On Monday and Tuesday evenings, from September through May, Dharma Field offers courses on Zen Buddhism and related topics.
To take courses online, see here for more information. Monday and Tuesday classes are available in-person (as well as on Zoom).
To take courses online, see here for more information. Monday and Tuesday classes are available in-person (as well as on Zoom).
Classes & Workshops
CLASS AUDIO for classes:
If you miss a class or are taking the classes online, click icon to access the talks, and use the password that was provided in your registration email.
If you miss a class or are taking the classes online, click icon to access the talks, and use the password that was provided in your registration email.
2024-2025 Curriculum
MONDAYS
TUESDAYS
- Practicing Life: Practical Zen Teachings by Eihei Dōgen and Kōshō Uchiyama (Steve Matuszak), Sep 9-Oct 14
- When There Is No Explanation (Steve Hagen), Oct 28-Dec 2
- Just This Is It: The Practice of Suchness (Beau Elkington), Jan 6-Feb 10
- Dynamic Expression: The Zen Teachings of Joshu (Jed Larson), Mar 3-24
- A Meditation Guide for Everyone: Dogen’s Fukanzazengi (Mary Sullivan), Apr 7-May 12
TUESDAYS
- What the Buddha Taught: The Four Noble Truths (Beau Elkington) Sep 10-Oct 15
- What the Buddha Taught: The Eightfold Path (Mary Sullivan), Oct 29-Dec 3
- What the Buddha Taught: Wisdom (Jed Larson), Jan 7-Feb 11
- To Know or Not To Know, That Is the Question (Steve Hagen), Feb 18-Mar 11
- Why Practice? (Steve Matuszak), Apr 8-May 13
The Practice of Meditation Workshop
Saturday, October 26, 9 am-Noon
Led by Steve Matuszak
This is a workshop on Zen meditation and mindfulness, designed to help clarify what meditation is and is not. It will also address problems in meditation, as well as bringing meditation into everyday life. The workshop schedule includes meditation instruction, lectures, introductory-length sitting and walking meditation periods, and Q&A.
TEXT: Meditation Now or Never, by Steve Hagen.
Please read pages 1–78 prior to attending the workshop.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Saturday, October 26, 9 am-Noon
Led by Steve Matuszak
This is a workshop on Zen meditation and mindfulness, designed to help clarify what meditation is and is not. It will also address problems in meditation, as well as bringing meditation into everyday life. The workshop schedule includes meditation instruction, lectures, introductory-length sitting and walking meditation periods, and Q&A.
TEXT: Meditation Now or Never, by Steve Hagen.
Please read pages 1–78 prior to attending the workshop.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
When There Is No Explanation
Mondays, Oct 28-Dec 2, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Hagen
In this class we will consider how it is impossible to explain sound, or light, or any other physical phenomena by merely describing the workings of the material world. We appear here as listener and seer, as feeler and thinker…yet without explanation.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Oct 28-Dec 2, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Hagen
In this class we will consider how it is impossible to explain sound, or light, or any other physical phenomena by merely describing the workings of the material world. We appear here as listener and seer, as feeler and thinker…yet without explanation.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
What the Buddha Taught: The Eightfold Path
Tuesdays, Oct 29-Dec 3, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Mary Sullivan
This course looks closely at the primary teachings of the Buddha and lays out a practical and effective way to deal with the world as we find it. It is the art of seeing—a way to peace and sanity that is total freedom of mind.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Tuesdays, Oct 29-Dec 3, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Mary Sullivan
This course looks closely at the primary teachings of the Buddha and lays out a practical and effective way to deal with the world as we find it. It is the art of seeing—a way to peace and sanity that is total freedom of mind.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Practicing Life: Practical Zen Teachings by Eihei Dōgen and Kōshō Uchiyama
Mondays, Sep 9-Oct 14, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
In his commentary on Eihei Dōgen’s “Instructions for the Head Cook,” Kōshō Uchiyama writes: “When working through it [“Instructions for the Head Cook”] try to appreciate it not only as it relates to cooking, but as it relates to everything in your daily life. That means that you have to appreciate and learn from it and then draw on your own creativity to deepen your understanding and practice of it with regard to everyone you encounter in your life as well as all the situations and circumstances you might find yourself a part of.” It is in this spirit that we will read and discuss Dōgen’s “Instructions for the Head Cook” along with Uchiyama’s commentary on it, texts that are, in their own ways, simple yet profound.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Sep 9-Oct 14, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
