Daigan Gaither helps us examine how we can remain deeply engaged with a suffering world without losing our sanity, despite the "fire hose" of constant information and activism. 

He explores the phrase "it's okay to not be okay" as a living practice rather than a mere platitude. Drawing on his experience as a Zen priest and long-time activist, Daigan explains that the Buddhist commitment to "not turning away" from suffering can sometimes lead to a state of being "overpowered" by the sheer volume of global crises. He argues that practitioners must learn to differentiate between the information they truly need and the noise that causes unnecessary overwhelm, while also paying close attention to "internal consumption"—the rigid thoughts, judgments, and expectations we impose upon ourselves.

Daigan emphasizes that being "okay" is not a static state achieved through knowledge or following rules, but a continuous process of returning to the present moment. He suggests that the heart of practice is the ability to sit still amidst whatever is happening and connect with the raw reality of one’s own body and mind, rather than the stories we tell about them. To cultivate this resilience, he highlights several key approaches:

• Mindful Consumption: Recognizing that thoughts, media, and opinions are forms of consumption that can create a cycle of anxiety if not monitored.
• The Pursuit of Joy: Actively seeking out "pockets of safety" and small moments of delight—such as videos of babies laughing or the support of a community—to avoid falling into hopelessness.
• Investigating the Body: Viewing mind and body as inseparable and investigating where emotions live physically (such as shallow breath or tightness) to transform abstract "big feelings" into manageable sensations.
• The Power of the "Return": Accepting that 90% of practice is simply the act of settling back into awareness whenever the mind wanders into "not being okay".

By viewing this internal struggle as a koan to be investigated, Daigan invites listeners to find a sense of liberation that doesn't require the world—or themselves—to be perfect.

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Rev. Daigan Gaither (he/him) began Buddhist practice in 1995 in the Vipassana (Insight) tradition, then began studying Zen in 2003. He received Lay Ordination in 2006 where he was given the name Daigan or “Great Vow,” and received Priest Ordination in July 2011. 

Daigan speaks internationally on a variety of topics particularly around gender, sexuality, social justice, and their intersections with the Dharma. He also sits or has sat on a number of boards and committees that serve community needs and further social justice causes.

Daigan has a BA in Philosophy and Religion from San Francisco State University, and an MA in Buddhist Studies (with a chaplaincy certificate and a certificate in Soto Zen Buddhism) from the Graduate Theological Union and the Institute of Buddhist Studies. He lives in San Francisco, CA and identifies as a disabled, queer, white, cis male. Learn more at https://queerdharma.net

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How can we maintain a steady heart and a sense of purpose when the world around us is in conflict? 

Victoria Austin introduces us to the concept of a "posture of peace," which she defines not merely as a physical sitting position but as an enduring internal state. Drawing on stories of individuals facing extreme challenges—from the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis to recovery from traumatic accidents—Victoria suggests that while feelings of love may fluctuate, an internal posture of peace allows us to remain grounded in our "vulnerable humanity." This posture serves as a cornerstone for action in the world, enabling practitioners to meet their "inmost request" and fulfill their unique work without being overwhelmed by external circumstances.

To build this foundation, she provides a framework for understanding and transforming internal reactions, particularly those related to conflict and "unwholesome" impulses. She argues that peace is not passive but requires an active engagement with our emotions and the ethical consequences of our choices, such as avoiding the "three ways to be evil": acting directly, colluding, or condoning. 

Victoria categorizes the messages behind our primary struggles and the paths to meaning as follows:

• Anger: Acts as a signal for unmet needs or violated boundaries; when safely held, its energy becomes a resource for change.
• Fear: A call for support and allies, often requiring the courage to ask for help.
• Sadness and Grief: States that require time and the nurturing care of others—symbolized by "soup"—to be fully processed.
• Three Ways to Live: she describes existence through the ultimate (the big picture), the relative (historical and familial connections), and the skillful (the ability to move between the two for meaning).

By recognizing that "all experiences come from the mind," she concludes that an internal posture of love is contagious, impacting everyone we meet and offering a stable way to manifest love in an unsettled world.

