Dharma Talks Online




Follow this link to find Sosan's Dharma talks on the Clouds in Water Zen Center website:

Or these links to specific talks:



December 2021

November 2021

Reflections on case 19 of the Gateless Barrier Koan collection
October 2021

Drawing from Dogen’s fascicle “The Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas,” Thich Nhat Hanh’s famous poem “Call Me By My True Names,” and Case 8 in the Gateless Barrier koan collection, Sosan helps us to awaken who we are beyond our ideas of our self.
September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

Teaching from the Chinese teacher Lung Ya (Dragon Fang)
December 2020

December 2020

November 2020

How the nine contemplations on death and impermanence can help us wake up to our lives and live them fully.  December 2017

Cultivating a Clear Mind
Practicing with the precept of “not becoming intoxicated.” Considering all the things that we do that distract us from what is actually happening in each moment. Ways we can practice with this precept, including ideas from Diane Eshin Rizzetto’s book, “Waking Up To What You Do.” October 2017

 What To Do When the Hurricanes Come?
Long ago, a monk asked a master, “When hundreds, thousands, or myriad of objects come all at once, what should be done?” The master replied, “Don’t try to control them.” Sosan talked about this story from Dogen’s “Only a Buddha and a Buddha”, as well as the alternate version from the Iron Flute (case 27). How can we receive whatever arises with equanimity? How can we be calm enough to have a wise and compassionate response? September 2017

Racism and Collective Liberation
What is collective liberation and how do we get there? What does it mean to be a member of Clouds in Water Zen Center? August 2017

Race and the Four Noble Truths
Addressing issues of race, racism, and white privilege using the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths. July 2017

 Finding the Middle Way with Regard to Material Things
Do material things help or hinder us on the spiritual path? In honor of Ramadan, Sosan explores this topic with stories from the lives of the Buddha, Layman Pang and his family, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and the monk Ryokan. June 2017

 Plum Blossoms Don't Know Spring: Practicing with Don't Know Mind
Using Zen Master Dogen’s fascicle #417, Plum Blossoms Don’t Know Spring, and #268, Sparrows and Crows in the Vast Universe, Sosan explores how we bring the experience of openness or don’t know mind back into our day-to-day life. She outlines the importance of daily sitting, weekly communal practice and regular sesshin practice.
May, 2017

Beginning Anew
Right speech, kind speech, ethical speech are among Buddha's teachings. Sosan reflects on these teachings and encourages us to perform the Beginning Again Ceremony as a way to clear our mind and keep our practice fresh. Her husband and son perform a sample ceremony that includes Flower-Watering (telling someone how much they mean to you and emphasizing their positive traits). This ceremony can be performed by families or individuals in a group to resolve conflict. The ceremony also includes Sharing Regrets, Expressing a hurt, and Asking for Support. March, 2017

Cultivating Zazen in the Midst of Birth and Death
Discussion of politics and engagement in civil actions from the perspective of Zen. Encouragement to do what we can to overcome negative forces in our world and to keep in mind Zen teachings: everything is impermanent, do not grasp for outcomes of our actions -- just do them -- and the activity's result is not as important as the activity itself. Zen meditation is the way to understand these teachings and to open the heart. The story of Two Tigers, Two Mice, and a Strawberry weaves through this dharma talk. January, 2017

The Hut that Includes the Entire World
Commentary on "Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage" by Shitou, and lessons from Ben Connelly's book, Inside the Grass Hut   Also includes insights from my personal experience with solo hermit practice in a modern-day "grass hut." August 2016

The Sangha Jewel
Sangha, or community, is a precious jewel. Without this jewel, we cannot walk the spiritual path.
June 2016

Mother's Day Teaching in Response to Gun Violence
Teaching include: Seeing all beings as our mothers; Cherishing each and every beings as if they were our only child; Seeing ourselves as not separate from all beings, as a mother is not separate from her child at the time of birth. Exploring how these teachings can help us respond to the culture of violence in which we live, and especially gun violence. And how these teachings can help us to be nurtured in the midst of difficult circumstances.  May 8, 2016

Practicing in Times of Intolerance
Exploring Case 87 from the Blue Cliff record: “Medicine and Disease Subdue Each Other.” How we can practice within the forms of Zen. How our practice can help us act from a place of openness and clarity when faced with intolerance. March 6, 2016

The Practice of Loving-kindness
February 21, 2016

Receiving Everything with an Open Heart
Sosan discusses three things on the topic of receiving: 1) receiving the beauty and healing power of nature, 2) receiving the words and hearts of each other through council practice, and 3) the Ethics and Reconciliation committee, who receive feedback, concerns and grievances on behalf of the community.
January 10, 2016

Where Am I Going?
You can have a plan for your life, but you also need to release your hold on it. Using the wisdom of Zen Master Dogen and A.A. Milne's poem, "Spring Wind," this talk explores how we might live this way.
March 15, 2015

Receiving Everything with an Open Heart
How the beauty of nature sustains us. How we can receive the sights and sounds of nature and also receive our family, friends and community members with open hearts.
January 10, 2016

How to Feed a Hungry Ghost
In Buddhism, we describe that state of mind that is never satisfied as the "hungry ghost." In this talk, I talk about what we can do when we are in this state of mind. You may want to listen to the talk from November 1 first, but this one will stand alone also.
November 8, 2015

Hungry Ghosts and the Craving Mind
In Buddhism, we describe that state of mind that is never satisfied as the "hungry ghost." In this talk, I discuss how the craving mind prevents us from being truly happy.
November 1, 2015

The Hero's Journey
Each of us in our a spiritual journey, a hero's journey. How can we best go forward?
January 11, 2015

The Bodhisattva's Four Embracing Actions: Giving, Kind Speech, Beneficial Action and Openness
January 12, 2014

What Do You Stand For?
Talk given at Compassionate Ocean Dharma Center
September 20, 2013

To Live as All Beings
September 8, 2013

Manifesting Stillness in Activity
December 18, 2011

The Amazing Ordinariness of Everyday Life
September 11, 2011