In his commentary on Eihei Dōgen’s “Instructions for the Head Cook,” Kōshō Uchiyama writes: “When working through it [“Instructions for the Head Cook”] try to appreciate it not only as it relates to cooking, but as it relates to everything in your daily life. That means that you have to appreciate and learn from it and then draw on your own creativity to deepen your understanding and practice of it with regard to everyone you encounter in your life as well as all the situations and circumstances you might find yourself a part of.” It is in this spirit that we will read and discuss Dōgen’s “Instructions for the Head Cook” along with Uchiyama’s commentary on it, texts that are, in their own ways, simple yet profound.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
What the Buddha Taught: The Four Noble Truths
Tuesdays, Sep 10-Oct 15, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Beau Elkington
This course will focus on the primary teachings of the Buddha and their implications for living in today’s world. These universal and timeless truths not only show us the source of our anxiety, but point the way to sorrow’s end—the complete peace and sanity that are total freedom of mind.
Syllabus (updated)
Five Aggregates handout
Dukkha hanout
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Tuesdays, Sep 10-Oct 15, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Beau Elkington
This course will focus on the primary teachings of the Buddha and their implications for living in today’s world. These universal and timeless truths not only show us the source of our anxiety, but point the way to sorrow’s end—the complete peace and sanity that are total freedom of mind.
Syllabus (updated)
Five Aggregates handout
Dukkha hanout
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Courses Recently Completed
2023-2024 Curriculum
Monday Classes
Tuesday Classes
- Buddhist Foundations (Jed Larson), Sep 11-Oct 16
- The Nondifference of Relative and Absolute (Steve Hagen), Oct 30-Dec 4
- Mountains and Waters (Beau Elkington), Jan 8-Feb 12
- The Whole-Hearted Way: Dōgen’s Bendowa (12 wks.) (Steve Matuszak), Feb 19-Mar 25; Apr 8-May 13
Tuesday Classes
- Wholly Immeasurable (Steve Matuszak), Sep 12-Oct 17
- Trusting the Heartmind (Toku Cynthia Scott), Oct 31-Nov 21
- The Quality of Existence (Steve Matuszak), Jan 9-Jan 30
- Mind and Consciousness: A No-Brainer (Steve Hagen), Feb 6-27
- The Path of Zen (Jed Larson), Mar 5-Apr 9
- Flower Garland (Mary Sullivan), Apr 16-May 21
Our Words Are Not Our Own: The Poetry of Heid Erdrich
Wednesdays 7:45pm; July 10 & 17, led by Kate Lucas
This year’s summer poetry class will focus on Heid Erdrich, an award-winning poet, teacher, and advocate who was recently named the first-ever poet laureate of Minneapolis. Erdrich has written a number of widely esteemed books, most recently Little Big Bully, which won the National Poetry Series in 2019. Erdrich is Anishinaabe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain, and has also edited a number of collections celebrating Indigenous writing. In this class, we will read and discuss a selection of Erdrich’s work from over the years, including poems from Little Big Bully, National Monuments, and The Mother’s Tongue.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Wednesdays 7:45pm; July 10 & 17, led by Kate Lucas
This year’s summer poetry class will focus on Heid Erdrich, an award-winning poet, teacher, and advocate who was recently named the first-ever poet laureate of Minneapolis. Erdrich has written a number of widely esteemed books, most recently Little Big Bully, which won the National Poetry Series in 2019. Erdrich is Anishinaabe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain, and has also edited a number of collections celebrating Indigenous writing. In this class, we will read and discuss a selection of Erdrich’s work from over the years, including poems from Little Big Bully, National Monuments, and The Mother’s Tongue.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Flower Garland
Apr 16 - May 21
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Mary Sullivan
This is a six-week class on the Flower Garland sutra, also known as the Flower Ornament Sutra or the Avatamsaka Sutra. It is the sutra of the Hua Yen school of Buddhism, also known as the Kegon School. It is a distinctly Chinese form of Buddhism.
