A Path of Zen Healing

0:00 This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:16 Well, good evening, everybody, and welcome. Can you all hear me okay? Great. I want to welcome all of you who are present and those who are present in person and online. Report an error in the passage at 0:16 Highlight the passage at 0:16

0:30 I really appreciate you all showing up. I'm really grateful to be here and on this seat, as discombobulating as it is. Is anybody here for the first time at City Center? Report an error in the passage at 0:30 Highlight the passage at 0:30

0:52 Oh, welcome, welcome. So my name is Patti Mitchell, and my dharma name is Doshin Myoen, and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I'm a Zen priest, and I did not train at the temple here. I trained at a Zendo in San Francisco. And I am really grateful to be here. And I have, this isn't an award ceremony, but I have a lot of thank yous. Report an error in the passage at 0:52 Highlight the passage at 0:52

1:31 And I want to start with the spiritual leadership of City Center. for offering me the support and the opportunity to receive dharma transmission at City Center. It's a great honor and I'm deeply grateful. Report an error in the passage at 1:31 Highlight the passage at 1:31

1:50 I also want to thank the staff and the community who in the last nine weeks have supported my practice and my limited engagement due to sciatica pain that I was dealing with. I want to thank you for your hard work. And for your practice, which has really supported my practice. For me, I can't do it alone. Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

2:16 I can't do recovery, which I've been in since December 28th, 1989, and Zen practice since 2004. So it's great to have the support of everyone. And most importantly, Report an error in the passage at 2:16 Highlight the passage at 2:16

2:40 I want to extend my deep gratitude to Christina Lenhair, who has been my root teacher for the last 20 years. Her kindness, her compassion, her patience, and her support has kept me going through a whole variety of life situations and challenges. And for that, I am deeply grateful. Thank you, Christina. Report an error in the passage at 2:40 Highlight the passage at 2:40

3:07 She also invited me to receive dharma transmission a little over a year ago, and I'm deeply grateful for that. I co-lead a small sitting group in Tulsa. I was invited by a teacher who's in the San Bo lineage. He was transmitted a couple of years ago. And after two years, we have about eight or nine regular people. And it's a very sweet group to practice in person. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:40 I had been in Tulsa for three years and practicing online with a couple of online groups. Peter Vandesteer's group, who I was shuso for. And Barry Magid, who is a psychoanalyst and Zen teacher in Joko Beck's lineage out of New York City. And I did a couple of in-person sushins with them. So I'm very grateful to them. And last and most importantly, I want to thank Shogaku Shinru Suzuki for his practice and founding this temple. Report an error in the passage at 3:40 Highlight the passage at 3:40

4:21 I read his book in 1971. I didn't understand it, but it excited me, and I started searching. Report an error in the passage at 4:21 Highlight the passage at 4:21

4:34 I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about my personal life. I've been a woman who's lived alone and raised two sons on my own, had them on my own. I have a very interesting checkered path with a past. With a lot of suffering, a lot of confusion, despair, depression, and angst, and that continued even through my spiritual practice. Report an error in the passage at 4:34 Highlight the passage at 4:34

5:03 It's been a slow process of healing, becoming whole, of coming to understand what practice is and how I can embody it. Report an error in the passage at 5:03 Highlight the passage at 5:03

5:29 In 1975, I met a Dzogchen teacher through a friend of mine, and I ended up practicing in the Dzogchen Tibetan Nyingma tradition for about 20 plus years. And when I went back to New York after being away from the teacher, I discovered that there had been multiple abuses that had gone on in the group. I was devastated, and it put into context the abuse, the emotional abuse that I had suffered at his hands. Report an error in the passage at 5:29 Highlight the passage at 5:29

6:03 And I was bereft. Dharma was the love of my life, and I didn't know what to do. I started sitting Vipassanā insight retreats, one, three, five, ten, three weeks. And talking to each teacher because you can study, you know, interview with a variety of teachers. And just searching for how to go on. And finally a woman teacher suggested that I try to forgive him and for myself for giving away my power. Report an error in the passage at 6:03 Highlight the passage at 6:03