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Shōsan Victoria Austin started practicing Zen in 1971, and is a Dharma heir of Sōjun Mel Weitsman. To help increase the accessibility of Zen practice in the West, she became an Iyengar yoga teacher in 1988. She has served in many roles at San Francisco Zen Center’s urban temples and Tassajara Monastery, including President, Head Cook, and Tanto (Head of Practice). Victoria currently teaches meditation and yoga in diverse settings throughout California and serves as an International Teacher (Kokusaifukyōshi) of the Sōtō School.

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Onryu Mary Stares helps us understand why external peace is impossible without first addressing the "war" occurring inside—the aggression and destructive emotions within our own heart. She offers several key approaches to support this effort:

• Navigating the Kleshas: Mary identifies aggression as a "cold, critical, and fixed" mind and encourages practitioners to acknowledge this and other destructive emotions (pride, craving, jealousy, and ignorance) rather than skipping over them
• The Wisdom of Manjushri: She uses the imagery of the bodhisattva Manjushri and his sword to illustrate how wisdom can be "cutting" and clear without being aggressive, provided it is used with a "pure heart" to perform appropriate actions
• Practical Tools for Peace: A number of actionable methods for maintaining a peaceful internal posture during conflict are discussed, such as the STOP practice (Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed) and Pema Chödrön’s guidance to remain "embodied, present, and kind."
• Transforming Personal Conflict: Through personal stories of facing workplace hostility and homophobic harassment, Mary demonstrates how meeting aggression with awareness and sadness—rather than counter-aggression—can prevent the creation of negative karma and lead toward wholeness and relationship

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Onryu Mary Stares first arrived at Tassajara in the summer of 2000, following a period of residential practice at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, Canada. After a number of years of coming and going she requested priest ordination and with that request committed to live and work in residence at San Francisco Zen Center for a number of years. Mary has lived and practiced at all three of the SFZC temples and has lived in a number of other Buddhist communities since 1999. A carpenter by trade, Mary was ordained as a Zen priest in 2010 by Arlene Lueck and Myogen Steve Stücky. Mary was Shuso (Head Student) for the Winter 2015 Practice Period at Tassajara. She most recently served as Director of City Center and is currently Tanto (Head of Practice) at City Center.

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How can we cultivate a heart that remains open and loving regardless of the external circumstances we face? 

In this talk, Sean Feit Oakes explores the Brahma Viharas, also known as the "divine abodes" or states of the heart, as a comprehensive framework for answering this question. He explains that while the Buddha is often associated with wisdom, these practices of love are foundational for both laypeople and monastics to access extraordinary states of consciousness. 

He describes these four qualities not as separate entities, but as the "song" love sings depending on the context it encounters:

• Loving-kindness (Metta): The quintessential quality of friendliness and unbounded, impersonal love.
• Compassion (Karuna): What happens when loving-kindness encounters suffering and pain.
• Empathic Joy (Mudita): Also referred to as "celebration," this is love encountering well-being or beauty.
• Equanimity (Upekkha): A balanced, resting state of love that exists beyond specific objects or conditions, helping to prevent love from turning into grasping.

Sean weaves together diverse influences, from the devotional lineage of Neem Karoli Baba to modern poetry, to illustrate how a dedicated practice of love can cut through everyday neuroses and anxiety. He emphasizes that love inevitably brings us into contact with both beauty and the "heartbreak" of the world's suffering, yet it remains the primary vehicle for healing and waking up. 

Drawing on the Kalama Sutta, he encourages listeners to test these practices for themselves through direct experience rather than blind faith. He invites us to "turn on" the quality of love within the heart and allow it to lead one's movements and perceptions in daily life, suggesting that communities moving from a place of love have the power to ripple out and change the world.

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Sean Feit Oakes, PhD (he/him, queer, Puerto Rican & English ancestry, living on unceded Pomo land in NorCal), teaches Buddhism and somatic practice focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. He received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield, and wrote his dissertation on extraordinary states in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance. He teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Insight Timer, and locally. See SeanFeitOakes.com

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Exploring the Buddha's nine causes of spiritual and personal development, Kevin Griffin identifies one that is the foundation for all the others: community and spiritual friends. He notes that once a person has good friends, it can be expected that they will naturally become moral, hear the dharma, have energy, and become wise.