The class will use the text and translation by Thomas Cleary. The class will focus on the last Chapter of the sutra, Chapter 39, “Entering the Realm of Reality.” It is the story of a pilgrimage undertaken by Sudhana, a seeker of truth, sent on his journey by Manjushri, the bodhisattva of compassion. In his journey, he encounters a succession of spiritual benefactors, both male and female, none of whom claims to hold the whole truth, and none of whom tries to keep him as a follower or bind him to any particular set of beliefs, principles or doctrines.
There is no syllabus or recommended readings.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Apr 16 - May 21
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Mary Sullivan
This is a six-week class on the Flower Garland sutra, also known as the Flower Ornament Sutra or the Avatamsaka Sutra. It is the sutra of the Hua Yen school of Buddhism, also known as the Kegon School. It is a distinctly Chinese form of Buddhism.
The class will use the text and translation by Thomas Cleary. The class will focus on the last Chapter of the sutra, Chapter 39, “Entering the Realm of Reality.” It is the story of a pilgrimage undertaken by Sudhana, a seeker of truth, sent on his journey by Manjushri, the bodhisattva of compassion. In his journey, he encounters a succession of spiritual benefactors, both male and female, none of whom claims to hold the whole truth, and none of whom tries to keep him as a follower or bind him to any particular set of beliefs, principles or doctrines.
There is no syllabus or recommended readings.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
The Whole-Hearted Way: Dōgen’s Bendowa Pt. II
Mondays, Apr 8-May 13
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Part 2 of 2:
Bendowa (“Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way”) is twelfth-century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dōgen’s important work on practice and enlightenment. Emphasizing that practice and enlightenment are one, Dōgen calls practice-realization the essence of the Buddha Way, pointing to its relevance to everyday life. In addition to reading Bendowa, we will also look at Kosho Uchiyama Roshi’s commentary on it.
TEXT: Master Dogen’s Meditation Handbook: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa: A Discourse on the Practice of Zazen, with commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, translated by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Daniel Leighton.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Apr 8-May 13
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Part 2 of 2:
Bendowa (“Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way”) is twelfth-century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dōgen’s important work on practice and enlightenment. Emphasizing that practice and enlightenment are one, Dōgen calls practice-realization the essence of the Buddha Way, pointing to its relevance to everyday life. In addition to reading Bendowa, we will also look at Kosho Uchiyama Roshi’s commentary on it.
TEXT: Master Dogen’s Meditation Handbook: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa: A Discourse on the Practice of Zazen, with commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, translated by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Daniel Leighton.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
The Path of Zen
Tuesdays, Mar 5 - Apr 9
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Jed Larson
What is Zen?
It is the Japanese word for meditation, but how are we able to truly understand what it indicates about the essence of practice, the essence of living life fully.
In this class we will take a journey from the beginnings of Zen in Japan, including the efforts of eminent Zen teacher Dogen, through to the influential Japanese teachers who eventually helped bring Zen to America.
As we look at the history and teachings of these teachers, we may get a glimpse of what Zen is actually pointing to, and what it means to awaken to the essence of truth and reality.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Tuesdays, Mar 5 - Apr 9
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Jed Larson
What is Zen?
It is the Japanese word for meditation, but how are we able to truly understand what it indicates about the essence of practice, the essence of living life fully.
In this class we will take a journey from the beginnings of Zen in Japan, including the efforts of eminent Zen teacher Dogen, through to the influential Japanese teachers who eventually helped bring Zen to America.
