The Berkeley Zen Center Audio Archive

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Showing 3306 talks

Title	Speaker	Date
The Bodhisattva Ceremony & the Precepts Serial: BZ-03123 The talk presents the monthly Bodhisattva ceremony (Ryaku Fusatsu) as a practice of confession, renewal, and recommitment to the precepts. It traces the ceremony’s historical forms and argues that ethical practice requires both... *Precepts, Ceremony, Bodhisattva*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Feb 04 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Introduction to Zen Class 4 (Dōgen) Serial: BZ-03122 The talk presents Dōgen’s central teaching as the inseparability of practice and realization: beings are Buddha nature, yet awakening is enacted through zazen and everyday activity rather than attained as a separate goal. It also... *Dogen, Buddha Nature, Zazen*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Feb 02 2023 Class 4 Berkeley Zen Center
The Fruits of Practice Serial: BZ-03121 The talk presents practice as a loosening of fixed self-narratives and a widening of awareness, rather than a means of gaining a desired outcome. Through zazen and koan study, suppressed emotions and habitual thinking become less... *Rinzai, Koan, Zazen*	Ellen Webb	Jan 28 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Introduction to Zen Class 3 (Tungshan) Serial: BZ-03120 The talk examines Dongshan’s formation within early Chan lineages and his encounters with Nanyue, Guishan, and Yunyan. Its central teaching is that Dharma is expressed by both sentient and insentient beings, and that awakening... *Dongshan, Vinaya, Suzuki Roshi*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jan 28 2023 Class 3 Berkeley Zen Center
Sojun’s “Establishing a Practice” Serial: BZ-03119 The talk presents lay Zen practice as a sustained commitment integrated with work, family, and community. Drawing on Sojin Roshi’s teaching, it emphasizes mutual support in the sangha, flexible but intentional zazen schedules,... *Zazen, Lay Practice, Suzuki Roshi*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jan 21 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Introduction to Zen Class (Huineng) Serial: BZ-03118 The talk reads the Platform Sutra’s account of Huineng’s succession alongside Shenxiu’s verse, treating their contrast not as a simple victory of sudden enlightenment over gradual cultivation but as complementary dimensions:... *Platform Sutra, Enlightenment, Ordination*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jan 19 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Responding to Conditions (Case 16, Mumonkan) Serial: BZ-03117 The talk interprets Case 16 of the Mumonkan—“The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robe at the sound of the bell?”—as a teaching on expressing realization through wholehearted practice. Zazen and everyday activities... *Zazen, Suzuki Roshi, Lay Practice*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jan 14 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Sojun Reflection Serial: BZ-03116 The talk uses Dongshan’s account of honoring Yunyan despite receiving no explicit teaching—and agreeing with only half of a predecessor’s teaching—to frame remembrance of Sojin Roshi as a practice of gratitude without... *Suzuki Roshi, Community, Ceremony*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jan 07 2023 Berkeley Zen Center
Instructions for the Cook by Dogen Zenji Serial: BZ-02894 The talk reads Dōgen’s Tenzo Kyōkun as a guide to all practice: wholehearted attention to ordinary tasks expresses three interrelated minds—joyful, nurturing, and magnanimous. Kitchen work becomes Zen practice when practitioners... *Tenzo, Tenzo Kyokun, Dogen*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 17 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi Six Serial: BZ-03115 The concluding discussion of the Fukanzazengi presents zazen as aimless practice-realization: awakening is not a special state but an activity expressed in ordinary life. Dōgen’s closing images affirm that practice here and now... *Zazen, Ordinary Mind, Dogen*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 11 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi Five Serial: BZ-03114 The talk reads the latter sections of Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi and interprets zazen as practice-realization: not a method for attaining enlightenment, but the direct enactment of it through alert, receptive non-thinking. It also... *Enlightenment, Zazen, Buddha Nature*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 10 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi Four Serial: BZ-03113 The talk interprets Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi as teaching zazen not as staged meditation but as the direct practice-realization of awakening: posture supports receptive, non-thinking awareness, in which thoughts and perceptions