Young Urban Zen SF
Young Urban Zen is a group under the auspices of the San Francisco Zen Center, with a particular focus on those between 20 and 40. It meets on Tuesday evenings for meditation and discussion about Zen practice. People of all experience levels are welcome.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Episodes
- 112
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Yangshan’s Mind and Environment
“This case raises and explores the question of what actually happens when, as Dogen asks, you take “the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illum…
Beyond Illusion: Exploring the Self to Forget the Self
Hiro Ikushima: Dogen-zenji said, "To study the Buddha Way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self." Bassui Tokushō, a Rinzai zen master, gave his disciples a self-inquiry "Who …
Embracing Aversion to Open Our Hearts
Heather Shoren Iarusso: "Aversion" is one of the mental afflictions the Buddha calls The Five Hindrances, which hinder our ability to experience calm and insight on and off the meditation cushion. By…
Imagination and the Bodhisattva Universe
For many, walking a path of meditation sometimes entails stumbling into challenges of frustration and self-evaluation. Ever clear-eyed about the nature of things, Zen practice employs the imagination…
Fengxue's "Iron Ox" - Book Of Serenity 29
Anshi Zachary Smith: Case 29 of the Book of Serenity, which, in addition to a whole lot of slapstick hi-jinks and, perhaps, the most creative and outrageous insult a Tang Dynasty Zen teacher has ever…
The Teaching Just for You: The Practice of Practice Discussion
With rivers of Dharma books and oceans of online instruction, how do I know the teaching that is right for me now? What does a practice that’s matured by decades even look like? One approach to clari…
Zen as a Path of Metamorphosis
Inspired in part by the recent sesshin at City Center, we will be discussing the practice of Zen as a path of metamorphosis, a complement to our oh-so-everyday style. Let's see what arises as we disc…
Just to Be Yourself: Suzuki Roshi on Everyday Zazen
With the sounds of the Mountain Seat Ceremony still ringing through the halls of San Francisco Zen Center, we take another trip through the territory of Shikantaza, this time informed by the disarmin…
Turtle Nosed Snake
Anshi Zachary Smith discusses the famous and nonetheless mysterious Turtle Nosed Snake from Case 24 of the Book of Serenity as well as Case 22 of the Blue Cliff Record. In the Case, Xuěfēng Yìcún war…
Everday Mind is Studying the Way
Shoren Heather Iarusso — Even if you aren't able to make it to a monastery, there are ways to infuse your everyday life with practices to help you awaken your inner monk. Everyday mind is studying Th…
(4 of 4) Zazen Instruction for YUZ: Shikantaza
Consider this four-part series a gradual entry into shikantaza, the foundational meditation practice of our school of Zazen. Facilitated by Kodo Conlin, this course is designed sequentially for both …
(3 of 4) Meditation Instruction for Young Urban Zen
Consider this four-part series a gradual entry into shikantaza, the foundational meditation practice of our school of Zazen. Facilitated by Kodo Conlin, this course is designed sequentially for both …