Author: Berry Crawford

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May 22, 2023 – “The Light” – A Practice Talk by Oscar Balaguer

Practice Talk given by Oscar Balaguer on Monday, May 22th, 2023 – (Audio Version: 13.3MB, 58 min).

Oscar Balaguer

Oscar Balaguer

Senior Student

A longtime Zen practitioner and member of Valley Streams, Oscar was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson.
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May 8th, 2023 – “Awakening and Delusion Rise Up Together” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler

Dharma Talk given on Monday, April 24th, 2023 by Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (9.14 MB, 39 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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May 6th, 2023 – “Happy Birthday!” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, May 6th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (8.7 MB, 32 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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May 1st, 2023 – “Not Like a Hermit Crab” – Dharma Talk by Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, May 1st, 2023 –  Myo Lahey (12.9 MB, 54 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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April 24th, 2023 – “Grief and the Jizo Ceremony” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler

Dharma Talk given on Monday, April 24th, 2023 by Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (3.4 MB, 15 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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April 17th, 2023 – “The Whole Works of Practice” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, April 17th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (12.5 MB, 54 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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April 10th, 2023 – “The Science of Zen” – Dharma Talk by Gambō Berry Crawford

Dharma Talk given on Saturday, April 10th, 2023 –  Gambō Berry Crawford (14.6 MB, 1hr).

Gambō Berry Crawford

Gambō Berry Crawford

Other Sangha Leaders

Berry  has been a Zen practitioner since 1992.  In the mid 90’s he lived for a year at a Soto Zen monastery and afterwards practiced with Diane Rizzetto in Charlotte Joko Beck’s Ordinary Mind Zen School.  He was fully ordained as a priest in the Clear Mind Zen school by John Shoji Sorensen. At Valley Streams he is a member of the Dōan-ryo, serves as  Valley Streams’ webmaster and representative on the Sacramento Dharma Center Board. He is the host of the Simplicity Zen Podcast  (https://simplicityzen.com/) and maintains the Science of Zen website (https://scienceofzen.org/).

Talk Notes:

Science_of_Zen_Lecture_NotesDownload
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April 1st, 2023 – “Riding in the Same Boat with All Beings” – Dharma Talks by Kokyo Henkel

Dharma Talks given on 4/1/2023 by Kokyo Henkel

Rev. Kokyo Henkel

Rev. Kokyo Henkel

Visiting Teacher

Kokyo Henkel has been practicing Zen since 1990, in residence at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, most recently as Tanto (Head of Practice), Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, No Abode Hermitage in Mill Valley, Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan, and Santa Cruz Zen Center. He was ordained as a Zen priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. Kokyo is interested in exploring how the original teachings of Buddhadharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and harmony to this troubled world.

Part 1:

Part 2:

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March 27th, 2023 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine

Dharma Talk given on Saturday, March 27th, 2023 –  Rev. Mary Mocine (12.2 MB, 48 min).

Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine

Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine

Visiting Teacher

Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in May 2005.
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March 20th, 2023 – “Giving it Away” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Saturday, March 20th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (10.0 MB, 43 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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March 13th, 2023 – “Way Seeking Mind Talk” – by Jody Ansell

Way Seeking Mind talk given on Monday, March 13th, 2023 –  Jody Ansell (7.5 MB, 32 min).

Jody Ansell

Jody Ansell

Board of Directors

Jody Ansell started meditating in 2008 with One Drop Rinzai Zen’s Water Moon Sangha. She has been sitting with Valley Streams since 2014. She is retired, a hiking and biking enthusiast and a poet.

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March 6th, 2023 – “We Die and We Do Not Die” – Dharma Talk by Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, March 6th, 2023 –  Myo Lahey (10.3 MB, 44 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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March 4th, 2023 – “Communing with the Source” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Dharma Talk given on Saturday, March 4th, 2023 by Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (6.3 MB, 26 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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February 27th, 2023 – “Mahāpajāpatī” – Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin

Dharma Talk given on Monday, February 27th, 2023 –  Hoka Chris Fortin (10.2 MB, 43 min).

