Simplicity Zen Podcast

In this dharma talk we explore the differences between desire vs craving in Buddhism. 
Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, he became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson under whom he eventually received shiho (2022) and Inka Shomei (2025) in the lineage of Soto priest Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. He has also completed the Open Mind Zen koan curriculum under Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell and was given dharma transmission in that lineage in 2025. Berry is a member of the “Doan-ryo” at the Valley Streams Zen Sangha and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Dharma Center where he serves as Vice President.
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In this episode with Kokyo we discuss various topics like solo Zen retreats, koan training, Dzogchen, psychedelics and his hermitage.

Kokyo Henkel has been practicing Zen since 1990, in residence at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, No Abode Hermitage in Mill Valley, Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan, and Santa Cruz Zen Center. He was ordained as a Zen priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. Kokyo has also been practicing with the Tibetan Dzogchen (“Great Completeness”) teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche since 2003, in California, Colorado, and Kathmandu, as well as other Tibetan teachers in the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions, completing Vajrayana ngondro (foundational practices) in 2020. Kokyo's retreat near Tassajara, called Bright Window Hermitage, welcomes Buddhist practitioners of all traditions.

For info about practicing with Kokyo at his hermitage: https://brightwindowhermitage.weebly....

For general information about Kokyo: https://kokyohenkel.weebly.com/

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Seiso Paul Cooper is an ordained priest and a transmitted teacher in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri. He has practiced and studied in both the Soto and the Rinzai traditions. He began his formal practice in 1980 and received Dharma transmission from Sojun Diane Martin Roshi. He is the founder and former guiding teacher of the Two Rivers Zen Community in Narrowsburg, NY. He currently lives in Barry, Vermont where he founded and leads the Barre Zen Meditation Center. He teaches and practices the shakuhachi as a Zen arts practice. Seiso is a psychoanalyst and maintains a private practice working as a supervisor with therapists in training and with individuals and couples in Montpelier, Vt. He is a published author and his most recent book is entitled “Zen Master Yueh Shan & Thinking's Bad Rap: A practitioners guide”. 
More about Paul's Book: 
https://www.hohmpress.com/products/zen-master-yueh-shan-thinkings-bad-rap 
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This a recorded Simplicity Zen Dharma talk by Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford on the topic of "Showing Up". 
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Speaker Bio: Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, he became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson under whom he eventually received shiho (2022) and Inka Shomei (2025) in the lineage of Soto priest Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. He has also completed the Open Mind Zen koan curriculum under Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell and was given dharma transmission in that lineage in 2025. Berry is a member of the “Doan-ryo” at the Valley Streams Zen Sangha and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Dharma Center where he serves as Vice President.

Stephen a long time Zen koan practitioner and a professor of music theory at the University of North Texas. He was a professional fiddler and banjo player and an author of a book on the Americanization of Zen Chanting. This is part 2 of our discussion. You can find our earlier conversation as part of this podcast series. 
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