Shows
San Francisco Zen CenterChanting the Name of Kanzeon07/06/2025, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
Zoketsu Norman Fischer discusses a forthcoming book by the Japanese Zen Master Kosho Uchiyama about his experience practicing chanting the name of Kanzeon Bodhisattva.2025-07-2941 min
San Francisco Zen Center Dharma TalksChanting the Name of Kanzeon07/06/2025, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
Zoketsu Norman Fischer discusses a forthcoming book by the Japanese Zen Master Kosho Uchiyama about his experience practicing chanting the name of Kanzeon Bodhisattva.2025-07-0641 min
Podcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaJune 16th, 2025 – Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin
Dharma Talk given on Monday, June 16th, 2025 – Hoka Chris Fortin (13.3 MB, 52 min).
Hoka Soko Chris Fortin
Visiting Teacher
Chris began her practice in 1976 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She is founding and guiding teacher of the Dharma Heart Zen sanghas in Sonoma County, an Everyday Zen senior priest and teacher, and guiding teacher for Sky Island Zen in Tucson, AZ. She offers retreats and practice groups through SF Zen Center that include Jizo Bodhisattva Journeys through grief and change, Jizo Ceremonies, Wildland Firefights Retreats. She co...2025-06-1800 min
Mountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastThe Way is Easy - Just Avoid PreferencesZoketsu Norman Fischer 's second dharma talk from the MRZC weekend retreat is again full of wonderful teachings and stories from Dongshan. What is this life now, beyond theologies and categories? [with apologies for rough audio] _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.o...2025-05-0456 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastInanimate Objects Speak the DharmaRich with stories and teachings from Dongshan's life, Zoketsu Norman Fischer gives the first of two talks at the annual MRZC weekend retreat. [with apologies for rough audio] _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.org.2025-05-0452 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastRelative Compassion (Training in Compassion - 3/)Our dharma seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion continues. Dai-i Flo Rublee offers that relative compassion helps ground the broad view of life’s empty nature in heart-connection and engagement. _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mount...2025-05-0128 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastAbsolute Compassion (Training in Compassion - 2/)Myosen River Shannon continues the Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion. How does caring for ourselves help us care for others? How do we not hide behind the dream-like quality of the absolute? _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, con...2025-04-2441 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastResolve to Begin (Training in Compassion - 1/)Shinmon Michael Newton gives the first talk in our new Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion, where we will explore the practice of Lojong.The first slogan, "Train in the Preliminaries," strengthens our resolve to practice and invites us to reflect deeply, whether we are an experienced practitioner or just beginning. _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of...2025-04-1728 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaFebruary 17th, 2025 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine
Dharma Talk given on Monday, February 17th, 2024 – Rev. Mary Mocine (14.8 MB, 61 min).
Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine
Visiting Teacher
Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dha...2025-02-1900 min
Brooklyn Zen CenterGrandmotherly Mind: A Reading with Farnoosh Fathi, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, and Ryan Lee Wong (11/6/2024)
Recorded on November 6, 2024 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY.
A reading to launch two new poetry books by BZC friends and acclaimed poets: Granny Cloud by Farnoosh Fathi and Through a Window by Zoketsu Norman Fischer. BZC Administrative Director Ryan Lee Wong reads from his novel, Which Side Are You On?, and the three discuss Zen, poetics, and Eihei Dogen’s “grandmotherly” or “parental” mind.
The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank...2024-11-191h 12
Turning Towards Life - a Thirdspace podcastIntimacy With Life
Perhaps instead of trying to control our experience, to somehow ‘lift ourselves out of our lives’, we might find a way to be ever more contactful with life itself. Like a mother with her babies. Or like a fish with the stream. Or like the roots of the tree with the earth that gives it life. Might we find, in that softening and slowing, a way to inhabit our lives more fully and take care more skilfully of that which we care most about?
Hosted, as always, by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.
Join Our...2024-11-1035 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaSeptember 9th, 2024 – Dharma Talk by Susan Moon
Dharma Talk given on Monday, September 9th, 2024 – Susan Moon (12.9 MB, 51 min).
