San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks San Francisco Zen Center

04/28/2024, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this talk Zoketsu discusses case 19 of Mumonkan, Nanchuan’s Everyday Mind. Our practice is very plain and ordinary, and yet, the plain and ordinary world is also vast and wide, and when we practice zazen regularly we can begin to live in it with that appreciation. To end his talk Zoketsu quotes at length from a commentary to this story by his late teacher Sojun Weitsman, from his new posthumous book Seeing One Thing Through.

04/27/2024, Kyoshin Wendy Lewis, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Kyoshin Wendy Lewis discusses the Zen text "Harmony of Difference and Equality". Written in the 8th century in China, the "Harmony of Difference and Equality" holds significant importance in Zen history. It is chanted daily in many Zen temples and at the memorial ceremonies of founding teachers. The tone of the poem is an examination of the interactivity of the relative and absolute truths. In his commentary on the poem, Shunryu Suzuki says "The capacity of the human mind has three aspects: potentiality, interrelationship, and appropriateness. ... [T]he 'interrelationship between someone who helps and someone who is helped' is called jihi [which] is usually translated as ‘love.'"

04/24/2024, Kodo Conlin, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Kodo Conlin discusses this rich topic. Here, we resolve the distance between speaker and listener to turn the questions, "What is the shape of our practice?" and "How do we stay intimate with Dharma?" Also, haiku by Mitsu Suzuki one day after the 110th anniversary of her birth.

04/17/2024, Anshi Zachary Smith, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Anshi Zachary Smith digs into the well-known Case 17 of the Blue Cliff Record. Here, we discover that there are unexpected and experientially accurate ways to interpret the original text of Hsiang Lin’s response beyond the usual, “Sitting for a long time becomes toilsome.” We explore some of these and talk about what, if anything, the “toil” or work of Zazen might be, both in the course of a single sitting and of a lifetime of practice.

04/14/2024, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this talk, Jiryu suggests that by reflecting on the potential of Artificial Intelligence in Buddhism, in the form, for example, of the Suzuki Roshi chatbot, we can be led to renew our commitment to embodied presence, which is the real purpose and effort of Zen practice, and the real source of Bodhisattvas’ wisdom and compassion.

04/13/2024, Shosan Victoria Austin, dharma talk at City Center.
Zen forms work both in clear and hidden ways. In this interactive lecture, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Shosan Victoria Austin discusses the ancient chants, called dharanis, which sound like magic spells. At a deeper level, they function as rituals that hold teachings. Chanted with faith and energy, they build safe internal space — physically through posture, physiologically through sound, and mentally through key words of wisdom and compassion. Recited daily in Zen temples throughout the world, the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani (Jvala-Maha-Ugra Dharani, “Flame of Great Strength Dharani”) empowers us in resources. In times of disaster and conflict, more resources means less overwhelm. Through practice, we can take steps towards refuge and relief.