As we look at the history and teachings of these teachers, we may get a glimpse of what Zen is actually pointing to, and what it means to awaken to the essence of truth and reality.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
The Whole-Hearted Way: Dōgen’s Bendowa Pt. I
Mondays, Feb 19 - Mar 25
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Bendowa (“Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way”) is twelfth-century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dōgen’s important work on practice and enlightenment. Emphasizing that practice and enlightenment are one, Dōgen calls practice-realization the essence of the Buddha Way, pointing to its relevance to everyday life. In addition to reading Bendowa, we will also look at Kosho Uchiyama Roshi’s commentary on it.
TEXT: Master Dogen’s Meditation Handbook: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa: A Discourse on the Practice of Zazen, with commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, translated by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Daniel Leighton.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Feb 19 - Mar 25
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Bendowa (“Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way”) is twelfth-century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dōgen’s important work on practice and enlightenment. Emphasizing that practice and enlightenment are one, Dōgen calls practice-realization the essence of the Buddha Way, pointing to its relevance to everyday life. In addition to reading Bendowa, we will also look at Kosho Uchiyama Roshi’s commentary on it.
TEXT: Master Dogen’s Meditation Handbook: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa: A Discourse on the Practice of Zazen, with commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, translated by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Daniel Leighton.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mind and Consciousness: A No-Brainer
Tuesdays, Feb 6-27
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Hagen
The word “brain” is not the same as consciousness any more than the words “eye,” “ear,” “nose,” “tongue,” and “body” are the same as consciousness. This class will focus on the problems that arise with materialistic views of consciousness and will be contrasted with a nonmaterial understanding of consciousness.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Tuesdays, Feb 6-27
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Hagen
The word “brain” is not the same as consciousness any more than the words “eye,” “ear,” “nose,” “tongue,” and “body” are the same as consciousness. This class will focus on the problems that arise with materialistic views of consciousness and will be contrasted with a nonmaterial understanding of consciousness.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mountains and Waters
Mondays, Jan 8-Feb 12
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Beau Elkington
This class will explore “Sansuikyo,” or the “Mountains and Waters Sutra” from Dogen’s Shobogenzo. Sansuikyo is considered “a masterpiece of poetry and insight” and offers penetrating insight to the inseparability of all beings. This is not study of a sutra about mountains and waters, but rather Dogen shares that mountains and waters are sutra.
Syllabus
Text: The Mountains and Waters Sutra by Shohaku Okumura.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Jan 8-Feb 12
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Beau Elkington
This class will explore “Sansuikyo,” or the “Mountains and Waters Sutra” from Dogen’s Shobogenzo. Sansuikyo is considered “a masterpiece of poetry and insight” and offers penetrating insight to the inseparability of all beings. This is not study of a sutra about mountains and waters, but rather Dogen shares that mountains and waters are sutra.
Syllabus
Text: The Mountains and Waters Sutra by Shohaku Okumura.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
The Quality of Existence
Tuesdays, Jan 9 – Jan 30
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Who am I? Why am I here? How come this is happening to me? These questions might arise for us at times throughout our lives, especially when things seem unmanageable. While none can be answered with any degree of satisfaction, we can see how they point to assumptions we make about our everyday experience that determine the very quality of our lives. In this course, we will look at Buddhist teachings that invite us to interrogate those assumptions, look more closely at our experience, and free ourselves from the suffering incurred by our most basic beliefs.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Tuesdays, Jan 9 – Jan 30
7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Steve Matuszak
Who am I? Why am I here? How come this is happening to me? These questions might arise for us at times throughout our lives, especially when things seem unmanageable. While none can be answered with any degree of satisfaction, we can see how they point to assumptions we make about our everyday experience that determine the very quality of our lives. In this course, we will look at Buddhist teachings that invite us to interrogate those assumptions, look more closely at our experience, and free ourselves from the suffering incurred by our most basic beliefs.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Buddhist Foundations
Mondays, Sep 11-Oct 16, 7:45-8:45 pm (CST)
Led by Jed Larson
What did the Buddha teach? What are the most central aspects of the Buddha Dharma?