Susan Moon
Visiting Teacher
Susan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the author of a number of books about Buddhism, including the humor book The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi and This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity. For many years she was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. Her short stories and essays have been published widely.
Sue has been a Zen stu...2024-11-0700 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaJune 17th, 2024 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine
Dharma Talk given on Monday, June 17th, 2024 – Rev. Mary Mocine (12.3 MB, 50 min).
Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine
Visiting Teacher
Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dha...2024-10-2800 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaApril 29th, 2024 – Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin
Dharma Talk given on Monday, April 29th, 2024 – Hoka Chris Fortin (13 MB, 53 min).
Hoka Soko Chris Fortin
Visiting Teacher
Chris began her practice in 1976 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She is founding and guiding teacher of the Dharma Heart Zen sanghas in Sonoma County, an Everyday Zen senior priest and teacher, and guiding teacher for Sky Island Zen in Tucson, AZ. She offers retreats and practice groups through SF Zen Center that include Jizo Bodhisattva Journeys through grief and change, Jizo Ceremonies, Wildland Firefights Retreats. She co...2024-10-1600 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastTeachings (What is Zen? Chapter 7)Dai-i Flo Rublee gives the final talk in our dharma seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Sue Moon’s book : What is Zen?How do the teachings of Buddhism help us understand that connection, compassion, and love are all there is? _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.2024-10-0329 min
Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into BuddhismPaths of Practice with Jaune EvansJaune Evans is a Soto Zen priest and senior teacher at the Everyday Zen Foundation. Jaune also serves as guiding teacher of the Heart of Compassion Zen Sangha in Point Reyes, California.
We talk about exploring light and air as photography subjects, early experiences with the White Plum Asanga, developing a connection with the Everyday Zen Foundation and teacher Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Issan Dorsey's beautiful heart, and how her work during the AIDS epidemic and her work with indigenous American communities has impacted her practice.2024-09-2648 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastEveryday Life and Relationships (What is Zen? Chapter 12)Jikai Vicki Turay explores how, though much of practice appears to be solitary, zen is primarily based in relationships."Formal Zen practice: that of meditation, teachings, rituals serve as a training ground. Those activities support and encourage the actual practice - which happens all the time, in your own life, in your every encounter with others, in your heart and mind." (Zoketsu Norman Fischer) _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/d...2024-09-2627 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastStages of Practice (What is Zen? Chapter 9)Unmon Jacob Butula's talk offers a clear perspective on chapter 9 of Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Sue Moon's book What is Zen?If our tradition is primarily about integrating the dharma into everyday life, with no steps and stages, why is zen so full of complicated rituals and hierarchies? _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten...2024-09-1228 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastZen and Art (What is Zen? Chapter 13)Nin-En Susan Elbe continues our dharma seminar on Sue Moon and Zoketsu Norman Fischer's book, What is Zen?, offering the insight that zen art can open us to an ineffable truth that goes beyond words. Can art be an expression of spirit? _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.2024-09-0528 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastAwakening (What is Zen? Chapter 4)Kakuko Kaye Simard explores Sue Moon and Zoketsu Norman Fischer's understanding of the promises and fruits of awakening. _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.org.2024-08-2930 min
