Young Urban Zen SF

How do we keep showing up in our work, relationships, and the world without exhausting ourselves or betraying what matters most to us?
Eli discusses joyful effort (virya): an approach to effort that isn’t about grinding harder, chasing outcomes, or measuring worth through productivity. Drawing on Zen practice and lived experience, we unpack questions many of us carry quietly: Am I doing enough? What does sustainable commitment look like? How do I stay engaged when trust is low and fatigue is high?

In this talk, Kōgetsu discusses generosity also known as Dana. Buddhist practice invites us to look more deeply at how we can meet the roots of suffering. We will explore how generosity includes how we relate to ourselves and others, how we listen, how we repair, how we set limits, and how wisdom guides what actually helps rather than what simply feels good in the moment. Zazen trains us to meet generosity with clarity rather than compulsion.

In this talk Mei discusses the paramita of ethical conduct. Sila (ethical conduct) is one of the six paramitas (perfections) that develops a practitioner on the path of freedom, while simultaneously manifesting awakened activity. Though most Westerners don't initially delight in the topic of ethical behavior, Mei explains that virtue is one of the most beautiful expressions of the awakened mind.

This talk is the beginning of a series on the paramitas which are the fruits of living the precepts of Buddhism.
Michael will be discussing the paramita of patience in this talk. Paramitas are viewed as perfections to be addressed directly as a way of working with one's practice. Please come and turn over not only this paramita but how it relates to our everyday life, no matter where we spend our day (in the monastery, out in the world, in the home...).

Tim Wicks closes out the year (2025) with a talk about Renunciation, letting go.
He speaks about the grasping at the root of our suffering, our conditioning as "graspers," and how we help each other in learning to let go.