A podcast produced by the Zen Center of Los Angeles, containing Dharma Talks and other recordings from the teachers and students of ZCLA. Our podcast focuses on the study and practice of Zen Buddhism.
Seeing Life as a Dream: Nansen and the Peonies | Senshin Griffith
What if the way we see the world is closer to a dream than we think? In this dharma talk, Head Teacher Sensei Katherine Senshin Griffith takes up Nansen and the Peonies, a Zen koan Hakuin counted among the hardest to pass through. A longtime student quotes a beautiful teaching to his teacher, Nansen (Nanquan): heaven, earth, and I share one root. Nansen points at the peonies in the garden and says people see these flowers as if in a dream. Senshin asks what it takes to see directly instead of...
17 Aug 2026
Every Day is a Good Day - Bill Tetsui Press - 6/4/26
We can all agree that life seems to be a mixed bag. There are blessings and there are unfortunate occurrences. There are days where everything feels like your good merit is coming to fruition and days where nothing seems to be going right. Master Yunmen, one of the most revered Chan masters of the Tang Dynasty, challenged his students to see that "every day is a good day," regardless of relative circumstances. This teaching can be found in Case 6 of the Blue Cliff Record koan collection, and ...
4 Aug 2026
Two Arrows Intimately Meeting - Taizan Maezumi Roshi - 9/25/93
Here's a teisho (Dharma talk) from our archives by founding Abbot Maezumi Roshi. The recording was made in 1993 as Maezumi Roshi was about to depart for a teaching tour. He left the sangha with some reflections on Sandokai: Identity of Relative and Absolute. Maezumi had given two series of talks on this topic previously, once in 1973 and again in 1988. We're posting this talk in conjunction with our current summer intensive which also focuses on Sandokai, in part by making use of these record...
10 Jul 2026
Zazen is Not Meditation - Sensei Tom Dharma-Joy Reichert - 6/14/26
"Here there is aim, but no target. So we just sit in the midst of this contradiction." In this Dharma talk, delivered during our Sunday program, Sensei Dharma-Joy illuminates the agenda-less goal of zazen practice. Whether we are counting the breaths, doing shikantaza, or working with koans, he says, our task is not to contemplate, solve a problem, or meditate on any thing because this enacts a separation. “We’re just letting go. And in letting go, we can just be completely present, and...
4 Jun 2026
Interview with Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran
Today we're inaugurating a new podcast series we're calling LA Zen: a series of conversations with Buddhist practitioners investigating the question(s) of how to live in these times (of poly-crisis) and in this place (of Los Angeles) without falling into despair on one side, or let's say self-satisfaction on the other. Our first guest is Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran. When Earth-Mirror received his English language dharma name from Roshi Egyoku Nakao around the turn of the century, the meaning c...
22 Mar 2026
A Seamless Tomb — Rev. Jitsujo Gauthier — 3/22/26
From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 18: "The Seamless Tomb" This talk by Dharma Teacher Jitsujo Gauthier took place on March 22, 2026 at ZCLA where she led those present in a conversation that included the following themes: being centered vs. being grounded, the work of a death doula, and what it might mean to be bathed in "the Buddha's light" right in the present moment. Rev. Jitsujo is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Buddhist Chaplaincy department at University of the West here ...
22 Feb 2026
The Sound of the Bell — Sensei George Mukei Horner — 2/21/26
From the Wumen Kuan, the Gateless Gate koan collection, Case 16: "The Sound of the Bell and Five Paneled Robe." Sensei Mukei offered this talk during our Beginner's Mind meditation intensive (sesshin). Using a favorite koan as a starting off point, Mukei describes Shakyamuni's own journey as that of a beginner's mind, always questioning, open to new information, and determined to be free. Support the show These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, ...
9 Feb 2026
Four Kinds of Horses - Sensei Katherine Senshin Griffith - 02/8/26
This dharma talk given at ZCLA, explores the Buddhist teaching of the four kinds of horses, mirroring four types of learners. Sensei Senshin begins by exploring Case 65 from the Blue Cliff Record, a koan entitled, "A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha." These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here. Support the show ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org
11 Dec 2025
Bodhi Day Talk - Sensei Darla Myoho Fjeld - 12/8/25
Sensei Darla Myoho Fjeld Bodhi Day Talk - Rohatsu Sesshin 2025 Recorded 12/8/25 at ZCLA Support the show ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org
21 Oct 2025
You Have Misspoken - Sensei Darla Myoho Fjeld - 2/7/25
Sensei Darla Myoho Fjeld Case 39 of the Mumonkan: "You Have Misspoken" Recorded 2/7/25 at ZCLA Support the show ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org
21 Sept 2025
Mountains and Waters - Sensei Katherine Senshin Griffith - 7/23/25
Sensei Katherine Senshin Griffith Mountains and Waters Sutra Recorded 7/23/25 at ZCLA Support the show ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org
30 Jul 2025
Tozan Offers To The Essence - Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran - 7/27/25
Dharma Holder Earth Mirror Book of Equanimity Case 49 Tozan Offers To The Essence Recorded 7/25/25 at ZCLA Support the show ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org
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