6:42 And, you know, one thing that's become clear in my practice is that I, all of my life, have looked outside of myself for the love and support and appreciation that I didn't feel as a child. And I was constantly disappointed, first by men, primarily, but friends, you know, family. And, you know, even Christina, I would be disappointed because I had what Lorenzo talked about in one of his talks, expectations. Report an error in the passage at 6:42 Highlight the passage at 6:42

7:19 And I certainly had a lot of expectations when I lived at City Center, first time in 2005 for five months, and then the second time in around 2012-13 when Christina was the abbess. I expected... Transmitted teachers, priests, Zen practitioners, to be a certain way. They weren't, in my view. And I had a lot of self-righteous judgment, criticism, which was kind of the nature of my personality. Report an error in the passage at 7:19 Highlight the passage at 7:19

7:57 And it caused me a lot of suffering. Luckily, I started interviewing with Christina. She was the tanto at the time. That was very helpful. The reason I moved to City Center was City Center had the first meditation and recovery meeting in the country, I believe. And I was so excited when I lived on the East Coast. So once my dad died, my oldest son said, why don't you move to California? Report an error in the passage at 7:57 Highlight the passage at 7:57

8:29 And I said, okay, I'm going to move into Zen Center and get a job. Not knowing what that entailed. I had all sorts of ideas what it would be. And I encountered myself, which had a lot of hindrances. And I got to start experiencing the dharma gates of everyday life in community. And when I was invited to come back, I really felt like I was... Report an error in the passage at 8:29 Highlight the passage at 8:29

9:05 Revisiting my Zen family of origin, and I wanted in my behavior and my attitudes to make a living immense for the surliness, the judgments, the energy that I displayed when I lived here. And so I'm really happy that worked out. Recovery. And Zen, Zazen are the twining practices that support my life. I couldn't, you know, really practice or be in sobriety to the depth that I am without both of them. Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:44 They support each other and they are very synchronistic in a lot of the values and principles. In recovery, we don't do it alone. We tried to stay sober off of substances by ourselves and failed over and over. I had a hard time sitting in zazen by myself at home. My mind was just too confused and fraught. Report an error in the passage at 9:44 Highlight the passage at 9:44

10:15 And I really needed the calming presence of other people sitting in silence that allowed me gradually to deepen my own practice and be able to sit alone at home. Report an error in the passage at 10:15 Highlight the passage at 10:15

10:29 So I was doing Vipassanā, and I was invited by a friend to go to Salt Lake City and sit sashin with Genpo Dennis Merzl. I had no idea what that was, but I said, oh, yeah, that'd be a great adventure. So I sat down, and I felt at home finally in a spiritual practice. And I thought about staying there, but they were drinking sake next door to celebrate the Sashin being over. Report an error in the passage at 10:29 Highlight the passage at 10:29

11:07 And I go, that's not going to work. I'm in recovery. So I went to the Zen Mountain Monastery for an introductory weekend about Zen. And then my dad was dying and I moved to Tulsa and was with him for a year and a half. I'm a retired hospice nurse. And then my son invited me to come to San Francisco. In 2007, Report an error in the passage at 11:07 Highlight the passage at 11:07

11:41 After studying the precepts and sewing my rakasu, I received Jukai from Christina. And for me, when I was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism, the way I was introduced was the teacher came to Iowa and he gave a lecture on the 10 Bodhisattva precepts. And I had a recognition that I was not living that kind of life. Report an error in the passage at 11:41 Highlight the passage at 11:41

12:11 Buddhism, though, did not keep me sober. I hit a bottom about 12 years after becoming a Buddhist. And I had to step back from my practice and really devote myself to 90 meetings in 90 days and working with a sponsor and working the steps. And in working the steps, you come to terms with your past. past, all of the suffering that you've caused. Report an error in the passage at 12:11 Highlight the passage at 12:11

12:45 you get rigorously honest with yourself. You stop lying to yourself about and making excuses. You also make amends where it's appropriate. And so, you know, I... I feel that the precepts in Zen and morality is really important because if we're lying and stealing or lying to ourselves or doing addictive behavior or substances that damage us, we can't really settle. Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:21 So Zen allows us and mindfulness practice. To settle into calmness so that we can really turn the light within and start the study of ourself. So I went to Tassajara the first time in 2014 for a non-go and I love Tangoria, sitting in silence. I've always been more comfortable. Being quiet, not talking, I felt socially challenged. And now that I have extreme hearing, it's even worse. But now I can be with people and I have excuse to be quiet. Report an error in the passage at 13:21 Highlight the passage at 13:21

14:03 But I love intimacy and connection. That has changed over the years due to practice and recovery and being in community. To really appreciate others. Report an error in the passage at 14:03 Highlight the passage at 14:03

14:18 Views and perspectives and what people share of themselves, it's essential for me. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:32 So my primary intention when I came to this practice period was to recognize my reactivity if and when it arose. And I was sure it was going to arise because, you know, practice doesn't fix. It just allows awareness to keep deepening in so many ways, subtle ways. So my intention was I wanted to recognize my reactivity, especially in relationship to other people or leadership, and to not take things personally, but to really pause and to examine. Report an error in the passage at 14:32 Highlight the passage at 14:32

15:18 What was going on in my body because usually when I'm triggered, it's a physical reaction that alerts me. Then if I pause, I don't go into a story about it or blame the other person. I can just take myself where I need to be because sometimes it's an old wound from childhood and it's like a knife going in and I just, it's a tsunami of emotion. Report an error in the passage at 15:18 Highlight the passage at 15:18

15:45 And I need to take care of myself. One of the things about practice is that I've used lots of outside means. And that has included psychotherapy in the last year where I had a particular situation with my oldest son. And it was bringing up that tsunami of grief and despair because I have regret about my children. Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

16:13 children, you know, that... Report an error in the passage at 16:13 Highlight the passage at 16:13

16:17 For what they went through being with me. And so I found a Buddhist psychotherapist who was recommended by a friend who had been working with him for a while. And I met with him on Zoom. And he had me trace back when I'd be triggered to the feeling, the earliest memory. Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:39 I started being able to recognize the response and take care of myself rather than be in bed for days sobbing and wanting to give up. Report an error in the passage at 16:39 Highlight the passage at 16:39

16:57 Zazen doesn't necessarily address psychological or emotional issues for me. I've needed up. So, so... Report an error in the passage at 16:57 Highlight the passage at 16:57

17:07 Outside help. And, you know, I had a particularly difficult childhood. I was raised in an alcoholic family. It was violent, critical. I went to Catholic school and the nuns were pretty tough and critical. So, you know, I had a lot of self-criticism and it's taken a variety of tools to Process all of that. Report an error in the passage at 17:07 Highlight the passage at 17:07

17:40 One of the chants in Barry Magid's group is one that Joko Beck, he slightly amended it, but it's the four practice principles, and it's caught in a self-centered dream, only suffering, waking to a dream within a dream, each moment, life as it is, the only teacher, being just this moment. For me, Zazen practice allows me to awake into that self-centeredness, to my judgments, to the stories. Report an error in the passage at 17:40 Highlight the passage at 17:40

18:27 I remember one of the sashins I did here, I spent a lot of the sashin fantasizing a romantic relationship with one of the men here. I had all sorts of visuals. I shared that with a teacher years later and he said, wow, you wasted all the sashin. Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:54 I've been a slow nut. but you know Report an error in the passage at 18:54 Highlight the passage at 18:54

18:56 That's a crack. It takes what it takes, but that's one thing. I encourage people that it's not about results. It's about what Christina has shared. It's the enthusiasm, the devotion, the wholeheartedness we bring to what is our current practice. And that unfolds for us. The dharma unfolds. Report an error in the passage at 18:56 Highlight the passage at 18:56

19:25 I've experienced life bringing me exactly what I needed, and that has included great challenges, difficult situations, and yet my trust in mind, trust in dharma, has just deepened and deepened. Report an error in the passage at 19:25 Highlight the passage at 19:25

