Advertise on podcast: Brooklyn Zen Center

Recorded on October 30, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY On the first day of our three-day fall sesshin, Charlie Korin Pokorny walks us through the Hungry Ghost ceremony — sometimes called the Gate of Sweet Dew — that the sangha would hold together the next day, on October 31. With rice, fruit, and maybe a few Skittles, the ceremony aims to make a small offering fill the universe, infusing food with Dharma and conferring the mind of awakening and the bodhisattva precepts on all the spirits who gather. Charlie reminds us that the point isn’t to defeat or banish the hungry ghosts, but to meet them with generosity, and even intimacy, asking: what is my flaming mouth, my needle neck, my belly of unmet need? A teaching on how feeding everyone is the way we become free, in ritual, in zazen, and in sesshin. A note on the audio: we apologize for a few brief glitchy moments in this recording due to technical difficulties. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on October 17, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY Charlie Sensei continues with a teaching based on BZC's Fall Ango (practice period), "Liberating Response: Engaged Practice in Ourselves and in the World." References: Website of People's Institute for Survival And Beyond: https://pisab.org/ The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on October 3, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY. Rev. Doyeon Park, a minister of the Manhattan Won Buddhist Temple and Buddhist spiritual life advisor at Columbia and NYU, explores the complex nature of compassion in her Dharma talk at Brooklyn Zen Center drawing from personal experiences as a student and as a minister. True compassion, she explains, comes from the Latin for “to suffer together” and from the Buddhist concept of Karuna, the wish for all beings to be free from suffering, which is rooted in our interconnection. She describes a three-stage practice: first releasing ill will, then developing a neutral understanding of others’ conditions, and finally wishing genuine well-being even for difficult people. She concludes that “fierce compassion,” meaning strong words or action when needed, must be guided by wisdom and honest reflection on one’s intentions. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited you, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on October 10, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY This talk considers the PISAB principle of Learning from History and its connection to Zen practice—specifically, the discipline of studying ourselves. Sarah Sensei explores ways we can engage with both our personal histories and the collective narratives that shape our lives, our places, and our social conditioning. Through this investigation, we can work toward liberating ourselves from inherited patterns of suffering. Mentioned in this talk: New York Narratives, the website for Asad Dandia’s radical history walking tours of NYC. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on September 26, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY This talk considers what is the relationship between how we investigate and inquire into ourselves, and how we show up with compassion in the world. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on September 12, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY Welcoming the sangha back after the August break, Charlie Korin Pokorny, BZC Dharma Teacher, explores awakening through the teachings of 13th-century Sōtō Zen founder Dōgen. Themes include Buddha nature as a dynamic, impermanent process rather than a fixed essence; awakening as "doing" rather than seeing; intimate illumination as befriending one's experience; time as inseparable from existence; and Buddha nature expressed in every act of kindness as an ethic of care. Charlie Sensei also introduces BZC's fall practice period, "Liberating Response: Engaged Practice in Ourselves and in the World." Over 12 weeks, the program explores six topics (location, class, race, gender and sexuality, immigration and indigeneity, and earth justice), alternating between internal and external dimensions. Offerings include Saturday talks, Wednesday evening dharma shares, a one-day sit, three- and five-day sesshins, and a six-week online class on B.R. Ambedkar and Navayana Buddhism. The talk frames the four noble truths as emergent and living, with boundless relationality bringing boundless shared responsibility. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on July 25, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on July 11, 2026, at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY Sarah 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 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. This podcast includes the question and response portion of the talk, with express permission of the questioner. The asker describes grappling with remorse over experiences in his youth as a student at an Israeli yeshiva in the occupied territories. Sarah’s response acknowledges the pain that arises from holding the complexity of being a human being who is part of this world, and how this pain belongs in our practice as a sangha, so that we might hold it together. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