arise... *Zazen, Concentration, Samadhi*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 09 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi Three Serial: BZ-03112 The talk reads Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi as teaching practice-realization: zazen expresses awakening rather than serving as a means to attain it. Shikantaza and “dropping body and mind” involve receptive, open awareness that lets... *Dogen, Zazen, Concentration*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 08 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi Two Serial: BZ-03111 The talk reads Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi as presenting practice and realization as inseparable: awakening is not an achievement to pursue, but an activity enacted through sustained practice and service. Its “backward step” turns... *Enlightenment, Dogen, Japan*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 06 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Fukanzazengi One Serial: BZ-03110 The talk presents Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi as both practical instruction for zazen and an expression of the inseparability of practice and realization: practice does not produce an otherwise absent Way but embodies it. It emphasizes... *Suzuki Roshi, Dogen, Enlightenment*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Dec 05 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Renunciation Serial: BZ-03109 Renunciation is the repeated practice of releasing attachment, not through austerity or self-criticism but through careful examination of what sustains suffering and what becomes possible when it falls away. Zazen, renewed vows,... *Renunciation, Suffering, Happiness*	Carol Paul	Dec 03 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
The Practice of Ambiguity Serial: BZ-03108 The talk presents Zen practice as an embrace of ambiguity: zazen cultivates awareness that apparent opposites coexist within the wholeness of experience. This practice extends into ethical inquiry, asking practitioners to hold... *Zazen, Suzuki Roshi, Effort*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Nov 26 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Practice and Aging Serial: BZ-03107 The talk presents aging as a practice of “seeing as is”: meeting loss, changing capacities, and unfinished relationships without abandoning present-moment engagement. Daily zazen, poetry, journaling, ancestor chanting, the Five... *Poetry, Zazen, Koan*	Penelope Thompson	Nov 19 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Reflections on INEB in Korea Serial: BZ-03018 The talk reports on the 2022 International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) conference in Korea, whose theme, “Buddhism in a Divided World,” frames Buddhist practice as a resource for nonviolent conflict resolution, social... *War, Community, Soto Zen*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Nov 12 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
That Is Not Your Mind – This Very Mind Is You Serial: BZ-03017 The talk reads the Śūraṅgama Sūtra as a teaching that perceived objects and discriminating thought do not constitute the mind, while awareness itself is not separate from them. Because every practice is intermittent, the task is... *Enlightenment, Consciousness, Delusion*	Robert Rosenbaum	Nov 05 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Longevity Without Misery Serial: BZ-03106 -	Jisan Tova Green	Oct 30 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Being Alive Until You’re Dead Serial: BZ-03105 The talk treats mortality as a condition of being fully alive: accepting impermanence can lessen fear, deepen gratitude, and support love and compassionate action. Drawing on Zen practice and personal reflections on aging, loss,... *Impermanence, Suffering, Koan*	Susan Moon	Oct 22 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Reflections on Jukai 2022 Serial: BZ-03306 The talk presents Jukai as a communal transmission of precepts that shifts practitioners’ relationships to themselves, the sangha, and the lineage. Because the precepts are an impossible commitment to fulfill perfectly, practice... *Precepts, Ceremony, Effort*	Peter Overton	Oct 15 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