But this presents a paradox: while noble friendships are described as the entirety of the holy life, the Buddha also warns that deep attachments can lead to suffering and grief. Drawing from his extensive background in 12-step recovery and the Dharma, Kevin argues that practitioners must find a middle way between isolation and codependency. Insight arises through the practice of being present with others so long as we maintain the wisdom to let go of clinging.

The discussion concludes with a peer-led dialogue where participants reflect on balancing self-reliance with the need for compassionate, empathetic support systems.

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Kevin Griffin is a Buddhist teacher and author of 9 books known for his innovative work connecting dharma and recovery, especially through his 2004 book One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. He has been a Buddhist practitioner since the 1980s and a teacher for three decades. He reaches a broad range of audiences in dharma centers, wellness centers, and secular mindfulness settings.

Kevin's latest book is Living Kindness: Metta Practice for the Whole of Our Lives, published in 2022. To learn more and to see his teaching schedule, visit http://kevingriffin.net

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How can we cultivate a mind that stays steady, open, and responsive even when life becomes unpredictable?

In this talk, Beth Mulligan explores equanimity as a living practice rather than a distant ideal. She frames equanimity as the quiet strength that allows a person to meet experience without collapsing into overwhelm or tightening into resistance. Speaking with warmth and clarity, she describes how this quality grows not through detachment, but through intimacy with our own moment‑to‑moment experience—especially the parts we’d rather avoid.

Beth highlights several practical doorways into equanimity, each grounded in mindfulness and compassion. She explains how the mind’s habitual reactions can soften when we learn to recognize them early, and she offers simple ways to steady attention when emotions surge. Key themes include:

• Understanding the difference between indifference and balanced presence
• Recognizing the “eight worldly winds” and how they shape reactivity
• Using the body as an anchor when the mind becomes turbulent
• Allowing joy and difficulty with equal care

The result is a talk that invites listeners to see equanimity not as a final achievement, but as a trustworthy companion that grows each time we meet our lives with honesty and kindness.

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Beth Mulligan has completed all steps of the professional Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training program through the University of Massachusetts under Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD and his colleagues and is a certified MBSR teacher. She teaches Mindfulness at many major medical centers, Universities, schools, non-profit organizations and corporations. She also trains professionals in mindfulness-based interventions and participates in research on the benefits of mindfulness. 

With her partner Hugh she is the co-founder of Mindful-Way Stress Reduction programs which serves diverse populations across the country and in England. Learn more at http://mindful-way.com/

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What stories do we tell ourselves when life feels overwhelming, painful, or uncertain?

Steven Tierney invites us to look closely at the narratives that shape our experience—especially in moments of grief and fear. Reflecting on the recent loss of Jeff Lindemood, he shows how the mind rushes to create stories about unfairness, danger, and identity, and how Buddhist practice helps us pause long enough to see these stories clearly. He reminds us that grief itself is a Buddha, a natural expression of love and impermanence, and that we can choose which stories truly support our well‑being.

We can widen that lens to the suffering in the world so we do not shut down, but respond with compassion and grounded action.

• Begin meta with yourself—“I am a beautiful human being deserving and worthy of love.”
• Choose stories that benefit you and others, releasing those that cause harm.
• Recognize all emotional states as Buddhas, each impermanent and worthy of attention.
• Let service and connection guide you, even when the world feels heavy.

Steven reminds us that the world needs what only we can offer.

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Steven Tierney (Kai Po Koshin) is a Dharma transmitted teacher in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi. Steven has a new Sangha: Oceans Compassion Sangha and also practices with Gay Buddhist Fellowship, Meditation in Recovery at SFZC, Great Spirit Sangha, SFLGBTQA Sangha, and the Hartford Street Zen Center.

Steven believes that we can find wisdom, compassion and awakening wherever good people come together for practice, healing, service and joy. Dr. Tierney is a psychotherapist in private practice and Professor Emeritus in Counseling Psychology at CIIS.

