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Annual Women’s Sitting

Women of all levels of experience with practice are welcome.  The sign-up sheet is now on the bulletin board at BZC for this sitting.  We will have a day of zazen, walking meditation, dharma and discussion:

How do we as women find and express our true selves, standing tall and solid within a tradition that has been male dominant while at the same time appreciate the gifts of the tradition? How do gender dynamics impact our relationships with our teachers?  This is a day devoted to exploring women’s experiences and understanding of the Dharma in the context of the increasing inclusion and impact of women, both lay and ordained, on the practice of Buddhism in American society.  The day will include a lecture and discussion period led by BZC priest Gerry Oliva.

If you cannot make it to BZC to sign in, of if you have not sat a day-long sitting before,  contact Mary Duryee at maryduryee@gmail.com.

A few details:

The fee is $25. (If you are unable to pay the full amount, contact the Mary to arrange a reduced fee.) Leave checks marked “Women’s Sesshin” in the courtyard laundry room mail slot. Checks mailed to BZC must be received by Saturday, March 5.

Lunch is not provided so please bring your own bag lunch.

As always,  please do not wear jewelry, scented body care products or clothes that have been laundered with scented products in the zendo.  Leave all electronic devices and watches behind and enter the silence.

 

For more information, please contact Mary Duryee, 510-872-0507 or e-mail her at maryduryee@gmail.com.

Sounding Board

As we head towards the turning of the year, the board took note of our accomplishments and reflected on some of the big issues still to be explored. We appreciate the sangha’s generosity in response to our fundraising efforts this year on behalf of the Building Fund: Between our June letter appeal and the fundraising party, we’ve raised over $28,000 – well over our goal for the year (thank you, development committee). AND, we’ve not only raised the money, but at this writing, the work on the 1929A apartment kitchen is almost complete (thank you, project managers!). Look for pictures and details future newsletters. We are also close to finalizing plans to switch solar power for our electricity (thank you, Mark Copithorne).

There was a good response to the changes we instituted in our board election process, launched on October 1. For the first time we had an electronic ballot (thank you, Troy DuFrene). About half of eligible voters have responded, similar to the old paper ballot response rate. This was also our beta test of only offering as many candidates as there are open positions (see past Sounding Boards and newsletter articles for details). The Board will be continuing to evaluate this new election procedure (thank you, Recruitment and Election Committee). This year we also launched a new state-of-the-art website (thanks again, Troy).

This past year some thorny issues have surfaced or continued to nag. The board plans to take these up at its annual retreat in February 2016. These include: resident rents; continuing to raise funds to take care of our property and provide a cushion for leadership transitions; and how best to express appreciation for major gifts of money and labor.

2015 Tax Letters

BZC will not be automatically mailing yearend tax letters to all friends and members. In the past we have found that only a minority of friends and members need them for their returns, and we save a substantial amount of time, labor and postage by not mailing them out in mass. Instead, after the letters are generated, we keep them in a secure file on the office computer and make them available to individuals upon request. Letters will be available beginning February 15th. We will also be able to provide your information in an unofficial form beginning on January 15th. Please email the office manager at bzcofficemanager@gmail.com or call (510) 845-2403 to receive either form of information.

Changing Hands

The New Year brings several transitions in positions at BZC. We offer our deep gratitude to the following people who have held these positions, and welcome those stepping into these roles.

Margret Wotkyns has been our health and safety coordinator for almost three years, with the assistance and support of Walter Kieser. Together they kept BZC stocked with first-aid supplies, organized the CPR classes, maintained the air filter, and consulted on various health and safety issues. Nancy Suib will step into this key position for which we are grateful.

For two years Gerry Oliva has served as sesshin director, carefully organizing our sesshins and offering her warm support to all of us. We welcome Ken Powelson to this position, which he will share with Gary Artim, who continues in this role.

Ken Powelson and Kika have been our Saturday directors these past two years. With great care they have facilitated the Saturday program each week. Ed Herzog and Mary Beth Lamb will be our new co-Saturday directors. We welcome them to this position.

Susan Marvin has been our tenzo for two years. She shared this position the first year, then managed it alone in 2016. With skill and enthusiasm, Susan organized our meals, trained new cooks, and supported our vital kitchen practice in so many ways. We are very grateful to her and to Kíka who will step into this key role.

Stephanie Seaborg has been our head chiden these past two years. She has graciously agreed to continue as co-head chiden with Jeanne Courtney sharing this position with her in 2016. We welcome Jeanne to this role and are grateful to Stephanie for continuing.

