Online Dharma Classes and Buddhist Study with Zuisei Goddard
Welcome to the online study hub for Ocean Mind Sangha. Here, you can register for all live, interactive dharma classes offered online with Guiding Teacher Zuisei Goddard.
Study the dharma closely with Zuisei, OMS guest teachers, and the sangha. Each class introduces and clarifies how the traditional Buddhist teachings apply to our lives today. Open to everyone—we invite you to bring your attention, questions, and unique experience to each Buddhist study.
Scroll down to view our upcoming schedule and join our next session. Thank you for your practice and support. We look forward to practicing with you.
Banner photo by 和 平
What
Understanding Emptiness (Shunyata)
and Its Role in Our Lives
with Zuisei Goddard
When
Saturday, May 30
9 AM–10 AM | Zazen & Daisan (optional)
10–12 PM | Buddhist Study
Cost
Tiered Pricing
Supporting $50 | Sustaining $25 | Scholarship $15
This class has ended. For more about What is Emptiness?: Understanding Shunyata and Its Role in Our Lives click here.
Buddhist Study Series
Lotus Sutra III
What
Lotus Sutra Series | Live Online
with Zuisei Goddard
Includes access to all previous Lotus Sutra class recordings
When
Saturdays, June 13 & July 11, 2026 (EDT)
9 AM–10 AM | Zazen & Daisan (optional)
10–12 PM | Buddhist Study
Cost
Tiered Pricing
Supporting $100 | Sustaining $50 | Scholarship $30
Join us for this live online two-part study of the Lotus Sutra, and enjoy access to recordings of all previous Lotus Sutra classes at OMS. We’ll be engaging chapters 14–28.
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Please make sure to have a copy of the Lotus Sutra (translated by Burton Watson) and read the sections before each session. Below are optional texts for the class:
The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Translation for Contemporary Readers
The Engaged Eightfold Path as a Restorative Process
with Rev. Liên Shutt
What
The Engaged Eightfold Path as a Restorative Process | Live Online
with Rev. Liên Shutt
Hosted by Zuisei and led by Rev. Liên Shutt. Register to receive Zoom link.
When
Wednesdays, July 15, 22, & 29, 2026 (EDT)
7–7:30 PM | Zazen Optional
7:30–9 PM | Eightfold Path with Rev. Liên Shutt
Cost
Tiered Pricing
Supporting $55 | Sustaining $40 | Scholarship $25
Do The Four Noble Truths seem like just another Buddhist list to memorize? Or are they a meaningful and relevant teaching that we can apply to our lives now?
What are “truths”? How do we learn them? How do familial, cultural, and institutional systems promote, validate, or even teach us to unknowingly collude? Join Ocean Mind Sangha’s 3-part series led by Rev. Lien Shutt to learn how her Engaged Four Noble Truths can reflect our multi-dimensional, lived experiences and help us practice amid oppressive structures toward liberation. We’ll do this through reading and practice of selected teachings from Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path.
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The series will cover what Rev. Liên frames as the three essential aspects of healing:
Acknowledging what is.
Knowing what shifts are especially needed, and
Learning how to put those shifts into practice.
These are then applied to the three parts of the book. At each meeting, we’ll engage with various aspects from each of these sections:
Part I: Seeing the World As-It-Is
Part II: What the World Needs Now
Part III: Realizing the Wholeness of the World
Download the class outline (pdf) here. Reading the chapters in each of these sections before each meeting session is recommended. Meditations, mindful reflections, and Q&A sessions will be used throughout the 3-part series to see how Rev. Lien’s reframed expansions from the traditional Buddhist teachings can support an engaged practice, enlivening us with agency.
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REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a priest lineage holder in the Shunryu Suzuki tradition. She received her meditation training in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions in the United States, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are the guiding teacher of Access to Zen, an inclusive, anti-oppression sangha and nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit AccessToZen.org for ways to connect.
Living an Ethical Life: The Buddhist Precepts
What
Living an Ethical Life: The Buddhist Precepts
with Zuisei Goddard | Live Online
Register to receive Zoom link.
When
Saturday, August 8, 2026 (EDT)
9 AM–2 PM
| Break |
2 PM–4 PM
Cost
Tiered Pricing
Supporting $55 | Sustaining $40 | Scholarship $25
What does it mean to take refuge in and commit to a life guided by the precepts—the moral and ethical teachings of Buddhism—and what exactly are those teachings?
Every day we choose how we show up for ourselves and one another in our actions, words and thoughts. Understanding the precepts can guide us on this path, even when, or especially when, the choices we face are difficult. Join this class to experience the precepts as an essential resource in modern life. Your questions and insight are always welcome in these live sessions.
This class is open to everyone, and it is required for formal students at OMS before jukai (receiving the precepts ceremony).
Buddhist Study Series: Fall 2026
September 30, October 7 &14, 2026
What
Fall 2026 Buddhist Study Series | Live Online
with Zuisei Goddard
Topic TBA. Register to receive Zoom link.
When
Wednesdays, Sep 30, Oct 7 & 14, 2026 (EDT)
7–8 PM | Zazen Optional
8–9 PM | Dharma study with Zuisei
Cost
Tiered Pricing
Supporting $55 | Sustaining $40 | Scholarship $25