He is a Certified Addiction Specialist and has been named a Diplomate in Clinical Mental Health by the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He is also a certified suicide prevention and intervention trainer, providing workshops, classes, and consultations. Steven can be reached at 415-235-1061 or [email protected]

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To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/
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What if “liberation” isn’t an escape from the world’s pain, but the most grounded way to meet it?

In Part 2, Ian Challis continues his exploration of the journey from samsara (the spinning wheel of greed, hatred, and delusion) toward nibbāna—not as a far-off trophy, but as an orientation we can practice right here.

He frames refuge (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) as a real-time source of strength rather than a hiding place: community, ethics, and wise effort become the “places we gather power” when life feels dystopian or overwhelming. He leans on the bodhisattva spirit—awakening that’s incomplete unless it includes others—and points out that freedom isn’t withdrawal; it’s relationship, mutuality, and shared responsibility. 

Ian also makes liberation practical and strangely familiar: most people already know its taste. He calls these moments “free samples”—brief flashes when the mind isn’t clinging (maybe in nature, art, a quiet walk, or simply watching the breath). The practice is to study what’s present and absent in those moments, and to lean into the “via negativa” of the Dharma—freedom revealed by letting go. Along the way, he offers a handful of memorable handles for the path:

• “Letting go” scales: let go a little → a little peace; a lot → a lot of peace; completely → complete freedom (Ajahn Chah).
• A Marie Kondo test for the mind: if a thought, habit, or story doesn’t support the wholesome, can it be released? (Although it’s easier with closets than with resentment.)
• Five grounding views for hard times: trust the path, trust one’s capacity, remember support/lineage, hold that all beings deserve compassion (including oneself), and remember that actions matter.
• A deeper inquiry beneath “the heart wants what it wants”: through the five aggregates, Ian points to how the survival-driven “I-making” process can run the show—until practice begins to dissolve the hard sense of “me,” revealing a deeper heart that longs for connection and true freedom. He closes by treating nibbāna with humility and faith—something the Buddha described beyond ordinary categories—and reminds listeners that the work is gradual: many small acts of integrity, mindfulness, and wisdom that keep turning the wheel toward stillness.

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Ian Challis is a student and teacher in the Insight Tradition of Buddhism. He is a teacher, founding member, and past guiding teacher of Insight Community of the Desert in Palm Springs.

Ayya Khema, Leigh Brasington, Narayan Liebenson, Larry Yang, and Arinna Weisman are key teachers who have inspired and illuminated his practice.

Serving Queer community is a passion. 2025 marks his co-teaching of the 9th annual Queer retreat at Dhamma Dena Retreat Center with Leslie Booker. He is also a qualified teacher of MBSR, a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader teacher training, and was formally invited by Arinna Weisman to teach in the lineage of U Ba Khin and Ruth Denison.
Find him at ianchallis.com

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What does it take to finally say, “I’ve had enough of being swept around by life,” and begin walking a path toward real freedom?

Ian Challis invites us to first take a grounded look at samsara—the restless, exhausting cycle of craving, aversion, and wandering that shapes so much of human experience.

Ian describes samsara not as a moral failing but as the natural turbulence of being human: the push and pull of desire, fear, habit, and cultural conditioning. Through vivid stories—including a moment of panic while snorkeling—he illustrates how easily we’re carried by currents stronger than our intentions, and how transformative it can be to “put our feet down” and reclaim stability. Drawing on the Buddha’s teachings, he explains samsara as the momentum of ignorance and craving, continually renewed by cultural messages of scarcity, competition, and “if only.” Ian emphasizes that these forces operate both internally and collectively, and that recognizing them is the beginning of wise view—the first step on the Noble Eightfold Path.

So how do we respond once we do see samsara clearly? He describes saṁvega, the spiritual urgency that arises when the heart recognizes suffering and refuses to keep passing it along—whether through inherited family patterns, cultural conditioning, or our own unconscious habits. From this urgency comes a shift in view: a willingness to let go of unhelpful opinions, identities, and stories that keep the wheel spinning. Ian shares the five views he’s chosen to center on this year—each beginning with “I trust…”—as a way of simplifying and clarifying his path:

• I trust the dharma.
• I trust myself enough to walk this path.
• I trust that I don’t walk it alone.
• I trust that every human being is worthy of kindness and safety.
• I trust that my actions matter.