Hoka Soko Chris Fortin

Hoka Soko Chris Fortin

Visiting Teacher

Chris began her practice in 1976 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She is founding and guiding teacher of the Dharma Heart Zen sanghas in Sonoma County, an Everyday Zen senior priest and teacher, and guiding teacher for Sky Island Zen in Tucson, AZ. She offers retreats and practice groups through SF Zen Center that include Jizo Bodhisattva Journeys through grief and change, Jizo Ceremonies, Wildland Firefights Retreats. She co-founded Veterans Path for current era veterans and co-facilitates (with Valley Streams Ino Doralee Grindler Katonah) an ongoing Racial and Social Justice as Dharma Practice group.
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February 20th, 2023 – “No Cold or Heat” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Saturday, Feburary 20th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (11.7 MB, 50 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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February 13th, 2023 – “Where My Practice Is” – Dharma Talk by Shōku Kathy Early

Dharma Talk given on Monday, February 13th, 2023 –  Rev. Shōku Kathy Early (15.6 MB, 57 min).

Shōku Kathy Early

Shōku Kathy Early

Visiting Teacher

Shōku Kathy Early came to zen practice in 1994 through classes with Tenshin Reb Anderson at the Yoga Room in Berkeley while working as a semiconductor engineer in Silicon Valley. She then practiced for several years with Keido Les Kaye at Kannon Do Zen Center in Mountain View, after which she trained at San Francisco Zen Center for 16 years. She was priest ordained by Tenshin Anderson in 2005. Shōku also spent a year and a half in residence at Toshoji International Training Monastery, in Okayama, Japan, including four angos (90 day training periods).
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February 4th, 2023 – “Hidden in the Moonlight” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, February 4th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (12.5 MB, 48 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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January 30th, 2023 – “Keizan Zenji” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Taiga Ito

Dharma Talk given on Monday, January 30th, 2023 –  Rev. Taiga Ito (8.66 MB, 37 min).

Rev. Taiga Ito

Rev. Taiga Ito

Visiting Teacher

Rev. Taiga Ito, trained at Daihonzan Sojiji, one of the head monasteries of Soto Shu (Soto Zen in Japan). In 2016, Taiga Ito became Kokusaifukyoshi (international teacher of Soto Shu). He served as secretary of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center between 2016 and 2018, and has served as its Assistant Director since 2019.
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January 23nd, 2023 – “A Zen Approach to Mindfulness”- Practice Talk by Shuji Cody Miller

Dharma Talk given on Monday, January 2nd, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (12.8 MB, 55 min).

Shuji Cody Miller

Shuji Cody Miller

Senior Student

Shuji Cody Miller began practice in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center in 2015. He was lay ordained in 2016 through Anshin Rosalie Curtis and began practicing with the Valley Streams Zen Sangha in 2020. When not working at the clinic as a Doctor of Chiropractic, he loves spending time hiking in nature with his wife and son.
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January 16th, 2023 – Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, led by Sarah O’Gara

Talk given on Monday, January 16th, 2023 by Sarah O’Gara (13.6 MB, t8 min).

Sarah O’Gara

Sarah O'Gara

Board of Directors, Other Sangha Leaders, Practice Committee

Sarah has practiced in several different Buddhist traditions including Nichiren Shoshu’s Soka Gakkai, the Chan lineage of Master Sheng Yen and, since 2007, in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.  She shares her avocation for botany and the natural world leading hikes for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy and volunteering at the Cosumnes River Preserve.   She is a retired IT professional and former camp cook for Forest Service backcountry work crews.  In addition to serving on our Board of Directors and Practice Committee, Sarah edits our events calendar and creates Eventbrite invitations.
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January 7th, 2023 – There is no “you” to say “I” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Saturdat, January 7th, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (12.9 MB, 48 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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January 2nd, 2023 – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, January 2nd, 2023 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (8.9 MB, 38 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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December 12th, 2022 – “Time” – Dharma Talk by Susan Moon

Dharma Talk given on Monday, December 12th, 2022 –  Susan Moon (14.1 MB, 1 hr 1min).