19:47 So for me, The Tibetans have a teaching that is very rare to embody a human body, first of all, and then to encounter the dharma and connect to it. Because many people come to our little group, and Zen's not for everyone. I like to encourage people. To really start slow and check things out and listen to their own body and reaction to just starting to sit in a Soto Zen form. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:30 I really like working with beginners both in recovery and in practice because it keeps it very green for me. It helps me remember, you know, how it was. So Zen practice always. Also, you know, brings us insight and wisdom. It's not all dreary and dull. And it allows those four boundless qualities of the heart, loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity to dawn for us, you know. Report an error in the passage at 20:30 Highlight the passage at 20:30

21:11 And it's not... What I love about Zen that has taught me, I thought I was, you know, going to get enlightened and I'd sit in Tibetan meditation, you know, like streaming for enlightenment. I thought it was some altered state. And I really love the teachings, Dogen's teachings about what practice is. And when I first read him when I lived here and I was in study groups, I was like, oh. Report an error in the passage at 21:11 Highlight the passage at 21:11

21:42 This is too paradoxical for me. It's like koans. I can't go there just yet. But, you know, that's changed also over the years. And I'm so grateful I read the history, you know, more historical perspective in a David Hinton book of how Buddhism came from, Bodhidharma brought it to China, and then what was going on in China, Taoism and Confucianism, and then how Dogen came and what was going on in his time. Report an error in the passage at 21:42 Highlight the passage at 21:42

22:16 And it was really helpful to have that historical perspective of what was going on. Report an error in the passage at 22:16 Highlight the passage at 22:16

22:33 So some aspects of recovery. I didn't think I was... I was an alcoholic. I didn't drink every day. I had a full-time job. I was a single mother. But I knew a woman, and she had taken me to a couple of meetings, which I didn't connect to. I just was in the back crying because I was emotionally disturbed over a man. And I finally, you know, she called me to watch her son, and I said, I can't get out of bed. Report an error in the passage at 22:33 Highlight the passage at 22:33

23:06 And she said, Patti, you need treatment. And you have insurance. And I said, what is treatment going to do that 39 years of self-help books, Buddhist practice hasn't done? She said, trust me, you have insurance. Give yourself the gift of recovery. And so I went in and was surly. They wouldn't give me my bag. My personality was on full display. Report an error in the passage at 23:06 Highlight the passage at 23:06

23:38 And when we had to do the first step and share it with our small circle of people, I was blaming everything on the outside, that I was a woman born in a man's world, that I was born into the wrong family, yada, yada, yada. And they, you know, it became clear that... Report an error in the passage at 23:38 Highlight the passage at 23:38

24:01 I could not admit that I was powerless over people, places, and things, and that I wanted things to be my way, and that my way of dealing with frustration or despair or anger was to take something to change how I felt or suppress what I was feeling. So by the time I hit bottom, I was taking a lot of Xanax. Report an error in the passage at 24:01 Highlight the passage at 24:01

24:29 In recovery, we started reading the big book. We had small groups and people from the outside came in and they would tell their story, how it was, what happened, how it is now. I heard these horrendous stories and people were laughing and grateful. And the other part of the story was that they talked about feelings I had felt all my life. Report an error in the passage at 24:29 Highlight the passage at 24:29

24:56 You know, feeling unique, not a part of. And they talked freely about their suffering. And I finally felt I was at home with people I could relate to because I had longed for something other than the American culture I was a part of at the time. You know, I just... I never found connection or meaning, and my folks were working class, and so I just, you know, I longed for something. Report an error in the passage at 24:56 Highlight the passage at 24:56

25:40 I didn't know what, but recovery has principles, and, you know, gratitude and acceptance are core principles, and I find those also in Zen. gratitude, Gratitude, Christina was talking in the last class, she ended the class with talking about our stories and what we focus on at the end of the day. And if I'm laying in bed and going over resentments or, you know, lacks of, you know, who did this to me or, oh, I don't feel a part of that or, it, Report an error in the passage at 25:40 Highlight the passage at 25:40

26:22 It causes contraction, it causes a negativity, a sense of lack. And when I can remember to go to bed and be grateful and have a ritual that I can do at night that turns the mind towards gratitude and acceptance of my life as it is. Report an error in the passage at 26:22 Highlight the passage at 26:22

