The Zoom link to participate in this event will be provided at least 24 hours before it begins. Please call 415-354-0360 if you have any questions.
A three-seminar series covering the major bodhisattvas in East Asia, based on Taigen Dan Leighton’s book, Faces of Compassion.
Faces of Compassion introduces us to awakened beings, the bodhisattvas of Buddhist lore. Archetypes of wisdom and compassion, the bodhisattvas of Buddhism are powerful and compelling images of awakening.
Scholar and Zen teacher Taigen Dan Leighton will lecture on the imagery and lore of the seven most important of these archetypal figures, bringing them alive as psychological and spiritual wellsprings and resources. By tracing bodhisattva qualities in well-known modern individuals, Leighton underscores the enduring relevance and universality of these spiritual archetypes.
Registration grants access to all three seminars and their recordings. There are no drop-in rates; however, if participants join after the series has begun, they will receive access to the recordings of any earlier sessions.
Saturday, Sept. 13, 1–4 pm PT
Bodhisattva Approach to Practice, Shakyamuni, and Manjushri
A summary history of Mahayana approaches and schools, and the ten transcendent practices (paramitas) of bodhisattvas. We examine Shakyamuni, who gave up his crown to attend to practice for all beings, and Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and insight, who graces the center of zendos, rides a lion, and wields a sword, fiercely cutting through delusions.
Shakyamuni is paralleled with modern figures who embody the courage to renounce power and act for truth. These include activists such as Muhammad Ali and Daniel Ellsberg, whose moral convictions led them to sacrifice status and security for a greater ethical vision.
Manjushri is reflected in poets, writers, and thinkers like Bob Dylan, Gertrude Stein, Gloria Steinem, and Albert Einstein. Each, in their own way, cut through delusion—whether through incisive language, visionary social critique, or radical scientific insight—embodying Manjushri’s archetypal clarity, creativity, and wisdom.
Saturday, Sept. 27, 1–4 pm PT
Samantabhadra and Avalokiteshvara
This second of three seminars will focus on Samantabhadra, who rides an elephant and with steady deliberation enacts a set of ten vows, and Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, who, listening to the cries of the world, is depicted variously, including with a thousand arms and eleven heads. These bodhisattvas are devoted to practice and to responding to deep needs.
Samantabhadra is embodied in activists and visionary artists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose commitment to nonviolence and collective liberation expressed the bodhisattva vow in action, and William Blake, whose art and poetry revealed an illuminated world of sacred interconnection.
Avalokiteśvara is exemplified in religious leaders like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, and tea teacher Mitsu Suzuki Sensei. Each of these figures moved with devotion, often working behind the scenes to transform society with quiet presence and radiant purpose.
Saturday, Oct. 18, 1–4 pm PT
Maitreya, Jizō, and Vimalakirti
This third of three seminars will focus on Maitreya, Kshitigarbha (Jizō), and Vimalakirti. Maitreya is predicted by Shakyamuni Buddha to be the next future Buddha, contemplating how to save all beings, and emblematic of Yogacara Buddhism. Jizō is the popular bodhisattva of the earth and the afterlife, vowing to protect women and children. Vimalakirti is a prominent layperson from Shakyamuni’s time, a trickster whose illness and magical displays unsettle and awaken.
Maitreya is reflected in spiritual visionaries and wanderers like Ram Dass, Henry David Thoreau, Johnny Appleseed, and Joanna Macy—figures who express inner ripening, prophetic insight, and hope for collective transformation.
Jizō lives on in monastics, artists, and caregivers such as Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, John Coltrane, and the Zen Hospice Project, all of whom offer steady presence and compassion in the face of suffering and death.
Vimalakīrti finds expression in worldly sages and lay teachers like Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Gary Snyder, and Clint Eastwood—individuals whose public lives, creative work, and deep insight bridge contemplative wisdom and cultural engagement.
Recordings:
All course sessions will be recorded, and registered participants will receive temporary access to the recordings for later viewing.
- Sustaining Level: $252
- Member (Become an SFZC Member): $227
- Sliding Scale 1: $151
- Sliding Scale 2: $63
Or call 415-354-0360.