Jake Van Akkeren has been our head server trainer this past year and a half. He has trained a number of new head servers and kept all the head servers up-to-date on serving forms. We will resume having a head server overseeing the serving schedule and activities as we’ve done in the past. We are grateful that Carol Paul has agreed to be our new head server.

February Study Sesshin

Hozan Alan Senauke will lead us to a deeper understanding of our practice through a two-day sesshin where the Dharma subject will be forthcoming (please check the bulletin board for details). On Saturday, February 13th we will sit from 5am to 9 pm with a lecture in the morning and a study period in the afternoon. On Sunday, February 14th we will sit from 5 am until 3 pm and have two study periods. We encourage old and new sangha members to participate. Please sign up on the patio bulletin board by Wednesday morning, February 10 after zazen. If this is your first sesshin at BZC, we recommend that you first participate in a full Saturday program and also speak with the sesshin director. The fee is $35 per day and should be paid in advance (a discounted fee is possible for those in need; please speak to the director). Leave checks marked “Study sesshin” in the mail slot in the courtyard laundry room door or mail to the BZC Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley 94703. If you have any questions, contact the sesshin director, Ken Powelson at powelson@earthlink.net or (510) 326-3752.

Beginners’ Sesshin

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On Sunday, January 31st, BZC will offer our annual Beginners’ sitting from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm. BZC priests Gerry Oliva and Judy Fleischman will offer instruction in the basic forms of our practice—zazen, kinhin, service—while maintaining our ground in meditation throughout the day. There will be a lecture on zazen and plenty of time for discussion. This is a good opportunity to ask questions about our practice.

Participants should bring a bag lunch, which we will eat informally in silence at midday. Newer people are particularly encouraged to take part, but we welcome longtime students who can enjoy a day of sitting and model the richness of our practice. The cost will be $15 for the day. Please see the zendo bulletin board for a sign-up sheet and further information. Contact Gerry Oliva at sesshindirectorBZC@gmail.com or (510) 652-7217 with any questions.

First Sesshin of 2016

Taking the time to sit still after all the holiday and year-end activity is a great way to begin the New Year. The first sesshin of 2016, led by Sojun Mel Weitsman, will take place on Saturday, January 16, from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm. We encourage old and new sangha members to participate. If this is your first sesshin at BZC, we recommend that you first participate in a full Saturday program and also speak with the sesshin director. Please check the patio bulletin for the sesshin sign-up sheet, the sesshin information forms and further information.

The sesshin fee is $35 (a discounted fee is possible; please speak to the director). Place checks marked “January 16th sesshin” in the slot in the laundry room door or mail to BZC Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley 94703.

The deadline for signing up and payment is Wednesday morning, January 13 after zazen. If you have questions, call the sesshin director, Gary Artim, at (510) 676-9756 or email at gartim@gmail.com.

New Year’s Eve Sitting and Celebration

Join us on Thursday evening, December 31 for the chance to ring in the New Year with the quiet and reflection of zazen, punctuated by 108 soundings of the bell to mark the last 108 minutes of 2015 and a bonfire after midnight. Everyone is welcome to attend any portion of the program, entering the zendo during kinhin or the beginning of a period of zazen.     The schedule is:

  • 8:00 pm Zazen
  • 8:35 Kinhin
  • 8:45 Zazen
  • 9:20 Kinhin
  • 9:30 Zazen
  • 10:05 Tea
  • 10:13 108 bells begin
  • 10:35 Kinhin
  • 10:45 Zazen
  • 11:20 Kinhin
  • 11:40 Zazen
  • 12:10 Slow Heart Sutra and sitting.

A celebration and potluck will follow in the community room. Watch the bulletin board for details and the sign-up sheets for providing food and help with clean up. If you have any questions, contact Sue Oehser at soehser@earthlink.net or (510) 339-0243.

Sounding Board

The BZC Board and Development Committee wish to thank the sangha for making our September fundraising party a joyous event. Along with the great food and drink, the wonderful jazz accompaniment, the photo booth and raffle drawing, there were just the simple pleasures of hanging out together in a formless way. We started the Building Fund drive with an appeal letter in June, raising $26,000, and the party brought it up to just over $28,000. Combined with what we raised last year, we should be able to pay for the currently-in-progress remodel of 1929A, without dipping into reserves at all.  Great appreciation is extended to all those people who helped make this year’s fundraiser a success.