Dharma Offering

Saturday Morning Program: Zen death poems, and the skillful integration of impermanence in our lives

January 10, 2026

9:00 AM - 12:40 PM

Location
Boundless Mind Temple
326 Clinton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
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Description

Join us for an interactive Saturday morning program at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, which will include zazen, service, as well as a special dharma talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson and Charlie Korin Pokorny on Zen death poems, and the skillful integration of impermanence in our lives.

Charlie and Sarah will offer some historical context for the practice of writing a death poem at the turning of a new year in the Zen tradition, as well as share some examples—both historical and contemporary. There will be some time for everyone who would like to (or not if we don’t), to write our own poems and share them if we choose. This practice is an engagement of impermanence and clarifying what’s most present and important in our lives and hearts, to support entering into the new year with deep intention, guided by the reality of impermanence and supported by the Dharma.
The dharma talk will also be live-streamed. For security reasons, we do not post zoom links publicly. Please sign up to “This Week at BZC” to receive the log in information.

You are welcome to come to all or just part of the program schedule:

09:00 AM — Doors open
09:25 AM — Han (wooden board calling people to meditation)
09:40 AM — Zazen (seated meditation)
10:10 AM— Kinhin (walking meditation)
10:20 AM — Zazen
10:50 AM — Service (ceremonial chanting, bowing and incense offering)
11:20 AM — Dharma talk on Zen death poems, and the skillful integration of impermanence in our lives
12:20 PM — Soji (temple cleaning practice)
12:40 PM — Tea (informal tea time)

Instructors
Sarah Dōjin Emerson’s formal practice in Soto Zen began in 1996. She lived and trained at Tassajara Zen Mountain center and other sites of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1997-2007. She received Dharma Transmission from Abbott Konjin Gaelyn Godwin of the Houston Zen Center in 2015. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, and has worked in the fields of mental health and pastoral care with children and adults. She experiences Bodhisattva Zen practice as deeply supportive to inquiring into, challenging and transforming systems of oppression, particularly racial inequities and the harm they cause within convert Buddhist sanghas, and in U.S. society generally. Sarah has also worked for many years in grief support- clinically, ritually and in community- specializing in child loss. She lives with her partner, Charlie Pokorny (who is also a Soto Zen Buddhist priest), their children (who are her most profound and constant teachers) and numerous pets in Brooklyn, NY.

 

Charlie Korin Pokorny (he/they) grew up in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. Charlie received a masters in religious studies, focusing on Zen, from Stanford in 1994. He has been teaching graduate courses at the Institute of Buddhist Studies since 2011, including classes on Buddhist thought, history and practice, with a focus on traditions of East Asia and especially Zen. Charlie was ordained as a priest by Reb Anderson in 1999 and received dharma transmission in 2018. He practiced as a resident at Tassajara and Green Gulch Farm and studied koans with Daniel Terragno. Together with his wife, Sarah Emerson, they served as head priests at Stone Creek Zen Center 2014-2022. They were then invited to become teachers at the Brooklyn Zen Center and moved with their children to Brooklyn in 2022.

 


Location Details

Boundless Mind Temple is located in the Parish House of Christ Church Cobble Hill, next to 326 Clinton Street. Enter the driveway on Clinton, go past the scaffolding, and through the double doors. There are two flights of stairs leading to the center, located on the second floor. The closest subway stop is the F/G at Bergen Street.

 


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Donations

BZC relies on donations to sustain its spaces, teachers, and staff. Make a gift on our website, via PayPal through paypal@brooklynzen.org or Venmo. You can also support a dharma teacher or practice leader here. Or, consider becoming a Member to support us year-round!

 


COVID Protocol

We ask that all participants be fully vaccinated and boosted. Masks are optional. Please see the BZC Covid Protocol for more information.


 

Fee
Free
Questions?
info@brooklynzen.org
We are in an historical building which is not wheelchair accessible. There are two flights of stairs leading to the center, located on the second floor. Chairs, benches, and extra support cushions are available. If you have any additional questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@brooklynzen.org.
Saturday Morning Program: Zen death poems, and the skillful integration of impermanence in our lives
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