The Dharma Gate of Repose and Bliss? What Zazen is Dogen talking about?

Anshi Zachary Smith delivers a talk that asks, and attempts to address, the eternal question, “The Dharma Gate of Repose and Bliss? What Zazen is Dogen talking about?” Many practitioners are baffled by the claim, made in Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, that Zazen is not meditation in the traditional sense but simply the doorway to an experience that is translated as above but also as “ease and joy” in some version of the liturgy. They might (rightly) ask, “How is me sitting here with my knees aching and my mind running off like a dog in a dog park ‘the Dharma Gate of anything?” We’ll get into why, and how it works.

Zachary is a priest at City Center who started practicing here in 1993, was ordained as a priest in 2014 and received Dharma Transmission in 2019. One might reasonably ask what took him so long.

You can find his bio here: https://www.sfzc.org/teachers/anshi-zachary-smith

Wildest Dreams: Yasodara, Harriet Tubman, and You

With Seigen Johnson, we'll spend some time considering how we find ourselves reflected in our theology and balancing our responsibility to past, present, and future.

In the talk the poem, “Still I Rise”, by Maya Angelou is referenced. You can read the poem’s text here:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise

You can also listen to the exact musical recording played by Seigen during the talk here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFMB4i1AJo

Being Prepared for Life

On this two-year anniversary of the closing of the SF Zen Center’s due to the pandemic, Michael McCord speaks about being prepared for life. Being prepared for life in such a way that you have spaciousness to take care of yourself and others.

The philosophical Heritage of Zen

Anshi Zachary Smith speaks on the topic of, "The philosophical heritage of Zen and the bind that it puts all of us in as practitioners.”

Anshi Daigi Zachary Smith has been practicing Zen since 1993. He took jukai in 1995, was Shuso (Head Student) in 2007, ordained as a Zen priest in 2014 and received Dharma Transmission on April 17, 2019, all with former abbot and Senior Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller. He currently directs North Mountain Zendo, a zazenkai (sitting) group in North Beach. In addition to his involvement with Zen, Zachary is a husband, a father of four, an engineer, a musician, a bike fanatic, and an avid but mediocre poet. He may be the only person in the history of Zen in the West to have interrupted a residential practice period to tour with a rock band.

Beginner's Mind: A Visit from Suzuki Roshi

Sandwiched between some light commentary, Eli Brown-Stevenson hosts a very special guest, Suzuki Roshi time traveling from 1965, who will be giving a lecture on Beginner's Mind. As always a cup of tea is welcome!

Eli is a resident priest at City Center and has lived between City Center and Tassajara since 2012. He currently serves as Zen Center's Corporate Secretary and will be starting a new role as Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging for Zen Center in February. You can find his bio here.

'Mu' and Buddha Nature

Heather Shoren Iarusso discusses Buddha Nature in relation to the single syllable word ‘Mu’ and the Koan, “Does a dog have Buddha Nature?”

Heather is a resident priest at City Center who arrived at Tassajara in 2008 and was ordained as a priest in 2015. She currently serves as Zen Center's Online Practice Center Director.