The 8-Fold Path in Sangha Serial: BZ-03104 The talk interprets the Noble Eightfold Path as a practice of “appropriate response,” enacted moment by moment through intimacy, care, and harmonizing with others. In the Soto Zen sangha, this means addressing difficult... *Sangha, Eightfold Path, Soto Zen*	Judy Fleischman	Oct 09 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Reflections on The Inner Work of Racial Justice Serial: BZ-03282 The talk presents anti-racist practice as lifelong work grounded in Dharma, requiring both clear examination of personal and structural bias and sustained awareness of shared dignity and belonging. It relates the Eightfold Path—... *Sangha, Effort, Community*	Rhonda Magee	Oct 08 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Right Speech & Right Action Serial: BZ-02972 Right speech and right action express the insight of interconnectedness through attentive listening, mindful choice, and activity free of a gaining idea. Because no fixed rule guarantees a right response, practice involves... *Right Speech, Listening, Effort*	Susan Marvin	Oct 06 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Pure Effort Serial: BZ-03103 The talk presents right effort as sustained, responsive practice that aligns attention and action with wholesomeness, rather than striving toward perfection or exhaustion. In zazen, effort integrates concentration and mindfulness... *Right Effort, Effort, Zazen*	Ryushin Andrea Thach	Oct 01 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Aspect Class 3 – Right Effort and Right Livelihood Serial: BZ-02971 The discussion treats right effort as sustained, non-striving practice: returning to breath and posture, cultivating wholesome mental states, and carrying awareness into daily conduct. Joy, ease, and contentment are presented not... *Effort, Right Effort, Suffering*	Hannah Meara	Sep 29 2022 Class 3 Berkeley Zen Center
Right Concentration & Right Mindfulness Serial: BZ-03102 The talk presents right concentration and right mindfulness as interdependent limbs of the Eightfold Path, cultivated through zazen and enacted in daily life. Concentration requires effort without attachment to peaceful states;... *Eightfold Path, Heart Sutra, Concentration*	Karen Sundheim	Sep 24 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Aspects Class 2 – Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration Serial: BZ-02970 The talk presents right mindfulness and right concentration as experiential practices of returning to the present, observing bodily sensations and mental states, and meeting them without suppression or attachment. It examines the... *Concentration, Zazen, Hindrances*	Penelope Thompson	Sep 23 2022 Class 2 Berkeley Zen Center
Not Knowing and Right View Serial: BZ-03016 Right view is no fixed view: shikantaza cultivates nonattachment to thoughts, while everyday practice begins from not knowing and responds to each moment without treating contingent narratives as ultimate truth. This stance does... *Suffering, Zazen, Koan*	Greg Denny	Sep 17 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Aspects Class 1 – Right View, Right Thinking Serial: BZ-02969 The class treats right view and right thinking as interdependent, developing through zazen rather than as fixed attainments or sequential steps. Practice loosens attachment to views and habitual reactions, expands understanding... *Suffering, Zazen, Suzuki Roshi*	Carol Paul	Sep 15 2022 Class 1 Berkeley Zen Center
A Journey Along the Eightfold Path Serial: BZ-03100 The talk presents the Noble Eightfold Path as a lived practice of intention, moment-to-moment awareness, ethical action, and responsiveness to changing conditions. Drawing on illness and caregiving, it links right view and self-... *Eightfold Path, Karma, Practice Period*	Gerry Oliva	Sep 10 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Reflections on Sangha Practice Serial: BZ-03099 The talk frames sangha as both a collective field of practice and the everyday setting in which Buddhist teachings become relational conduct. Its central claim is that sangha need not be harmonious or perfect: conflict,... *Sangha, Eightfold Path, Zazen*	Mary Duryee	Sep 03 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
The Zendo, What is it? What are we doing here? Serial: BZ-03098 The talk frames the zendo—physical and virtual—as a sanctuary that supports stillness, shared practice, and a shift from habitual self-concern toward a more spacious awareness. Drawing on Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and Buddhadasa... *Sanctuary, Big Mind, Wisdom*	Laurie Senauke	Aug 27 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Culture and Change Serial: BZ-03097 The talk frames equity and inclusion as an expression of Zen practice: the Bodhisattva precept against praising oneself at others’ expense calls for humility and full inclusion, while impermanence and non-self make cultural... *Sangha, Soto Zen, Precepts*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Aug 20 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Rhythm in Continuous Practice Serial: BZ-03096 The talk presents continuous Zen practice as an unbroken rhythm in which sitting, daily activities, distraction, and return all belong to practice. It emphasizes embodied attention, integration with the sangha, and returning... *Continuous Practice, Suzuki Roshi, Sangha*	Susan Marvin	Aug 13 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
