Brooklyn Zen Center

Brooklyn Zen Center
  • 4.7 (21)
  • Buddhism
  • Updated Biweekly

Audio dharma talks from the Brooklyn Zen Center. Our programs are offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If you would like to support Brooklyn Zen Center, please visit the “Giving” section of our website at brooklynzen.org.

  1. 22h ago

    Fierce Compassion: Audio Dharma Talk with Rev. Doyeon Park: (10/10/2026)

    Recorded on October 10, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY. Rev. Doyeon Park, a minister of the Manhattan Won Buddhist Temple and Buddhist spiritual life advisor at Columbia and NYU, explores the complex nature of compassion in her Dharma talk at Brooklyn Zen Center drawing from personal experiences as a student and as a minister. True compassion, she explains, comes from the Latin for “to suffer together” and from the Buddhist concept of Karuna, the wish for all beings to be free from suffering, which is rooted in our interconnection. She describes a three-stage practice: first releasing ill will, then developing a neutral understanding of others’ conditions, and finally wishing genuine well-being even for difficult people. She concludes that “fierce compassion,” meaning strong words or action when needed, must be guided by wisdom and honest reflection on one’s intentions. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited you, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  2. 6d ago

    Learning from History: Audio Dharma Talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson (10/10/2026)

    Recorded on October 10, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY This talk considers the PISAB principle of Learning from History and its connection to Zen practice—specifically, the discipline of studying ourselves. Sarah Sensei explores ways we can engage with both our personal histories and the collective narratives that shape our lives, our places, and our social conditioning. Through this investigation, we can work toward liberating ourselves from inherited patterns of suffering. Mentioned in this talk: New York Narratives, the website for Asad Dandia’s radical history walking tours of NYC. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  3. Oct 6

    Emergent Buddha-nature, Emergent Awakening: Dharma Talk by Charlie Korin Pokorny (09/12/2026)

    Recorded on September 12, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY Welcoming the sangha back after the August break, Charlie Korin Pokorny, BZC Dharma Teacher, explores awakening through the teachings of 13th-century Sōtō Zen founder Dōgen. Themes include Buddha nature as a dynamic, impermanent process rather than a fixed essence; awakening as "doing" rather than seeing; intimate illumination as befriending one's experience; time as inseparable from existence; and Buddha nature expressed in every act of kindness as an ethic of care. Charlie Sensei also introduces BZC's fall practice period, "Liberating Response: Engaged Practice in Ourselves and in the World." Over 12 weeks, the program explores six topics (location, class, race, gender and sexuality, immigration and indigeneity, and earth justice), alternating between internal and external dimensions. Offerings include Saturday talks, Wednesday evening dharma shares, a one-day sit, three- and five-day sesshins, and a six-week online class on B.R. Ambedkar and Navayana Buddhism. The talk frames the four noble truths as emergent and living, with boundless relationality bringing boundless shared responsibility. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  4. Oct 6

    Vigorously Compassionate Self-Scrutiny: Audio Dharma Talk: Sarah Dōjin Emerson (9/26/2026)

    Recorded on September 26, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY This talk considers what is the relationship between how we investigate and inquire into ourselves, and how we show up with compassion in the world. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  5. Aug 9

    Audio Dharma Talk: Charlie Korin Pokorny (7/25/2026)

    Recorded on July 25, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  6. Jul 29

    “What Do You Call the World?” – Practicing with the Expanding and Contracting of our Life of Care: Audio Dharma Talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson (7/11/2026)

    Recorded on July 11, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY Sarah Sensei begins with an invitation to become aware of one’s body, asks those present, “What do you want or need that brought you here?”, and collects individuals’ responses.  Sarah’s dharma talk considers the koan “Dizang Planting the Fields” (The Book of Serenity, Case 12), in which Xiushan asks, “What are you doing in the world?”, and Dizang responds, “What do you call the world?” Sarah reflects on the practices of awareness of, and acceptance of responsibility for, our interconnectedness with all that is our world at each moment, including harm that has occurred. She discusses, in particular, her experience as a trans-racially adoptive parent. This podcast includes the question and response portion of the talk, with express permission of the questioner. The asker describes grappling with remorse over experiences in his youth as a student at an Israeli yeshiva in the occupied territories. Sarah’s response acknowledges the pain that arises from holding the complexity of being a human being who is part of this world, and how this pain belongs in our practice as a sangha, so that we might hold it together. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  7. Jul 10

    Dhamma of Love and Justice – Practicing with B.R. Ambedkar as Engaged Buddhists Today: by Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (6/27/2026)

    Recorded on June 27, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY, during a one-day retreat This dharma talk was given by guest teacher, Maitriveer Nagarjuna. Dhamma teacher and Buddhist scholar, Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (also known as Dr. Santosh Raut) shared a passionate portrait of the Indian social reformer and political leader Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and his approach to engaged Buddhist practice.  Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, born in the Dalit (“Untouchable”) cast, overcame prejudice and adversity to become a prominent Indian jurist, economist, and political leader. He was a primary author of the Constitution of India. Dr. Ambedkar worked tirelessly for the empowerment of the Dalit caste. On October 14, 1958, in rejection of the caste system, he publicly converted to Buddhism, then led the conversion of 500,000 of his followers gathered there. The Ambedkarite Buddhist movement continues to this day. “The greatest thing that the Buddha has done is to tell the world that the world cannot be reformed except by the reformation of the mind of humankind and of the mind of the world.” (Dr. Ambedgar, 1956) Please note that, during Sarah Sensei’s brief introduction of Maitriveer-Nagarjuna, the sound is distorted due to microphone issues. These issues were resolved by the start of his talk, at time mark 00:01:45. Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (Dr. Santosh Raut) hails from Maharashtra, the heartland of the Ambedkarite Buddhist movement. Both a Dhamma teacher and a scholar of Buddhist Aesthetics and Philosophy, he has long been a thought leader and organizer within broader Asian networks of Engaged Buddhism. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

  8. Jun 27

    Present for Pride — Conversing with All Things and with Each Other: Audio Dharma Talk by Charlie Korin Pokorny (6/20/2026)

    Recorded on June 20, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY In this dharma talk, Charlie brings up BZC involvement with Pride Month and discusses the practice of conversation – being in conversation with others, with our experience, and with everything – as a basis of liberation from suffering. He suggests elements of accountability to keep in mind so that literal conversations can be mutually liberating and help to build a truly inclusive sangha. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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4.7
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Audio dharma talks from the Brooklyn Zen Center. Our programs are offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If you would like to support Brooklyn Zen Center, please visit the “Giving” section of our website at brooklynzen.org.

Information

  • Creator
    Brooklyn Zen Center
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    435
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Brooklyn Zen Center
  • Show Website
    Brooklyn Zen Center

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