Houston Zen Center Dharma Talks

Dharma Talk by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, Abiding Teacher of HZC.

Dharma Talk by Zen priest Choro Antonaccio. Choro is the Abiding Teacher of Austin Zen Center. She began formal Zen practice in 1999 at Chapel Hill Zen Center, where she was lay and priest ordained by Josho Pat Phelan Roshi. Choro also trained at Tassajara, Green Gulch Farm, and City Center. She is a Dharma Heir of Abbot Gaelyn.

Dharma talk by Sanran Maite Leal. Maite is a senior member of HZC. She is the recent Shuso / Head Monk, of the 2023 Practice Period of Every Day Life. She is an art protector and restorer at MFAH. Her Dharma Names means Orchid of the Mountains.

Dharma Talk by KoUn Matthew BrownlieKoUn / Radiant Cloud Matthew Brownlie is a senior member of HZC. He is also a musician and parent. He served as the Shuso / Head Student of the 2024 Spring Practice Period:

Dharma Talk by Karen DeCotis, Abiding Teacher of San Antonio Zen Center. Karen received priest ordination in the Soto Lineage in 2016 from Sojun Mel Weitsman; transmission in 2019. She practiced at the Berkeley Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center beginning in 1986. She practiced with and taught the Bozeman Zen Group for 20 years. Devoted to service and engaged learning, Karen brings knowledge of and experience with the Buddhist traditions along with a clear-eyed view of human life, suffering and transformation. She is known for her humor and warmth, bringing her intelligence, wit and humility to every teaching opportunity

Dharma Talk by Rev. Seirin Tim Schorre. Tim is a Zen Priest, an architect, an assistant teacher at Houston Zen Center. He is the co-leader of Entering the Path of Practice and the leader of HZC’s prison outreach program.

Dharma Talk by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, a Soto Zen priest and the Abiding Abbot of Green Gulch Farm Jiryu is a Soto Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, with dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman. Jiryu has trained residentially in Zen temples since 1996, and currently serves as a co-Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center through his role as Abiding Abbot of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.Jiryu is the co-editor of a new collection of talks by Suzuki Roshi, Becoming Yourself, forthcoming in July 2025. He is also the author of the book Two Shores of Zen, about his experiences in 2002 to 2004 as an American-trained monk practicing in Japanese Zen monasteries, and his writing has appeared in Buddhist periodicals in print and online.Jiryu is a mentor and preceptor to the Montaña de Silencio Sangha in Medellín, Colombia, and for many years served as the head teacher of the Buddhadharma Sangha of San Quentin State Prison. He holds a master's degree in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley (2014), where he worked under the mentorship of the Group in Buddhist Studies on Buddhist texts in classical Chinese and modern Japanese, and completed thesis research on the development of Soto Zen in Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912).

Dharma Talk by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, Abiding Teacher of HZC.

Dharma Talk by Keisen Lynn Snow, PhD. Lynn is a lay-entrusted dharma teacher and a senior member of Houston Zen Center. She leads a group of meditators in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she is also a professor of psychology, specializing in geriatric psychology.

Dharma Talk by Keisen Lynn Snow, PhD. Lynn is a lay-entrusted dharma teacher and a senior member of Houston Zen Center. She leads a group of meditators in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she is also a professor of psychology, specializing in geriatric psychology.

Dharma Talk by Kristin Diggs. Kristin Diggs is a Soto Zen priest in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She was the Head Monk/Shuso at Tassajara for the Spring Ango 2025, and currently serves on Senior Staff at Tassajara. She trained residentially for eight and a half years at Green Gulch, Tassajara, and the San Francisco City Center, beginning in 2014. She was lay ordained by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 2017 and priest ordained by Eijun Linda Cutts in 2021.

Kokyo Roshi is a dharma heir of Tenshin Zenki Roshi, and a longtime friend of Houston Zen Center.Kokyo Henkel Roshi’s teaching during this visit will focus on the important Zen teaching: The Whole Works. PART 2 : June 15: 9:45 am - Sunday dharma talk. Everyone welcome. Donations to Henkel Roshi are welcome.Kokyo Roshi recently founded Bright Window Hermitage, a retreat place in the Santa Lucia Mountains of California, along with his wife Rev. Shōhō Kuebast. He has trained in Japan at Bukkokuji, as well as many years at Tassajara and San Francisco Zen Center. He served as the Abiding Teacher of Santa Cruz Zen Center as well as the Tanto/Head of Practice of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

Kokyo Roshi is a dharma heir of Tenshin Zenki Roshi, and a longtime friend of Houston Zen Center.Kokyo Henkel Roshi’s teaching during this visit will focus on the important Zen teaching: The Whole Works. PART 3: June 16: 6:30-8:30 pm - Class at Houston Zen Center. Kokyo Roshi recently founded Bright Window Hermitage, a retreat place in the Santa Lucia Mountains of California, along with his wife Rev. Shōhō Kuebast. He has trained in Japan at Bukkokuji, as well as many years at Tassajara and San Francisco Zen Center. He served as the Abiding Teacher of Santa Cruz Zen Center as well as the Tanto/Head of Practice of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

Kokyo Roshi is a dharma heir of Tenshin Zenki Roshi, and a longtime friend of Houston Zen Center.Kokyo Henkel Roshi’s teaching during this visit will focus on the important Zen teaching: The Whole Works. PART1: June 14: 6-8 pm - Class at Houston Zen Center. Everyone welcome. Donations to Henkel Roshi are welcome.Kokyo Roshi recently founded Bright Window Hermitage, a retreat place in the Santa Lucia Mountains of California, along with his wife Rev. Shōhō KuebastHe has trained in Japan at Bukkokuji, as well as many years at Tassajara and San Francisco Zen Center. He served as the Abiding Teacher of Santa Cruz Zen Center as well as the Tanto/Head of Practice of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

Dharma Talk by Kenkai Brandon Lamson. Brandon is a senior member of HZC. He is a poet and professor of creative writing at UT Austin.

Dharma talk by Hōgetsu Rick Mitchell, long-time senior member of HZC. The talk will be on Dogen’s Shobogenzo 26: Going Beyond Buddha. Rick served as Shuso, head monk, for the 2016 practice period. Rick is a writer, with a popular national radio show on jazz. He now lives in Portland, OR with his family, and practices with Dharma Rain Zen Center.

Dharma Talk by Musō Constance Braden. Constance is the founder and primary teacher of Houston Iyengar Yoga Studio.

Dharma Talk by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, Abiding Teacher of HZC.

Dharma Talk by Ryūshin Dave Smith.Ryūshin is a the Shuso / Head Monk of the current practice period. He is a senior practitioner at HZC.After a career in IT, Ryūshin now serves as a hospice volunteer as well as co-leading EPP.

Dharma Talk by Abbot Gaelyn Godwin, Abiding Teacher of HZC.