26:47 It's a totally different experience. And Steve Stuckey had given a talk when he received his terminal cancer diagnosis about how he started his day of being grateful before he got up out of his bed, on the side of his bed. And I immediately started that practice because... Many mornings I would wake up in moods or, you know, dread of what I had to do. And if I start grateful for embodiment, for the opportunity to experience life, it's a whole different, you know, day. Report an error in the passage at 26:47 Highlight the passage at 26:47

27:34 So there is a saying in the big book, when I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation, some fact of my life unacceptable. I can find no serenity until I accept life as it is. And for a complainer, I needed to hear that over and over again. And there's a particular step, the tenth step, that when you're disturbed, it's a worksheet, and you actually put why you're disturbed, who did what to you, what it threatened, and what was your part in it. Report an error in the passage at 27:34 Highlight the passage at 27:34

28:17 And then, you know, on and on. And you can share that with your sponsor or a friend. So that's been particularly helpful. Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:34 So this practice period, Buddha body, Buddha mind, has been wonderful. I trained physically before I came because I wanted to be wholeheartedly I was present and engaged in life in the temple. However, two days before I left, I started having lower back pain and I started taking Advil and the pain continued to increase and I was taking pretty hefty doses of Advil. Report an error in the passage at 28:34 Highlight the passage at 28:34

29:15 And it became unbearable. I think I was in the kitchen trying to clean the stove. I wasn't bending down or doing anything. And I talked to Christina, and she gave me direction to rest, to use the hot water bottle, and to listen to the body. So I had an expectation of how I thought. I was going to be here in this practice period. And so I couldn't be in the work circles, in the work crew during the day. Report an error in the passage at 29:15 Highlight the passage at 29:15

29:51 I couldn't do full prostrations. I spent a lot of time, I went for short walks, but I started attending to the body and I got a recommendation from someone here. About a chiropractor down the street on Laguna. And so I had five chiropractic treatments and she has a deep tissue masseuse who works in her office. Report an error in the passage at 29:51 Highlight the passage at 29:51

30:17 And I had three total. One after transmission, but two before. And right before transmission, my sciatica disappeared. And Christina, I wanted to just start doing full bows. Report an error in the passage at 30:17 Highlight the passage at 30:17

30:38 And Christina counseled me to take it slow, you know, to be able to complete transmission because when I was in the midst of the sciatica pain, I had disappointment. I thought I was going to have to go home. However, that big game that was happening, what was it? Report an error in the passage at 30:38 Highlight the passage at 30:38

31:01 The Super Bowl? Yeah. The tickets were really expensive, so I couldn't book a flight. So I thought, okay, one more week, I'll see how it goes. Report an error in the passage at 31:01 Highlight the passage at 31:01

31:12 So I encountered the grief and the possibility that this wasn't going to happen. And being with what is as it arises is... It's helpful to have spiritual friends and a teacher in particular who has wisdom that can give us another way, another option of how we can consider a challenge. Report an error in the passage at 31:12 Highlight the passage at 31:12

31:48 I Report an error in the passage at 31:48 Highlight the passage at 31:48

31:56 think that's all I want to say. When I had to give talks in Tulsa, I was invited to Speak to another little Zen saṅgha that meets at an interfaith retreat center, the Osage Forest of Peace. You know, I had a lot of anxiety about giving a talk. And Christina mentioned that you co-create the talk with whoever's present. And that has really... Report an error in the passage at 31:56 Highlight the passage at 31:56

32:33 helped me when I've spoken in AA, when I've told my story. And one of the things I noticed today in particular was the warmth that I felt and the connection that I felt with this community. It's like suddenly you weren't individual beings but this loving energy. Report an error in the passage at 32:33 Highlight the passage at 32:33

33:03 And I'm so grateful to be a part of that. So thank you for your practice and for listening. And we have time for questions. I'm extremely hearing. I have a cochlear implant, but I don't wear it with the microphone because when I have it in, I hear my own voice, and I hear sounds two different ways. So Michael, if I don't hear the question, would you repeat it for me? Report an error in the passage at 33:03 Highlight the passage at 33:03

