covers case 14 of the Blue Cliff Record, “Yun Men's Appropriate Statement”

Michael McCord: Is it "OK" to use Zen to get from A to B as a transactional practice or should a person only practice Zen and see what the fruits of this are? In other words: can Zen be my workout tool for focus?

Portion from The Loving Kindness Meditation, " Let no one deceive another nor despise any being in any state. Let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another. Even as a mother at the risk of her life Watches over and protects her only child, So with a boundless mind should one cherish all living things. Suffusing love over the entire world, Above, below, and all around, without limit, So let one cultivate an infinite good will toward the whole world " In this week's gathering we will talk about how zazen is a practice of all of the above and more!

Michael McCord: In this week's session I plan to unpack the various ways strong emotions - particularly ones that are often thought of as 'negative' - play in our lives from the perspective of Zen and its principles for living.

Zachary Smith: following on from Mei's recent talk on Equanimity, I'll be talking about another of the four Brahmavihārās, Muditā or Sympathetic Joy. We'll talk about how this marvelous quality can arise, how it's related to the Western idea of Love and, in the end, trying to get at the common element of all four “immeasurable”, as they're sometimes called.