Taking Refuge

09/15/2024, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk given at Green Gulch Farm, Abiding Abbott Jiryu Rutschman-Byler continues to explore four core elements of zazen practice: low belly, upright spine, clear mind, and wide-open welcoming. He focuses in particular on the practice of "clearing the mind," using teachings of the Buddha and from the Platform Sutra to discuss the dynamic between, on the one hand, welcoming everything including thought, and on the other hand, the fact that without a clear, empty mind the practice of welcoming often feels inaccessible to us.

09/14/2024, Gengyoko Tim Wicks, dharma talk at City Center. In this dharma talk, given at Beginner’s Mind Temple by tanto (head of practice) Gengyoko Tim Wicks, Tim speaks about working with everything that arises in zazen including grief and difficult emotions, for it is all a part of being awake.

09/07/2024, James Ishmael Ford, dharma talk at City Center. This dharma talk was given at Beginner’s Mind Temple’s pop-up zendo at Unity Church on Page Street, by visiting teacher James Ishmael Ford. In the talk, Roshi Ford tells a story from his latest book, “The Intimate Way of Zen: Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey.” In his book James addresses the arc of a spiritual life. He uses the 12th-century Zen verses of Kuoan Shiyuan's Ox Herding Pictures as a scaffolding for an exploration of the winding path of spiritual exploration as well as the twin projects of waking up and growing up. He says the story that he shares here, which comes from the end of the book, and is based in a traditional Indian tale, summarizes the whole thing: who we are, and who we might become.

08/31/2024, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, Abbot Jiryu describes the fundamental Zen practice of "welcoming everything," and emphasizes the posture - grounded belly, upright spine, and clear mind - that we can care for in order to fully embody and actualize that practice.

08/30/2024, Chikudo Catherine Spaeth, dharma talk at Tassajara.

08/28/2024, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at Tassajara.

08/28/2024, Shundo David Haye, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Shundo reflects on a recent visit to Tassajara, which included the monthly Full Moon Ceremony and the Obon Ceremony. He encourages us to remember our place in the ongoing lineage of Buddhas and Ancestors.

08/27/2024, Jan Willis, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, Jan Willis discusses the conditions around the time of Buddha's lifetime, and how the Buddhist community was created.

08/25/2024, Onryu Mary Stares, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. In this talk Onryu Mary Stares discusses reality: how our attachments and karma lead us to obscure reality; how practice guides us to seek what is real in each moment.

08/21/2024, Dan Gudgel, dharma talk at City Center. In this dharma talk, given at Beginner’s Mind Temple, Dan uses the Soto Zen standard “Confession” verse to explore the connections between personal and collective karma. The verse is: “All my ancient twisted karma, from beginningless greed, hate and delusion, born through body speech and mind, I now fully avow.” Avowing karma — acknowledging and accepting the reality of the situation a person is in — is a crucial first step in stopping further harm and beginning to repair harms already done. In the talk, Dan looks at examples of his own karma, inherited in his youth and still reverberating today, even though it’s not beneficial.