San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks San Francisco Zen Center

03/24/2024, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
This talk by Eijun Linda Cutts was offered and dedicated to Caroline Meister, a Tassajara resident whose accidental death touched so many with sorrow. The talk looks at the Koan “Daowu’s Condolence Call” Case 55 in the Blue Cliff Record, and the non-dual life of zazen and precepts.

03/23/2024, Marc Lesser, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk Marc Lesser examines some instructions from Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, for living a full life; a life of practice, joy, grief, ordinary, and sacred.

03/20/2024, Gendo Lucy Xiao, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Gendo Lucy Xiao explores case number 3 from the koan collection "The Blue Cliff Record” — the case known as “Master Ma is Unwell.” In the talk, Lucy discusses entering the path of awakening from right here, in the life we are living.

03/16/2024, Sojun Mel Weitsman - Norman Fischer - Andrea Thach - Susan Moon, book release at City Center.
In this discussion, three long-time Zen practitioners discuss their experiences with Sojun Mel Weitsman, and highlight key portions of his autobiography and teachings. The discussion was held in celebration of the release of a new book about Sojun’s life and practice.

03/13/2024, Koshin Steven Tierney, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Koshin Steven Tierney discusses the experience of loss and grief, and how these very natural and individual human experiences unfold within spiritual community. We must attend to our grief, individually and collectively, in order to maintain healthy relationships and communities. Featuring Clint Smith’s poem “Expedience,” Grace Noll Crowell’s “Let Me Come in Friend,” and the Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon.

03/10/2024, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
The great Way is not difficult for those who hold no preferences, it is like vast space with nothing lacking and nothing extra. At the moment awareness turns around and illuminates itself, there is going beyond appearance and emptiness.