Brooklyn Zen Center

Recorded on July 11, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NYSarah Sensei begins with an invitation to become aware of one’s body, asks those present, “What do you want or need that brought you here?”, and collects individuals’ responses. Sarah’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...

Recorded on June 27, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY, during a one-day retreatThis dharma talk was given by guest teacher, Maitriveer Nagarjuna.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...

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

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

Recorded on May 16, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY.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 Norma Wong Roshi's chanting practice of calling in aloha through...

Recorded on May 9, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NYThis 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. The...

Recorded on April 25, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NYThis 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.The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive....

Recorded on April 4, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY.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. Sarah Sensei refers to the following online sources:“Care is a Lifeforce,” episode of the podcast “Becoming the People with Prentis Hemphill,” with guest...

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.Sarah shares a quotation from an interview with...

Recorded on March 20, 2026 during the three-day sesshin in preparation for the Jukai ceremony for receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts, at Boundless Mind Temple, Brooklyn, NY. In this first dharma talk of the sesshin, Charlie Korin Pokorny explores Jukai as a ceremony of bearing witness to radical relationality, and of asking how to allow one’s life to become a testament to the reality of...