Beat The Prosecution- Fairfax, Virginia, Criminal Defense / DUI LawyerWinning through compassion, true sensing & realness- Nikki MirghaforiSend us a textAfter learning about non-attachment after revisiting Wim Wenders's visit in Tokyo-Ga to the gravesite of famous director Yasujirō Ozu (who left his body only eight months after Jon Katz was born), whose headstone was marked solely with the character 無 Mu (translatable as nothingness), Fairfax Virginia criminal and DUI defense lawyer Jonathan Katz learned more clearly and deeply about nonduality / non-attachment, and began more intentionally pursuing this life path, through his continued practice of the taijiquan martial art, additional mindfulness practice, and lessons from such great teachers as Baba Ram Das (born Richard Alpert) abo...2024-08-291h 02Mountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastZoketsu Norman Fischer 2024 weekend retreat (2/2)On the second day of our weekend retreat, Zoketsu Norman Fischer tells stories from the Denkoroku, which presents transmission stories of the lineage of Soto Zen ancestors. _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.org.2024-06-0249 minMountain Rain Zen Dharma PodcastZoketsu Norman Fischer 2024 weekend retreat (1/2)In the first of two dharma talks from our weekend retreat, Zoketsu Norman Fischer muses on how sitting zazen can help cultivate the great perfect mirror of awareness. _____________________________________________________________These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.org.2024-06-0142 minSan Francisco Zen CenterEveryday Mind Is The Way04/28/2024, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this talk Zoketsu discusses case 19 of Mumonkan, Nanchuan’s Everyday Mind. Our practice is very plain and ordinary, and yet, the plain and ordinary world is also vast and wide, and when we practice zazen regularly we can begin to live in it with that appreciation. To end his talk Zoketsu quotes at length from a commentary to this story by his late teacher Sojun Weitsman, from his new posthumous book Seeing One Thing Through.2024-05-1440 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaApril 1st, 2024 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine
Dharma Talk given on Monday, April 1st, 2024 – Rev. Mary Mocine (15.9 MB, 1 hr 8 min).
Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine
Visiting Teacher
Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She rec...2024-05-1400 min
Jewish Ideas to Change the WorldHow Can Qohelet Quell the Curious Mind? An Exploration of a New Translation and Commentaries on the Strangest Book of the Hebrew BibleA virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Aubrey GlazerAbout the Event: Merest Breath is a provocative and contemporary translation with two new commentaries on Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). These eclectic commentaries on one of the strangest books of the Hebrew Bible open up an ancient wisdom text that dares to address theological skepticism of the present. Understanding Qohelet as resisting biblical theological platitudes about sin, prayer, and forgiveness, these commentaries are a magisterial conversation between thinkers ancient and modern – from Heraclitus to Leonard Cohen – that dares to think differently. Martin Cohen’s new translation and introdu...2024-01-291h 02Podcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaNovember 20th, 2023 – Dharma Talk by Susan Moon
Dharma Talk given on Monday, November 20th, 2023 – Susan Moon (13.1 MB, 55 min).
Susan Moon
Visiting Teacher
Susan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the author of a number of books about Buddhism, including the humor book The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi and This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity. For many years she was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. Her short stories and essays have been published widely.
Sue has been a Zen stu...2024-01-1600 min
Simplicity Zen PodcastSimplicity Zen Podcast Episode 90 - An Interview with Peter Levitt (The Zen Lamp Series)An Interview with Zen Teacher Eihei Peter LevittEihei Peter Levitt is the founder and guiding teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, where he resides with his wife, poet Shirley Graham. He was authorized as a Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation, and received Preceptor Transmission in the White Plum Lineage from Roshi Egyoku Nakao.Salt Springs Zen Circle:https://saltspringzencircle.org/Simplicity Zen Podcast: https://simplicityzen.com/2023-12-081h 26
Banyen Books ~ Branches of WisdomEpisode 157: David Hinton & Norman Fischer - The Way of Ch'anDavid Hinton, one of the world's foremost translators of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy, presents The Way of Ch'an: Essential Texts of the Original Tradition. David is in conversation with renowned Zen teacher/author/poet, Zoketsu Norman Fischer.
David Hinton has published numerous books of poetry and essays, and many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy—all informed by an abiding interest in deep ecological thinking. This widely-acclaimed work has earned Hinton a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from NEA and NEH, and both of the major awards given for poetry translation in the United States: the La...2023-10-281h 01San Francisco Zen CenterClimate Repentance09/10/2023, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. This talk is about the uncertainty of the effects of climate change, and how the practice of zazen can help us to be prepared for uncertainty.2023-09-2038 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaAugust 7th, 2023 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine
Dharma Talk given on Saturday, August 7th, 2023 – Rev. Mary Mocine (9.8 MB, 42 min).
Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine
Visiting Teacher
Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dha...2023-09-1500 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaMarch 27th, 2023 – Dharma Talk by Rev. Mary Mocine
Dharma Talk given on Saturday, March 27th, 2023 – Rev. Mary Mocine (12.2 MB, 48 min).
Rev. Zenki Mary Mocine
Visiting Teacher
Reverend Mary Mocine is abbess of Clear Water Zendo in Vallejo. She was trained at San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers, and Tassajara Zen Monastery. She was ordained in 1994 by Sojun Mel Weitsman, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center and continuing Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Reverend Mocine has also trained with Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman and former Abbots Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received dha...2023-04-1700 minPodcasts – Valley Streams Zen SanghaFebruary 27th, 2023 – “Mahāpajāpatī” – Dharma Talk by Hoka Chris Fortin
Dharma Talk given on Monday, February 27th, 2023 – Hoka Chris Fortin (10.2 MB, 43 min).
Hoka Soko Chris Fortin
Visiting Teacher
Chris began her practice in 1976 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and received Dharma Transmission from Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She is founding and guiding teacher of the Dharma Heart Zen sanghas in Sonoma County, an Everyday Zen senior priest and teacher, and guiding teacher for Sky Island Zen in Tucson, AZ. She offers retreats and practice groups through SF Zen Center that include Jizo Bodhisattva Journeys through grief and change, Jizo Ceremonies, Wildland Firefights Retreats. She co...2023-02-2800 min
Banyen Books ~ Branches of WisdomEpisode 105: Norman Fischer ~ When You Greet Me I BowBanyen Books & Sound converses with Zoketsu Norman Fischer on his new book 'When You Greet Me I Bow: Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen'. Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, and translator whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue have supported and inspired Buddhist, Jewish, and other spiritual practitioners for decades. 'When You Greet Me I Bow' spans the entirety of Norman Fischer's career. Broken into four sections--the joy and catastrophe of relationship; thinking, writing, and emptiness; cultural encounters; and social engagement--this book allows us to see the fascinating development of the mind and interests...2022-10-071h 09San Francisco Zen CenterWords of My Teacher Sojun06/19/2022, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
On the day of the funeral ceremony for Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi, Senior Dharma Teacher Norman Fischer offers a tribute and shares words from Sojun's writing.2022-06-2233 minSan Francisco Zen CenterRemembering Green Gulch in the 1980's: Does the Past Exist?05/22/2022, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this dharma talk, Senior Dharma Teacher Norman Fischer tells stories about his time living at Green Gulch in the mid-1980's, and reflects about the past and present moments, and how real or unreal they are.2022-06-0147 min
Prairie Mountain Zen Center Dharma TalksRev. Shinmon Michael NewtonSend us a textRev. Shinmon Michael Newton began Zen practice in 1983 as a university student in Japan, with a Rinzai priest at an ancient temple on Mount Tsukuba, later moving to Kyoto and practicing Soto Zen with Shohaku Okumura. Since returning to Vancouver in 1987 he has practiced with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. He received priest ordination from him in in 2003 and dharma transmission in 2011. He was installed as a guiding teacher of Mountain Rain Zen Community in May 2017.Michael teaches Asian studies and religious studies at Simon Fraser University. He is committed to supporting Mountain...2022-05-2934 minPrairie Mountain Zen Center Dharma TalksRev. Myoshin Kate McCandlessSend us a textRev. Myoshin Kate McCandless began Zen practice in 1983 as a university student in Japan, with a Rinzai priest at an ancient temple on Mount Tsukuba, later moving to Kyoto and practicing Soto Zen with Shohaku Okumura. Since returning to Vancouver in 1987 she has practiced with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. She received priest ordination from him in in 2003 and dharma transmission in 2011. She was installed as a guiding teacher of Mountain Rain Zen Community in May 2017.Kate has worked as an organic farmer, ESL teacher, translator and as a clinical counselor in women’s...2022-05-2236 minSan Francisco Zen CenterThe Book of Form and Emptiness04/30/2022, Kanshin Ruth Ozeki, dharma talk at City Center.
