Zen Center of Los Angeles Podcast

Zazen is Not Meditation - Sensei Tom Dharma-Joy Reichert - 6/14/26

"Here there is aim, but no target. So we just sit in the midst of this contradiction."  In this Dharma talk, delivered during our Sunday program, Sensei Dharma-Joy illuminates the agenda-less goal of zazen practice. Whether we are counting the breaths, doing shikantaza, or working with koans, he says, our task is not to contemplate, solve a problem, or meditate on any thing because this enacts a separation. “We’re just letting go. And in letting go, we can just be completely present, and that’s what we call being free. To really reconnect with our natural original freedom.” Sensei Dharma-Joy invokes the words of Dogen Zenji, Keizan Zenji, Kodo Sawaki Roshi, and Reverend Issho Fujita. All of them, in different ways, emphasized how zazen requires dropping our "gaining mind" and stepping out of the day-to-day business of being human. Case 17 of the Blue Cliff Record koan collection is also brought to bear on the topic. Music for this episode by Leopold Genzan Hackman. Support the show [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/] These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/]. ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org

Interview with Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran

Today we're inaugurating a new podcast series we're calling LA Zen: a series of conversations with Buddhist practitioners investigating the question(s) of how to live in these times (of poly-crisis) and in this place (of Los Angeles) without falling into despair on one side, or let's say self-satisfaction on the other. Our first guest is Bill Earth-Mirror Corcoran. When Earth-Mirror received his English language dharma name from Roshi Egyoku Nakao around the turn of the century, the meaning could not have been clearer. Corcoran was already deep at work as an organizer and activist within the environmental movement, a space where he continues to be active, even after his "official" retirement in 2023.  Earth-Mirror is now a Dharma Holder in the White Plum Asanga, leading retreats and offering talks that merge his interests in ecology and spirituality, and seeing those as one common understanding.  In this conversation, he speaks with ZCLA Development Steward Hokyu JL Aronson about the balance of home life and sangha life, and how the collective organizational structure of the Zen Center helped inform his own leadership approach at the Sierra Club where he worked for 27 years. We hope you enjoy. Extras: A transcript of a dharma talk [https://zcla.org/you-are-my-teacher/] by Earth-Mirror on the teacher-student relationship. An essay by Earth-Mirror called "Embodying Ecodharma." [https://zcla.org/embodying-ecodharma/] Support the show [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/] These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/]. ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org

A Seamless Tomb — Rev. Jitsujo Gauthier — 3/22/26

From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 18: "The Seamless Tomb" This talk by Dharma Teacher Jitsujo Gauthier took place on March 22, 2026 at ZCLA where she led those present in a conversation that included the following themes: being centered vs. being grounded, the work of a death doula, and what it might mean to be bathed in "the Buddha's light" right in the present moment.   Rev. Jitsujo is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Buddhist Chaplaincy department at University of the West here in Los Angeles. She received Dharma transmission from Roshi Egyoku Nakao in 2024 and serves as a Co-Spiritual Director for the Zen Peacemaker Order. Discover more about Rev. Jitsujo’s work at Jitsujo.com Support the show [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/] These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/]. ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org

The Sound of the Bell — Sensei George Mukei Horner — 2/21/26

From the Wumen Kuan, the Gateless Gate koan collection, Case 16: "The Sound of the Bell and Five Paneled Robe." Sensei Mukei offered this talk during our Beginner's Mind meditation intensive (sesshin). Using a favorite koan as a starting off point, Mukei describes Shakyamuni's own journey as that of a beginner's mind, always questioning, open to new information, and determined to be free. Support the show [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/] These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/]. ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org

Four Kinds of Horses - Sensei Katherine Senshin Griffith - 02/8/26

This dharma talk given at ZCLA, explores the Buddhist teaching of the four kinds of horses, mirroring four types of learners. Sensei Senshin begins by exploring Case 65 from the Blue Cliff Record, a koan entitled, "A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha."  Support the show [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/] These talks are offered freely. If you feel moved to make a donation to the Zen Center, just click here [https://zcla.org/product/donate-to-zcla/]. ZEN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES www.zcla.org