- We offer zazen (meditation) daily, Monday – Friday
Spring Practice Period Coming Soon! May 3 to June 15
In the Zen tradition, the word used for Practice Period – ango – means “peaceful abiding.” We begin with the opening One-Day Sitting and Shuso Entering Ceremony on Saturday, May 3. Please sign up separately for all the activities you plan to attend.
We encourage everyone who is able to clear the time and energy to participate in the Practice Period as fully as possible. Non-participants are welcome to come to the zendo whenever they can. Together we support and are supported by the Practice Period; these weeks sitting together can deepen our practice and encourage others.
Other Practice Period events include a Thursday evening class on the Lotus Sutra, a community dinner and skit night, and a work day, culminating in a 5-day Sesshin from June 11-15. Details here on the 2025-PP-Calendar.
PP sign up: https://forms.gle/TUunSMsZzoDPfXMK9
May 3 opening One-Day Sitting sign up: Register here
Practice Period Class: The Lotus Sutra
Upcoming Sittings
(for details about these programs, check the Calendar Page)
May 3 One-Day Sitting / Practice Period Opening
You can pay for any of these events by mailing a check to the BZC Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley 94703, or you can pay through the website using the “Sits/Classes” button on the “Generosity” tab. In either case, please indicate what you are paying for, so that your payment is not mixed up with dues or donations
In Memoriam – Hozan Kushiki Alan Senauke Daiosho 
Our dear Abbot Hozan Roshi passed away on December 22 after a year’s illness. Hozan served as Vice Abbot of BZC for 20 years before his Mountain Seat Ceremony in January of 2021. Earlier he served as the Executive Director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and later served as a teacher and advisor for Upaya Zen Center’s Chaplaincy Training Program. You can access many of his lectures and teachings (and music) in various sections of the BZC website, YouTube, and elsewhere online; his full obituary is available on Legacy.com.
BZC had a full round of traditional Soto Zen ceremonies in the days following Hozan Roshi’s death, ending with 49th day memorial service on February 8. There will be a larger, more eclectic funeral/memorial service on August 10, 2025, at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley.