A Thief of the Heart

San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

09/07/2024, James Ishmael Ford, dharma talk at City Center. This dharma talk was given at Beginner’s Mind Temple’s pop-up zendo at Unity Church on Page Street, by visiting teacher James Ishmael Ford. In the talk, Roshi Ford tells a story from his latest book, “The Intimate Way of Zen: Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey.” In his book James addresses the arc of a spiritual life. He uses the 12th-century Zen verses of Kuoan Shiyuan's Ox Herding Pictures as a scaffolding for an exploration of the winding path of spiritual exploration as well as the twin projects of waking up and growing up. He says the story that he shares here, which comes from the end of the book, and is based in a traditional Indian tale, summarizes the whole thing: who we are, and who we might become.