Susan Moon

Susan Moon

Visiting Teacher

Susan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the author of a number of books about Buddhism, including the humor book The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi and This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity. For many years she was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. Her short stories and essays have been published widely. Sue has been a Zen student since 1976, practicing in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi at Berkeley Zen Center, Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery, Green Gulch Farm, and now with Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Everyday Zen sangha. She received “entrustment” as a lay teacher in 2005.
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December 4th, 2022 – Rohatsu Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Sunday, December 4th, 2022 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (9.3 MB, 36 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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November 28th, 2022 – Rohatsu Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, November 28th, 2022 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (11.1 MB, 48 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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November 21st, 2022 – Way Seeking Mind Talk by Brendan O’Brian

Way Seeking Mind Talk given on Monday, November 21st, 2022 –  Brendan O’Brian (12.3 MB, 53 min).

Brendan O’Brian

Brendan O’Brian

Senior Student

Shi Shin Brendan O’Brien has been a member of the Valley Streams community for the past three years. He is also a member of the Hartford Street Zen Sangha in San Francisco. Recently, in October, he received the Bodhisattva precepts from Rev. Myō Lahey and Rev. So’On Jim Hare. Brendan is a student of history at Sacramento State University and works as a civil servant for the State of California.
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November 14th, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, November 14th, 2022 –  Myo Lahey (12.9 MB, 55 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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November 7th, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Dharma Talk given on Monday, November 7th, 2022 –  Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah (11.6 MB, 49 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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October 24th, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Robert Rosenbaum

Dharma Talk given on Monday, October 24th, 2022 –  Robert Rosenbaum (13.3 MB, 57 min).

Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, PhD

Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, PhD

Visiting Teacher

Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, PhD, received lay entrustment in Soto Zen from Sojun Mel Weitsman.  He is also authorized as a senior teacher of the Taoist practice of Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong in the lineage of Yang Meijun by Master Hui Liu.  In addition, he has received denkai  in Ordinary Mind Zen from Karen Terzano. Bob teaches Zen and Qigong at the Meadowmind Center in Sacramento. Bob is the author of several books including Zen and the Heart of Psychotherapy, Walking the Way : 81 Zen Encounters with Tao Te Ching and most recently, That is not your Mind! Zen Reflections on the Sarangama Sutra.
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October 17th, 2022 – Way Seeking Mind Talk by Dave Jarrell

Talk given on Monday, October 17th, 2022 –  Dave Jarrell (11.2 MB, 48 min).

Dave Jarrell

Dave Jarrell

Board of Directors

Dave was first attracted to Buddhism, and Zen in particular, through the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. He works on the staff of Child Advocates of El Dorado County, and when not engaged with work or sangha, he enjoys wandering through the Sierra Nevada.
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October 10th, 2022 – Way Seeking Mind Talk by Tony Wallin-Sato

A Talk given on October 10th, 2022 by Tony Wallin-Sato (16.9 MB, 1 hr 12 min).

Tony Wallin-Sato

Tony Wallin-Sato

Tony Wallin-Sato is a Japanese American who works with formerly/currently incarcerated individuals in higher education and is a long time Zen practitioner.  He received the Jukai precepts in October 2022.  He is on the board of directors of the Boundless Freedom Project.
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October 3rd, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given on Monday, October 3rd, 2022 –  Rev. So’on Jim Hare (12.2 MB, 52 min).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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September 26, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, July 11, 2022 –  Rev. Myo Lahey (13.2 MB, 56 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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September 12th, 2022 – “Reflections on Engaged Mindfulness” – A Talk by Rhonda V. Magee

Practice Talk given by Rhonda V. Magee on Monday, September 12th, 2022 – (Audio Version: 17.9MB, 1 hr 13 min 10 sec).

Rhonda Magee, MA, JD

Rhonda Magee, MA, JD

Visiting Teacher

Rhonda Magee, MA, JD is an internationally recognized educator, author, and practice leader, focused on integrating mindfulness into social change.  She draws from Buddhist teachings, law and legal history, weaving together storytelling, poetry, analysis and practices.  A trained mindfulness teacher, Rhonda Magee demonstrates the merit of embodied meditation. Professor Magee has dedicated her life to healing and teaching that inspire personal, interpersonal and collective transformation.  Professor of Law at University of San Francisco since 2004, her teachings support compassionate conflict engagement and management, holistic problem-solving to alleviate suffering, presence-based leadership and humanizing approaches to education.
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September 5th, 2022 – “Social Identities as a Cause of Suffering” – by Paravrtti Doralee Grindler-Katonah and Sarah O’Gara