33:35 Okay, thanks. You have about nine minutes. What's that? You have about nine minutes left. Okay. Any comments or questions? Report an error in the passage at 33:35 Highlight the passage at 33:35

33:49 Lori, I can count on you. Report an error in the passage at 33:49 Highlight the passage at 33:49

33:55 Hi, Patti. Thank you so much for your talk today. Thank you. It was lovely to get to know more about you. Are you going to keep your hair short? Yes, I am. Yay, I think you look so good with it. For a while, yeah, at least. Okay, thank you so much for everything. You're wonderful. Yeah, thank you for there, Patty. Report an error in the passage at 33:55 Highlight the passage at 33:55

34:41 Thank you, Patty. I had a question that was coming actually before the dharma talk. I was curious if you could say a few words about the relationship between student and teacher and how that was for you, especially as part of the dharma transmission. Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

35:00 Did you hear me? I couldn't hear the distinct words. Asking about the student-teacher relationship, especially related to dharma transmission. Report an error in the passage at 35:00 Highlight the passage at 35:00

35:16 Well, Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:23 Dogen talks about the mother hen pecking from the outside and the chick pecking from the inside. And I think that's a beautiful analogy. Report an error in the passage at 35:23 Highlight the passage at 35:23

35:41 It's interesting. I've learned a lot being in relationship with a teacher about myself and finding my own voice. In the Tibetan tradition, it was all about subservience. And in the Hindu, when I was involved in the yoga tradition, it was, you know. And in Zen, it's very different, the bowing. And for me, it's a relationship that is Report an error in the passage at 35:41 Highlight the passage at 35:41

36:34 a foundation of my practice in the sense of showing up and being transparent with someone who can then... Report an error in the passage at 36:34 Highlight the passage at 36:34

36:50 Make suggestions or encourage me in just the way that I need. Being vulnerable first with AA sponsor because as an alcoholic, I had a lot of defenses. And so AA taught me the benefit of being honest and transparent and being intimate. And for me, the relationship with Christina is most intimate. And she Report an error in the passage at 36:50 Highlight the passage at 36:50

37:31 inspires me by her energy, her being, the way that she accepts other people and interacts with a variety of personalities. And her gentleness. Report an error in the passage at 37:31 Highlight the passage at 37:31

37:54 She has modeled for me how I want to be because I was a tornado of rage, sarcasm, anger, disrespect of others, and I am so grateful that practice and recovery has cracked that nut. Report an error in the passage at 37:54 Highlight the passage at 37:54

38:21 Thanks for the question. We have time for one more question. Report an error in the passage at 38:21 Highlight the passage at 38:21

38:33 Hi, Patti. Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you for your share. I'm so glad you talked about meditation, or I think the group is called 12 Step and Zen, or Meditation and Recovery? I can't remember. That's how I came to this place as well, back in 2007 for a couple of years. And I only came for that meeting, and I kind of like tiptoed in and out, right? Report an error in the passage at 38:33 Highlight the passage at 38:33

39:01 But I stayed in recovery. recovery. But that's how I came here. And I think there's a couple of us around that that's true for. And I think about a lot the similarities and differences between the two communities and the overlap. Report an error in the passage at 39:01 Highlight the passage at 39:01

39:25 Yeah, it's fascinating and I appreciate both so much. Yeah, and I also was sitting here wondering, I was like, oh, I came to Zen through recovery. I wonder how many people are making their way to recovery from Zen, like crossing that bridge, right? Because I think they go together very well. And it's really interesting to think about you as a tornado. Report an error in the passage at 39:25 Highlight the passage at 39:25

39:58 like I was very surprised to hear all of this tonight but I get that it's true yeah I get that because at a certain point Report an error in the passage at 39:58 Highlight the passage at 39:58

40:26 Thank you. Okay. every moment you're a different person but certainly like 20 or 30 years later you're not at all the person that you were and so yeah thank you moment to moment and you're modeling that yeah thank you Report an error in the passage at 40:26 Highlight the passage at 40:26

40:33 Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 40:33 Highlight the passage at 40:33