Episode Archive - Brooklyn Zen Center

“What Do You Call the World?” – Practicing with the Expanding and Contracting of our Life of Care: Audio Dharma Talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson (7/11/2026)

Sarah Sensei’s dharma talk considers the koan “Dizang Planting the Fields” (The Book of Serenity, Case 12), in which Xiushan asks, “What are you doing in the world?”, and Dizang responds, “What do you call the world?” Sarah reflects on the practices of awareness of, and acceptance of responsibility for, our interconnectedness with all that is our world at each moment, including harm that has occurred. She discusses, in particular, her experience as a trans-racially adoptive parent.

Dhamma of Love and Justice – Practicing with B.R. Ambedkar as Engaged Buddhists Today: by Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (6/27/2026)

Recorded on June 27, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY

Dhamma teacher and Buddhist scholar, Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (also known as Dr. Santosh Raut) shared a passionate portrait of the Indian social reformer and political leader Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and his approach to engaged Buddhist practice.

Present for Pride — Conversing with All Things and with Each Other: Audio Dharma Talk by Charlie Korin Pokorny (6/20/2026)

Recorded on June 20, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY

In this dharma talk, Charlie brings up BZC involvement with Pride Month and discusses the practice of conversation – being in conversation with others, with our experience, and with everything – as a basis of liberation from suffering. He suggests elements of accountability to keep in mind so that literal conversations can be mutually liberating and help to build a truly inclusive sangha.

Responsibility and Refuge : Audio Dharma Offering by Guest Teachers, Chodo Robert Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison, of New York Zen Center (6/6/2026)

Recorded on June 6, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY

This dharma talk was given by guest teachers, Chodo Robert Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison, of New York Zen Center. They spoke about how essential the practices of making atonement and taking responsibility are within Soto Zen practice. They addressed the challenge of working skillfully with these practices when questions arise within a community about a disconnection between responsibility and ethics.

Weaving the Web of Connection: Audio Dharma Talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson (5/16/2026)

Please enjoy this dharma talk by BZC teacher Sarah Dōjin Emerson. Sarah explores the teachings of Zen master and author Norma Wong about the wisdom of community and collective leading; and the teachings of Paula Arai on ceremonies of healing. Sarah’s talk includes the indigenous Hawaiian practice of calling in aloha through collective chanting, aloha meaning compassion manifested. Sarah reads briefly from Norma Wong’s latest book, Who We Are Becoming Matters. Recorded on May 16, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY.

Taking Refuge in Ourselves: Audio Dharma Offering by Guest Teacher, Kaira Jewel Lingo (5/9/2026)

Recorded on May 9, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY

This dharma offering by guest teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo addresses how grieving abides in the body and how taking refuge in ourselves offers healing and stability. Her offering includes a brief period of paired sharing, a guided meditation practice, a writing practice, a ceremony for holding grief together, and a dharma talk.

Closing Ancestral Heart and Meeting Loss with Love: Audio Dharma Talk by Charlie Korin Pokorny (4/25/2026)

Recorded on April 25, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY

This dharma talk by BZC teacher Charlie Korin Pokorny describes the closing ceremony for the Ancestral Heart Monastery, in Millerton, NY, which took place on April 18, 2026, and offers guidance in how Zen practice addresses loss and grieving.

Centering Care: Audio Dharma Talk by Sarah Dōjin Emerson (4/4/2026)

Please enjoy this dharma talk by BZC teacher Sarah Dōjin Emerson, which explores allowing the principle of care to guide our interactions in all settings and relationships.

Renewal and Reverence: Sarah Dōjin Emerson (3/21/2026)

Sarah Dōjin Emerson’s talk, entitled “Renewal and Reverence,” recorded on March 21, 2026, during the three-day sesshin in preparation for the Jukai ceremony, at Boundless Mind Temple, Brooklyn. In this second and final dharma talk of the sesshin, Sarah-sensei explores engaging Zen practice tenderly, for the sake of love, as a training in reverence.

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