Rev. Kanshin Ruth Ozeki, novelist and Zen priest ordained by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, talks about the Buddhist foundations of her new novel The Book of Form and Emptiness, and the interplay between spiritual and creative practice.2022-05-0938 min
The Yoga HourLiving Your Spiritual PracticeWhat is it to live this human life in a spiritual way? Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Zen teacher, author, and poet, shares stories and reflections that offer insights and teaching helping us to define what is really spiritual practice and what supports us in living our best life.2021-10-1455 min
Mindrolling with Raghu MarkusEp. 397 – When You Greet Me I Bow with Zoketsu Norman FischerZen priest and poet, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, returns with Raghu to discuss God, death, time, and relationship at the intersection of Buddhism and Judaism.Zoketsu Norman Fischer is a poet and Zen Buddhist priest. For many years he has taught at the San Francisco Zen Center, the oldest and largest of the new Buddhist organizations in the West, where he served as Co-abbot from 1995-2000. He is presently a Senior Dharma Teacher there as well as the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation, an organization dedicated to adapting Zen Buddhist teachings to Western culture. H...2021-06-191h 01
Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and RebelSO6 Bonus Episode: A Guided MeditationJaune Evans was originally ordained as a priest in the White Plum Lineage by Bernie Glassman and Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1983 at the Zen Community of New York. She is now a priest and senior teacher in the Bay Area Everyday Zen lineage of Zoketsu Norman Fischer, and leads the Heart of Compassion Zen Sangha in Point Reyes, California. She is reading from a guided meditation by the Buddhist teacher and author, Stephen Levine who was devoted to being with people who were ill, the dying and bereaved. We hope you will draw solace and some peace from it...2021-05-1018 min
Heart of Compassion Zen SanghaHOC - April 9, 2021 - Celebrating and Practicing Spiritual Friendships - Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Regetsu Sue Moon2021-04-101h 05
The Mystical PositivistThe Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #372 - 28NOV20
Podcast:
This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Ken McLeod framed by two key questions. The first is whether mystics or mystically inclined practitioners have responsibilities to society and the World, and if so, what might those responsibilities be. Out of this question comes an extended exploration of what it means to be a mystic, the nature of the world in which we practice, the distinction between direction and goal in spiritual practice, and spiritual practice as learning how to die.
The second question is of the...2020-11-2900 minPrairie Mountain Zen Center Dharma TalksRev. Nomon Tim Burnett: Approaching KoansSend us a textRev. Nomon Tim Burnett is the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham, Washington. Tim was ordination teacher for our own Chikyo Ewan Magie.Tim has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found the Bellingham Zen Practice Group in 1991. Tim was ordained as a Zen Priest by Norman in 2000, received Dharma Transmission in 2011, and was installed as Guiding Teacher of the s...2020-11-0844 min
Awake in the World PodcastNobody's Life Is Just Their OwnA conversation between Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Shoken Michael Stone.
Recorded in October 2014.2020-06-2137 min
Seattle Soto ZenSuffering in a Perfect World (Zoketsu Norman Fischer)May 17, 2020 - Guest speaker Norman Fischer uses the story of Zhaozhou's Dog to speak on the quandary of our imperfection in perfectly-created world. This talk is also presented in video here: https://seattlesotozen.org/Talks/Talk/TalkID/11772020-05-1700 minThe Mystical PositivistThe Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #360 - 09MAY20
Podcast:
This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Ken McLeod exploring key questions in contemporary Buddhist Dharma, Western spiritual practice in general, and the potential for transformation in multiple directions inherent in the modern crises of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Climate Change. Among the topics considered are how senior spiritual teachers are dealing with the challenges of the current pandemic, the commodification of spiritual technology in the contemporary Western world, and the distinction between seeking results within the horizontal dimension of life versus the cultivation of depth within the...2020-05-1000 minThe Mystical PositivistThe Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #359 - 25APR20
Podcast:
This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Zoketsu Norman Fischer about his 2019 book The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path. More prescient than Fischer could have known when he wrote it, the book offers an imaginative approach to spiritual practice in difficult times, through the Buddhist teaching of the six pāramitās or "perfections"--qualities that lead to kindness, wisdom, and an awakened life. Fischer points out that in frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us...2020-04-2600 minMindrolling with Raghu MarkusEp. 288 – Zoketsu Norman FischerThis week on the Mindrolling Podcast, Raghu is joined by Zen priest Zoketsu Norman Fischer for a conversation about the ways that we can bring balance and compassion into our lives.Zoketsu Norman Fischer is a poet and Zen Buddhist priest. For many years he has taught at the San Francisco Zen Center, the oldest and largest of the new Buddhist organizations in the West, where he served as Co-abbot from 1995-2000. He is presently a Senior Dharma Teacher there as well as the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation, an organization dedicated to...2019-05-0159 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFFaith - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2019-04-1453 min
TREELEAF ZENDO PODCASTSpecial New Year Zazenkai SATURDAY 1/5 with Zoketsu Norman FischerZoketsu Norman Fischer is an American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest, teaching and practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Fischer served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995–2000, after which he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation in 2000, a network of Buddhist practice group and related projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Fischer has published more than twenty-five books of poetry and non-fiction, as well as numerous poems, essays and articles in Buddhist magazines and poetry journals.