This course will focus on the primary teachings of the Buddha and how these teachings address perplexing questions that come up in life; is it possible to really understand our situation and the situation of the world, is freedom of mind possible, if it is possible… how?
These universal and timeless truths not only show us the source of anxiety and turmoil, but point the way to sorrow’s end—an understanding of true peace and sanity. These teachings directly focus on awareness, and include the Buddha’s insight on what it means to live and practice a life of awakening.
Text (optional reading):
Buddhism Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, pp. 1–59
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Sep 11-Oct 16, 7:45-8:45 pm (CST)
Led by Jed Larson
What did the Buddha teach? What are the most central aspects of the Buddha Dharma?
This course will focus on the primary teachings of the Buddha and how these teachings address perplexing questions that come up in life; is it possible to really understand our situation and the situation of the world, is freedom of mind possible, if it is possible… how?
These universal and timeless truths not only show us the source of anxiety and turmoil, but point the way to sorrow’s end—an understanding of true peace and sanity. These teachings directly focus on awareness, and include the Buddha’s insight on what it means to live and practice a life of awakening.
Text (optional reading):
Buddhism Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, pp. 1–59
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
The Nondifference of Relative and Absolute
Mondays, Oct 30 - Dec 4
7:45-8:45 pm (CDT)
Led by Steve Hagen
This class will take a novel approach to the classic Zen text, “The Merging of Difference and Unity,” or Sandokai, that will permit us a full understanding of this innovative teaching.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Mondays, Oct 30 - Dec 4
7:45-8:45 pm (CDT)
Led by Steve Hagen
This class will take a novel approach to the classic Zen text, “The Merging of Difference and Unity,” or Sandokai, that will permit us a full understanding of this innovative teaching.
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Trusting the Heartmind:
An Inquiry into the Hsin Hsin Ming
Tuesdays, Oct 31-Nov 21, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Toku Cynthia Scott
“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.” So begins the Hsin Hsin Ming (Trusting the Heartmind), an enduring 7th century Chan text that describes life lived at ease. What does this 146-line poem offer 21st century practitioners? This class will explore the poem’s main themes, in particular the nature of heartmind and faith both on and off the meditation seat. There will be ample opportunity for discussion. The only required reading is the text of the poem itself, which can be found in the Dharma Field chant book online. Two other translations of the poem will be provided in class, along with suggestions for further study.
Text: Trusting the Heartmind
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
An Inquiry into the Hsin Hsin Ming
Tuesdays, Oct 31-Nov 21, 7:45-8:45 pm
Led by Toku Cynthia Scott
“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.” So begins the Hsin Hsin Ming (Trusting the Heartmind), an enduring 7th century Chan text that describes life lived at ease. What does this 146-line poem offer 21st century practitioners? This class will explore the poem’s main themes, in particular the nature of heartmind and faith both on and off the meditation seat. There will be ample opportunity for discussion. The only required reading is the text of the poem itself, which can be found in the Dharma Field chant book online. Two other translations of the poem will be provided in class, along with suggestions for further study.
Text: Trusting the Heartmind
Available live at Dharma Field or via Zoom.
Seniors, students $5 discount: Use code SEN or STU.
Online Courses
TAKING A CLASS ONLINE
Dharma Field offers its current Classes for people living outside the area, as well as for locals who are not able to attend in person. Please bear in mind, however, that our teachers highly recommend that local participants attend in person if possible.
All classes are offered via Zoom and also recorded and posted online later in the week. Classes can be streamed directly from our site, or they can be downloaded to your device (as mp3). Most handouts are available online as well.
If you missed a registration for a recent class, we normally keep them online after the class has ended. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
TO REGISTER…
All classes are offered via Zoom and also recorded and posted online later in the week. Classes can be streamed directly from our site, or they can be downloaded to your device (as mp3). Most handouts are available online as well.
If you missed a registration for a recent class, we normally keep them online after the class has ended. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
TO REGISTER…