A program presented by Paravrtti Doralee Grindler-Katonah and Sarah O’Gara in preparation for the September 12th program with Rhonda V. Magee, MA, JD. Recorded on Monday, September 5th, 2022 – (Audio Version: 16.0 MB, 1 hr 6 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
Sarah O’Gara

Sarah O'Gara

Board of Directors, Other Sangha Leaders, Practice Committee

Sarah has practiced in several different Buddhist traditions including Nichiren Shoshu’s Soka Gakkai, the Chan lineage of Master Sheng Yen and, since 2007, in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.  She shares her avocation for botany and the natural world leading hikes for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy and volunteering at the Cosumnes River Preserve.   She is a retired IT professional and former camp cook for Forest Service backcountry work crews.  In addition to serving on our Board of Directors and Practice Committee, Sarah edits our events calendar and creates Eventbrite invitations.
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August 29, 2022 – A Practice Talk by Oscar Balaguer

Practice Talk given by Oscar Balaguer on Monday, August 29th, 2022 – (Audio Version: 11.4MB, 56 min 10 sec).

Oscar Balaguer

Oscar Balaguer

Senior Student

A longtime Zen practitioner and member of Valley Streams, Oscar was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson.
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August 22, 2022 – “A Fish Swims Like a Fish” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So On Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given by Rev. So On Jim Hare on Monday, July 18th, 2022 – (11.4MB, 47 min 3 sec).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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August 8, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Renshin Bunce

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Renshin Bunce on Monday, August 8th, 2022 – (13.7MB, 56 min 13 sec).

Rev. Renshin Bunce

Rev. Renshin Bunce

Visiting Teacher

Rev. Renshin Bunce is a California native, born in Marin County and raised in Southern California. In midlife, yearning for a peaceful mind, she began meditating, and met her teacher Myogen Steve Stücky in January of 1994. She made jukai (took her lay vows) with Myogen at Dharma Eye Zen Center in 1996, was priest ordained by Zenkei Blanche Hartman at San Francisco Zen Center in 2003, served as Shuso (head student) with Myogen at Tassajara in 2008, and received dharma transmission from him at Tassajara in April of 2013. Renshin lived at Zen Center for seven years, and then began training as a chaplain. She moved out of Zen Center in 2008 and worked as a hospice chaplain from 2010 until retiring in 2022. She has written two books, Entering the Monastery, a record of her time at Zen Center, which was published in 2008; and Love and Fear, reflections on chaplaincy, which was published in 2020.
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July 18, 2022 – “Commentary on Being-time” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So On Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given by Rev. So On Jim Hare on Monday, July 18th, 2022 – (13.5MB, 59 min 10 sec).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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July 11, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, July 11, 2022 –  Rev. Myo Lahey (12.7 MB, 54 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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June 27, 2022 – “Letting life unfold in unpredictable ways from the mystery” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah on Monday, June 27th, 2022 – (12.4 MB, 44 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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June 13, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Eijun Linda Cutts

Dharma Talk given by ev. Eijun Linda Cutts on Monday, June 13, 2022 – (13.6 MB, 37 min 50sec).

Eijun Linda Cutts

Eijun Linda Cutts

Visiting Teacher

Eijun Linda Cutts came to San Francisco Zen Center in 1971 and was ordained as a priest in 1975. She has lived at Tassajara and SFZC’s City Center, and has resided at Green Gulch Farm since 1993. In 1996 Linda received Dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson. After having served as Abbess of SF Zen Center from 2000 to 2007, she was appointed Abiding Abbess of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in 2010, and Central Abbess of SF Zen Center in 2014. As Senior Dharma Teacher, she continues to teach and lead practice periods and retreats at Tassajara, Green Gulch, and elsewhere, and has been leading Yoga-Zen retreats and workshops for many years.
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June 6, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine on Monday, June 6, 2022 – (12.5MB, 37 min 50sec).

Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine

Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine

Visiting Teacher

Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in May 2005.
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May 23, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Rev. So On Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given by Rev. So On Jim Hare on Monday, May23, 2022 – (13.5MB, 37 min 50sec).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.
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May 17, 2022 – “Reflections on Being Shuso” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah on Monday, May 17th, 2022 – (10.6MB, 44 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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May 9, 2022 – Dharma Talk by Danan John Wark

Dharma Talk given on Monday, May 9, 2022 –  Danan John Wark (11.6MB, 50 min).

Danan John Wark

Danan John Wark

Visiting Teacher

Danan John Wark, abbot of Cloud Zendo in Pilot Hill, practices koan introspection and has received inka from Zen Master BoMun (George Bowman) in the Single Flower Sangha tradition. Master BoMun is associated with the Kwan Um School of Zen and also with Boundless Way Zen. John has also studied koans with Tenshin Reb Anderson at No Abode Hermitage. Cloud Zendo offers sutra service and zazen every Saturday morning at 8:30 in Auburn at Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalist Church, 190 Finley St., Auburn, CA 95603.
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May 3, 2022 – “Faith Commitment” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Myo Lahey

Dharma Talk given on Monday, May 3, 2022 –  Rev. Myo Lahey (13.4MB, 54 min).

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Rev. Myō Denis Lahey

Teachers

Rev. Myō Lahey is the guiding teacher for our sangha.  Rev. Myō became interested in Zen as a teenager and started full-time residential practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. He received dharma transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999 and served as head of practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery from 2000 – 2002. He is now Abbot of Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco. (http://www.hszc.org)
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April 25, 2022 – A Dharma Talk by Diane Wilde

Dharma Talk given by Diane Wilde on Monday, April 25th, 2022 – (15.5MB, 1 hr. 4 min).

Diane Wilde

Diane Wilde

Diane Wilde has studied meditation in various traditions since 1990. In 2001 she was a founding member of Sacramento Insight Meditation. She founded Buddhist Pathways Prison Project (aka Boundless Freedom Project) in 2010 and has been a prison chaplain for 18 years. She is a graduate of Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy program and graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leadership Training Program. She is a board member of Sati Center for Buddhist Studies at the Sacramento Dharma Center. In 2015 she was lay-ordained as a Buddhist minister by Gil Fronsdal.
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April 11, 2022 – “Dogen’s Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon” – A Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Hoka Chris Fortin on Monday, April 11th, 2022 – (12.8MB, 49 min).

Hoka Soko Chris Fortin

Hoka Soko Chris Fortin

Visiting Teacher

Chris began her practice in 1976 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She is founding and guiding teacher of the Dharma Heart Zen sanghas in Sonoma County, an Everyday Zen senior priest and teacher, and guiding teacher for Sky Island Zen in Tucson, AZ. She offers retreats and practice groups through SF Zen Center that include Jizo Bodhisattva Journeys through grief and change, Jizo Ceremonies, Wildland Firefights Retreats. She co-founded Veterans Path for current era veterans and co-facilitates (with Valley Streams Ino Doralee Grindler Katonah) an ongoing Racial and Social Justice as Dharma Practice group.
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April 4, 2022 – “The Precious Jewel of Sangha Life” – Dharma Talk by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Dharma Talk given by Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah on Monday, April 4, 2022 – (4.7MB, 19 min).

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Rev. Parāvṛtti Doralee Grindler Katonah

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Ino,  or head of the meditation hall. She studies in the Soto Zen lineage with Sojun Diane Martin, founder and guiding teacher of Udumbara Zen Center in Illinois and Rev. Val Szymanski, Head Priest of Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha in California. She was lay ordained in 2008 and priest ordained in 2019. She served as head student for the Spring practice period at Bamboo in the Wind Zen Sangha this May 2022. She offers Practice Interviews upon request.
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April 2, 2022 – “Self-Fulfilling Samadhi” – Dharma Talk by Rev. So On Jim Hare

Dharma Talk given by Rev. So On Jim Hare on Monday, April 2, 2022 – (9.5MB, 37 min 50sec).

Rev. So’on Jim Hare

Rev. So'on Jim Hare

Board of Directors, Practice Committee, Teachers

Serves as Tanto, or head of practice. He lived in the San Francisco Zen Center community from 1980 to 1984, was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1985, and priest ordained by Myo Lahey in 2016. He served as Head Student at Green Gulch Farm during the spring 2002 practice period.