There Is No Other Serial: BZ-03095 The talk argues that “no self” entails “no other”: the perceived separation that enables dehumanization and violence is a mental construction with ethical consequences. Drawing on the Platform Sutra, Tonglen, and Sojin Roshi’s... *Zazen, Bodhisattva, War*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Aug 06 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
The Harmony Within the One and the Many Serial: BZ-03094 The talk reads the Sandōkai, Heart Sutra, and Dongshan’s Five Positions through the interdependence of darkness (the absolute, stillness, and acceptance) and light (the relative, differentiated activity). Zazen cultivates... *Suzuki Roshi, Sandokai, Zazen*	Ross Blum	Jul 31 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Mind Is Buddha? Serial: BZ-03093 The talk examines Mazu’s paired teachings, “This very mind is Buddha” and “Not mind, not Buddha,” as context-sensitive responses rather than fixed doctrines. Their practical implication is to meet ordinary life without clinging... *Ordinary Mind, Koan, Dogen*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jul 23 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Living “Just This” Serial: BZ-03092 The talk interprets the Xinxin Ming’s teaching on preferences as a practice of releasing attachment and resistance, not eliminating ordinary preferences or becoming passive. Zazen, bowing, and responsive action cultivate... *Suzuki Roshi, Zazen*	Ellen Webb	Jul 16 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Sharing the Same Boat Serial: BZ-03091 The talk interprets Dōgen’s Bodaisatta Shishōbō through its fourth practice, identity action (dōji): expressing the non-separation of self and others through shared activity, not merely holding an idea of oneness. Zazen supports... *Suffering, Separation, Suzuki Roshi*	Nanzan Harald Schoecklmann	Jul 11 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Throw Your Fear Into the Air Serial: BZ-03305 The talk presents fear as both a necessary survival response and a source of suffering when it arises without an immediate threat. Zazen, sangha, gratitude, returning to the breath, and confidence in practice help practitioners... *Zazen, Sangha, Emotions*	Juen Friederike Boissevain	Jul 09 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
The Inner Tangle & the Outer Tangle Serial: BZ-03090 The talk reads the Jāta Sutta’s question—how to untangle inner and outer entanglement—as a teaching on the inseparability of personal suffering, social conditions, and karma. It argues that sustained practice requires listening... *Karma, Listening, Dharma Transmission*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jul 02 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Take Very Good Care of Whatever’s in Front of You Serial: BZ-03015 The talk presents Zen practice as inseparable from realization and grounded in meeting each circumstance with care. Drawing on Dōgen’s teachings and koan exchanges, it connects everyday practice—showing up, attending to what is... *Dogen, Sangha, Zazen*	Zenshin Greg Fain	Jun 25 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Finding Joy in the Midst of Difficult Change Serial: BZ-03089 The talk locates joy not in favorable circumstances or excitement but in a cultivated frame of mind grounded in zazen, contentment, gratitude, and wholehearted service. Drawing on Dōgen and the Dalai Lama–Desmond Tutu dialogue,... *Effort, Happiness, Dogen*	Carol Paul	Jun 18 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
A Shuso’s Practice Serial: BZ-02882 The talk presents the shuso role and ceremony as a threshold into greater responsibility for teaching, grounded in humble service, openness, and mutual support between the shuso and sangha. Drawing on Suzuki Roshi’s distinction... *Ceremony, Practice Period, Shuso*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jun 12 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
How Do We Follow Ordinary Mind Serial: BZ-03014 The talk develops “ordinary mind is the way” through teachings on patience, endurance, and wholehearted practice. Drawing on Sojin Roshi’s reflections and the koan in The Gateless Gate, it presents zazen as dynamic activity and “... *Zazen, Suzuki Roshi, Samadhi*	Hozan Alan Senauke	Jun 11 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
“Medicine and Disease subdue each other.” Serial: BZ-03013 The talk examines the case “Medicine and Disease Subdue Each Other” through illness, treatment, and Zen practice. It presents disease not only as something medicine addresses but as inseparable from medicine, while emphasizing... *Suzuki Roshi, Listening*	Gary Artim	Jun 10 2022 Berkeley Zen Center
Radical Mindfulness Serial: BZ-03012 The talk interprets the Lotus Sutra through a personal movement from seeking individual relief and extraordinary experiences toward bodhisattva practice grounded in “radical mindfulness.” Drawing on Thich Nhat Hanh, it presents... *Lotus Sutra, Suffering, Skillful Means*	Gerry Oliva	Jun 09 2022 Berkeley Zen Center

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