San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

Given by Gengyoko Tim Wicks at City Center on May 2nd, 2026
The talk discusses the significance of the Platform Sutra in Zen practice, highlighting its role in the exploration of sudden versus gradual enlightenment and the inherent purity of the mind. The discussion also emphasizes the historical continuity of Zen teachings through the teacher-student lineage, notably the transmission from Bodhidharma to his disciple Huike, and the subsequent teachings encapsulated in the Platform Sutra during the Tang Dynasty. The talk underscores the importance of direct experience and mindfulness in daily activities as a means to realize liberation from suffering.
Platform Sutra: Explores sudden vs. gradual enlightenment, emphasizing the inherent purity of the mind, and the unity of all things.
Lankavatara Sutra: Referred to as the mind-only sutra, it discusses the manifestation of all phenomena from the mind and relates to the central Buddhist theme of transforming suffering through mindfulness.
Dhammapada: An early Buddhist text illustrating the precedence and influence of the mind on lived experience and suffering.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki: Explores the importance of having a beginner's mind, which allows for many possibilities, as opposed to an expert's mind, which is more limited.
Lineage of Bodhidharma: Chronicles the teacher-student relationship which maintains the Zen tradition, beginning with Bodhidharma as the first ancestor bringing Chan (Zen) to China.
Koans: Referenced to illustrate important Zen teachings, such as the dialogue between Huike and Bodhidharma about pacifying the mind.

04/08/2026, Dan Zigmond, dharma talk at City Center. Dan Zigmond explores how the "monkey mind" the Buddha diagnosed 2,500 years ago is exactly what today's algorithms are engineered to exploit, drawing on nearly thirty years of building attention-capturing technology at Google, Facebook, Apple, and Headspace, alongside four decades of Zen practice.

04/04/2026, Marc Lesser, dharma talk at City Center. Marc Lesser weaves together personal stories, Shunryu Suzuki, Dogen, and the Enneagram, in an exploration of how we interpret our identities and the world.

04/01/2026, Henzan Roger Hillyard, dharma talk at City Center. Roger Hillyard explores how Dogen's most poetic sutra, Mountains and Rivers, can help us practice with tragedy and lead us towards equanimity.

03/18/2026, Doshin Patti Mitchell, dharma talk at City Center. Doshin Patti Mitchell shares how meditation and community helped her face suffering, expectations, and self-judgment. Speaking about the importance of honesty, gratitude, and spiritual friendship, she also honors the teachers and practitioners who supported her along the way.