Relaxing into the Wonderment of Zazen: Teachings with Guo Gu and Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, Online 2/1–2/8

Practice Center
Date / Time
Feb 1, 2026 / 2:00pm - Feb 8, 2026 / 4:00pm
Event Type
Classes & Extended Courses
Description

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.


Sun, Feb 1, 2026: 2:00–4:00 PM PT
Sun, Feb 8, 2026: 2:00–4:00 PM PT

In this luminosity, wondrousness returns. 
—Master Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)

We invite you to a two-part series of teachings and conversations with Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler in dialogue with special guest Guo Gu. Their conversation will center on two vital aspects of zazen practice in the traditions of silent illumination and shikantaza: relaxation and wonderment. Their discussion may venture into other related topics.

Guo Gu is the founder of the Tallahassee Chan Center and Dharma Relief, and a professor of Buddhism and East Asian religions at Florida State University. He has been practicing for nearly forty years, thirty of them under the guidance of the late Master Sheng Yen. Guo Gu was authorized in 1995 to teach Chan. His teaching bridges Silent Illumination and Huatou (koan-based inquiry) in the Chan tradition.

Green Gulch Farm Abiding Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler received Dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman and is the author of Two Shores of Zen and co-editor of Becoming Yourself: Teachings on the Zen Way of Life by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.

Watch 2023’s conversations on the SFZC YouTube Channel:

Silent Illumination and Shikantaza with Guo Gu and Jiryu Rutschman-Byler 
Silent Illumination Workshop: Exploring Teachings from Chan Master Hongzhi

Recordings:
All course sessions will be recorded, and registered participants will receive temporary access to the recordings for later viewing.

Fee Information
  • Sustaining Level: $112
  • Member (Become an SFZC Member): $101
  • Sliding Scale 1: $67
  • Sliding Scale 2: $28
  • Current SFZC residents and qualified SFZC retirees may attend this course for free. To register, please email onlineprograms@sfzc.org at least 72 hours before the program begins.

Register Online

Or call 415-354-0360.

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