He closes by reminding us that samsara isn’t just a cosmic cycle—it’s the moment‑to‑moment drift into fear, craving, outrage, or despair. Each time we notice and return to center, the wheel loses momentum. Each time we “put our feet down,” we move a little closer to freedom.

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Ian Challis is a student and teacher in the Insight Tradition of Buddhism. He is a teacher, founding member, and past guiding teacher of Insight Community of the Desert in Palm Springs.

Ayya Khema, Leigh Brasington, Narayan Liebenson, Larry Yang, and Arinna Weisman are key teachers who have inspired and illuminated his practice.

Serving Queer community is a passion. 2025 marks his co-teaching of the 9th annual Queer retreat at Dhamma Dena Retreat Center with Leslie Booker. He is also a qualified teacher of MBSR, a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader teacher training, and was formally invited by Arinna Weisman to teach in the lineage of U Ba Khin and Ruth Denison.
Find him at ianchallis.com

______________ 
To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/
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What if the imagination itself could become a doorway to compassion, ease, and awakening?

Danadasa begins by grounding listeners in the Tibetan practice of tonglen—breathing in the suffering of oneself and others as dark smoke, and breathing out cool, healing moonlight. Rather than treating this as a grim or burdensome task, he reframes it through the imaginal realm: a space where metaphor, poetry, and visualization bypass the thinking mind and speak directly to the heart. Danadasa highlights how imaginal practices help counter our culture’s tendency to live “up in the head,” inviting a more embodied, heartfelt presence.

From there, he expands the teaching into a guided journey that blends traditional tonglen with Vajrayana-style visualization:

• Imagining the Buddha dissolving into light and taking residence in the “palace of the heart.”
• Breathing the world’s suffering into the Buddha within, allowing him—not the practitioner—to purify it.
• Exhaling moonlight that dissolves fear, anxiety, and emotional obscurations.
• Exploring tathāgatagarbha, the teaching that all beings carry the seed or “womb” of Buddhahood.

Danadasa also reflects on the role of the guru in Vajrayana practice, describing how a teacher’s presence can nonverbally transmit confidence, joy, and a felt sense of one’s own potential. He cites Mark Twain’s line—“the most painful arguments I’ve ever had are the ones that never happened”—to illustrate how imagination shapes experience, and how an illumined imagination can reshape it toward freedom. The talk ultimately becomes an invitation: to trust the creative mind, to soften into shared humanity, and to let the heart become a place where suffering is transformed rather than feared.

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Danadasa (he/him) began meditating and practicing Buddhism in 1993 and was ordained in the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2011 at the San Francisco Buddhist Center. At his ordination, he received his Buddhist name Danadasa which, in Sanskrit, means “servant of generosity”. In 1995, he developed a heart connection with the archetypal Buddha Amitabha, rooted in the Japanese Pure Land tradition Jodo Shinshu (known in the Western world as Shin Buddhism), and has been practicing an Amitabha sadhana (devotional practice) since 2011.

Danadasa is deeply passionate about teaching meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism in a somatic and embodied way, bringing the Buddha’s teachings to life in our imaginations through images and storytelling. Embodied practice is the path of getting out of our heads and into our bodies, for it is in our bodies that liberation reveals itself.

Over the past 20 years, Danadasa has held various administrative and leadership roles within the San Francisco Buddhist Center (SFBC). And in 2023, he resigned from all of his formal SFBC roles, as well as taking a break from teaching for a period of wandering in the wilderness, free from the external responsibilities, expectations and social norms of the monastery, following in the footsteps of the great “crazy wisdom” Mahasiddhas of the past. Since then, many lineage Masters and archetypal Buddhas have provided Danadasa with guidance and inspiration, including Tilopa, Naropa, Padmasambhava, Vajrakilaya, and Machig Labdron.

In 2024, Danadasa received Vajrayogini i

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