Young Urban Zen SF San Francisco Zen Center

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.