Seeing

Check back on the 20th of each month for newly featured videos.

Guided Meditations

19 Episodes of Zen Based Stress Reduction by Guo Gu for the DDM San Francisco group
Guided Meditation with Progressive Relaxation
Guided Sitting Meditation

Exploring Chan and Zen: Guo Gu and Jiryu Discuss Silent Illumination, Shikantaza, Huatou, Hongzhi, and Dogen

Coming soon.

The Depths of the Chan Liturgy (2024)

Part 1 – Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra.

Part 2 – Samantabhadra’s First Vow.

Part 3 – Samantabhadra’s Second Vow.

Part 4 – Samantabhadra’s Third Vow.

Heart Sutra Dharma Talks (2023-24)

Part 1 – Prelude and Introduction.

Part 2 – Avalokitesvara: Perceiver of the Sounds of the World.

Part 2A – Guo Gu Teaches Perfect Penetration of the Faculty of Hearing.

Part 2B – Guo Gu Offers Two Guided Meditations On The Contemplation Of Hearing.

Part 3 – The Bodhisattva Path: A Socially Engaged Practice.

Part 4 – The Five Skandhas.

Part 5 – Contemplation of the Five Skandhas.

Part 6 – Emptiness of the Five Skandhas.
Part 7 – Transcending Suffering.

Part 8 – Śāriputra, Buddha’s Chief Disciple.

Part 9 – Form is Relationship.

Part 10 – Interconnectedness (The 18 Realms).

Part 11 – Interconnectedness (Dependent Origination).

Part 12 – The Infinite Possibilities of the 4 Noble Truths.

Part 13 – The Essence of Dharma Practice.

Part 14 – Ordinary Mind is the Way.

Part 15 – Put It Down, Pick Up, Awaken.

Koan / Gong'an / Huatou Talks

Gong’an (Kōan) and Huatou, Part 1 of 4: History

Gong’an (Kōan) and Huatou, Part 2 of 4: The Non-Conceptual Sense of Wonderment/Great Doubt in Huatou

Gong’an (Kōan) and Huatou, Part 3 of 4: Practice

Gong’an (Kōan) and Huatou, Part 4 of 4: Q and A

Live Dharma Talks

Activity and Stillness
All Things are Replete and Present
Awakening to Relationships and Social Engagement
Being Present
Bodhi Mind
Body and Mind Talk, London SKY
Building A Beautiful Life Session #4: Guo Gu, Realizing Our Life Path
Chan Buddhist Practice of Being Present to the Sick and Dying
Chan Practice in Daily Life
Chan and Socially Engaged Practice
Compassion for Self and Others
Conversation with Shugen Arnold Roshi, Oct 2022, Zen Mountain Monastery
COVID-19: Practicing in Times of Uncertainty
Embodied Experiencing
Essence of Chan – Virtual Book Launch
Essential Methods of Chan Buddhism – Emory University Buddhist Club
Facing Death
Guo Gu’s Interview with Fred Eppsteiner (Nov 2022)
Guru Viking Podcast #1
Guru Viking Podcast #2
Guru Viking #3 (GuoGu and Meido Roshi)
Jon Joseph (Pazific Zen Institute) with GuoGu on Silent Illumination and Hongzhi
Obstacles to Meditation #1 (Wandering Thoughts)
Obstacles to Meditation #2 (Drowsiness)
Obstacles to Meditation #3 (Physical Discomfort)
Home Practice
Lotus Rising Out of Murky Waters
Loving Kindness Meditation for Healing
Offering Ourselves and Working Together with Others
Principles to Manage Stress
Samadhi
Social Engagement and Buddhism
Spiritual Bypassing
Teacher-Student Relationship
Three Gates of Liberation: Emptiness, Signlessness, and Noncontrivance
Three Seals of the Dharma
Transmission of Buddha-dharma in America. Shugen Arnold Roshi and Guo Gu

October 2020 Workshop: Essentials to Chan

Introduction, Guo Gu (Essentials of Chan Buddhism). Click here for the full playlist.

Song of Awakening Talks

For a listing of videos on this talk and for the translation of the text, please visit this site.

Questions and Answers

March 22, 2021: Dharma Q&A Session for Tricycle, Part 2
March 08, 2021: Dharma Q&A Session for Tricycle, Part 1
General Questions and Answers, March 22, 2021
General Questions and Answers, April 05, 2021
Q&A: on Chan and Trauma Resiliency
Q&A: How do you dismantle grasping and aversion in meditation?
Q&A: on How to Escape or Break the Cycle of Thinking
Q&A: on Automatic Conversations with Ourselves
Q&A: on How to Work With Self-Centeredness
Q&A: on How to Work With Others
Q&A: on Repentance and Taking Up Responsibility
Q&A: on Forgiveness and Self-Compassion
Q&A: on Integrating Meditation into Daily Life
Q&A: on First Precept of Not Killing and Livelihoods
Q&A: on How to Deal with the Negative Emotion of Jealousy
Q&A: on Responsibilities and Precepts
Q&A: on What is the function of meditation?
Q&A: on What is Socially Engaged Buddhism?
Q&A: on What is Practice?
Q&A: on Investigating the Manager Mind?
Q&A: on Meditation Postures, Working with Leg Pain, and Being Present
Q&A: on What is Reality?
Q&A: on The Importance of a Method
Q&A: on How to Practice Holistically
Q&A: on What Makes a Healthy Body & Mind?
Q&A: on Mind, Body and Feeling Tone

Silent Illumination Talks

Silent Illumination
The Practice of Direct Contemplation
Three Contemplations (Subjective/Direct/Absolute)
Silent Illumination and Shikantaza with Guo Gu and Jiryu Rutschman-Byler at San Francisco Zen Center
Silent Illumination: Exploring Teachings from Chan Master Hongzhi with Guo Gu — Workshop at SFZC
Silent Illumination, Part 1— Talk for Upaya Zen Center (August 27, 2025)
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↓ Shambhala Silent Illumination (2021) Online Book Tour ↓
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Chan Silent Illumination and Mahamudra
Four Distinct Qualities of Silent Illumination: North Carolina Zen Center, Dialogue with Teshin Sweger
Practice and Awakening. Silent Illumination: Houston Zen Center, Dialogue with Gaelyn Godwin
Silent Illumination talk at the Florida Community of Mindfulness
Silent Illumination talk at Bright Way Zen, Dialogue with Domyo Burk
Silent Illumination Dharma Talk at Chapel Hill Zen Center, Hosted by Josho Pat Phelan
Guided Meditation and Dharma Talk on Silent Illumination for the East West Bookstore