...2019-01-071h 07TREELEAF ZENDO PODCASTAugust 2018 Special Zazenkai with Author and Teacher Susan Moon(Reigetsu) Susan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the author of a number of books about Buddhism, including the humor book The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi and This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity. For many years she was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. Her short stories and essays have been published widely. Sue has been a Zen student since 1976, practicing in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi at Berkeley Zen Center, Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery, Green Gulch...2018-08-061h 21
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFInterpreting the Precepts for Today - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2017-02-2654 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFSatisfaction - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2016-04-0358 min
Jascha HoffmanPoem In Anger (by Norman Fischer)This morning, the Zen poet Norman Fischer posted a poem that spoke to me. Here it is, in rap form. Part of my Basic Emotions series of freestyles in October. Thank you, Zoketsu.
Poem in Anger
by Norman Fischer
Earthquake hurricane all this scurrying running in place on earth against muddle and ash
Belched volcano fire wind whip horror torrent of flood pourings till houses groan like defeated whales under elements’ onslaught
People flung pummeled buried drowned burned in homes they conceived in dreams defended and fortressed flicked out of being in seconds
None of this can be helped only we...2015-10-1303 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFThe Stories We Tell - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2014-07-201h 00
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFGrief - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2012-12-1658 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFImpermanence (partial) - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2011-07-1736 min
Institute of Buddhist Studies PodcastRed Book Dialogue between Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Richard SteinEnter into an exploration of C.G. Jung’s personal transformation as recorded in the Red Book and viewed from Buddhist perspectives. To learn what the Red Book may mean to us know, the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, together with2010-12-0905 minInstitute of Buddhist Studies PodcastRed Book Dialogue between Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Richard Stein (audio version)Enter into an exploration of C.G. Jung’s personal transformation as recorded in the Red Book and viewed from Buddhist perspectives. To learn what the Red Book may mean to us know, the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, together with2010-12-0900 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFZen Thoughts on Aging - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2010-09-1954 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFGetting Old - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2008-03-021h 00
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFDeath - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2007-01-1452 min
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFPracticing Alone with Everyone - Susan MoonSusan Moon is a writer, editor, and lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She leads Buddhist retreats and teaches writing workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include "This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity," "The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women," with co-editor Florence Caplow, and most recently, "What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind," with Zoketsu Norman Fischer. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to...2006-01-081h 05
The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBFEmbracing Everyday Life - Norman FischerNorman Fischer reflects on the importance of practice in the context of everyday life. He encourages us to embrace the ordinary, explaining how the most profound teachings often come through simple, daily experiences. By bringing our attention to the present moment, we open ourselves to understanding life more deeply. Norman emphasizes that practice isn’t about achieving some future state but about being fully engaged with what is happening now.He highlights the importance of:Patience: Practicing patience with ourselves and others is a key element of the path.Trust in th...1996-09-0142 min