Recorded on June 27, 2026 at Boundless Mind Temple in Brooklyn, NY, during a one-day retreat This 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 practice.  Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, born in the Dalit (“Untouchable”) cast, overcame prejudice and adversity to become a prominent Indian jurist, economist, and political leader. He was a primary author of the Constitution of India. Dr. Ambedkar worked tirelessly for the empowerment of the Dalit caste. On October 14, 1958, in rejection of the caste system, he publicly converted to Buddhism, then led the conversion of 500,000 of his followers gathered there. The Ambedkarite Buddhist movement continues to this day. “The greatest thing that the Buddha has done is to tell the world that the world cannot be reformed except by the reformation of the mind of humankind and of the mind of the world.” (Dr. Ambedgar, 1956) Please note that, during Sarah Sensei’s brief introduction of Maitriveer-Nagarjuna, the sound is distorted due to microphone issues. These issues were resolved by the start of his talk, at time mark 00:01:45. Maitriveer-Nagarjuna (Dr. Santosh Raut) hails from Maharashtra, the heartland of the Ambedkarite Buddhist movement. Both a Dhamma teacher and a scholar of Buddhist Aesthetics and Philosophy, he has long been a thought leader and organizer within broader Asian networks of Engaged Buddhism. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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. Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, and grief counselor, Chodo Robert Campbell is a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death, dying, aging, and sobriety. With his husband, Koshin Paley Ellison, he co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, integrating contemplative approaches with contemporary medicine. Under his leadership, NYZC developed the Foundations in Contemplative Care and Contemplative Medicine Fellowship, reaching tens of thousands internationally. Chodo is a recognized Soto Zen Teacher and serves on faculty at University of the West, University of Arizona Medical School’s Center for Integrative Medicine, and the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine. Author, Zen teacher, and Jungian psychotherapist, Koshin Paley Ellison is a leader in the contemplative medicine movement. With his husband, Chodo Campbell, he co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, developing the Foundations in Contemplative Care and Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. Author of Untangled and Wholehearted, Koshin is a recognized Soto Zen Teacher who serves on faculty at University of Arizona Medical School’s Center for Integrative Medicine, the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, and University of the West, and is visiting professor at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Health Science Center. New York Zen Center: https://www.zencare.org/ The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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 collective chanting, and shares Wong Roshi's connection between the indigenous Hawaiian meaning of aloha, and her Zen teacher's understanding of aloha as compassion manifested.  Sarah reads briefly from Norma Wong’s latest book, Who We Are Becoming Matters. Sarah also mentioned the podcast episode "Reverence for Death," with Prentis Hemphill and Alua Arthur, from the Becoming the People podcast. https://becomingthepeople.buzzsprout.com/1108100/episodes/19167987-reverence-for-death-with-alua-arthur Some information about the authors mentioned: Norma Wong (Norma Ryūkō Kawelokū Wong Roshi) is an 86th generation Zen master and a Native Hawaiian and Hakka Chinese life-long resident of Hawai’i. She is the author of the books Who We Are Becoming Matters: The Courage, Wisdom, and Aloha We Need in a Timeplace of Collapse (2026), and When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse (2024). https://www.normawong.com/ Dr. Paula Arai is a Sōtō Zen practitioner, Chair of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley, and faculty at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Her focus of study is the practices of Japanese Sōtō Zen laywomen. Her latest book is The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (2023). https://www.zenhealing.org/

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. The audio includes periods of unclear sound and silence. Time stamps are provided below. Kaira Jewel read the poem, “After I Fell in the Canyon of Grief,” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. The poem can be found here, on the the poet’s poetry blog: The poet’s website: https://www.wordwoman.com/ Time stamps 5:20 – 9:30: Paired sharing about “something tender or unfinished in your heart” 11:15 – 13:20: “After I Fell in the Canyon of Grief” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer 14:15 – 21:25: Guided meditation practice on finding places of support and grief in the body 21:25 – 25:00: Writing exercise, a sentence or phrase conveying a present grief 25:00 – 32:07: Holding the Grief Together ceremony, with choral harmonic humming and reading of phrases 32:07 – 54:32: Dharma Talk Kaira Jewel Lingo is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage and a Vipassana teacher, and a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers Council of Elders. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, drawing inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her father’s work with Martin Luther King, Jr. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen and Vipassana traditions, as well as in secular mindfulness contexts. Her teaching focuses on the intersection of racial, climate, and social justice, with particular care for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, as well as activists, artists, educators, families, and youth. Based in New York, she offers spiritual mentoring and is faculty in a Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training, and one of the guiding teachers of One Earth Sangha. She is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption, and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation. More information about her teachings and events can be found at www.kairajewel.com The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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. The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!

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 Ai-jin Poo. https://becomingthepeople.buzzsprout.com/1108100/episodes/18866180-care-is-a-lifeforce-with-ai-jen-poo “Moving Toward the Horizon of Love Together,” episode of the podcast “How to Survive the End of the World,” adrienne maree brown in conversation with Sonya Renee Taylor. https://endoftheworldshow.org/episodes/moving-toward-the-horizon-of-love-together-with-sonya-renee-taylor “Awareness Alone Is Not a Strategy,” post on Adrianna DiFazio's Substack newsletter, “Radical Change.” https://open.substack.com/pub/adrianadifazio/p/awareness-alone-is-not-a-strategy?r=1kh014&utm_medium=ios The BZC Podcast is offered free of charge and made possible by the donations we receive. If these teachings have benefited your life, please consider supporting the program with a donation (suggested $2-7/episode, or whatever feels right for you!). You can donate to Brooklyn Zen Center at brooklynzen.org under ‘Giving.’ Thank you for your generosity!