All posts by BZC News

Women’s Sitting

The annual BZC Women’s Sitting will be held this month on Sunday, September 20, beginning at 9:00am and ending at 4:30pm. It will include both a lecture and a discussion period led by Meghan Collins, a long time Lay Entrusted BZC practitioner. We will go at a relaxing pace with a mixture of 30 and 40 minute sitting periods, short AM and PM breaks, a silent bag lunch, and an afternoon tea break. Women of all levels of practice are encouraged to attend this special sesshin to explore our experience as female practitioners. Cost for the day is $25. (If you are unable to pay the full amount, contact the sesshin director to arrange a reduced fee.) The sign up sheet will be posted on the courtyard bulletin board in early September. For more information, please contact sesshin director, Gerry Oliva at sesshindirector bzc@gmail.com or (510) 652-7217.

Changes Coming to Our Neighborhood

As many of you have probably noticed, new construction is going up and longtime businesses are shifting near BZC. The Adeline Street corridor is undergoing a wave of development. The City of Berkeley is in the midst of a multiyear community planning process for the Adeline Corridor, but many new projects will break ground before any plan is in place.

A development has been proposed for 2902 Adeline St. combining the site of AW Pottery and the first house on Russell St. next to it. The developer, RealTex, has proposed a 6-story, 56-unit residential building with 8 live-work units on the ground floor. 10% of the building will be affordable housing, the minimum required by the City of Berkeley. The building will include a small parking garage with 18 parking spaces. The units will be 1- and 2-bedrooms. The developer imagines the live-work units would house small businesses along the lines of graphic designers and therapists. Affordable units will rent for approximately $800-900/month, while the market rate units are projected to rent for $1,800-2,500/month. The architect is David Trachtenberg of Trachtenberg Architects, a longtime Berkeley architect.

The main concerns expressed by local residents at two community meetings called by the developer are parking and traffic, the height of the building, and affordability and gentrification. Many neighbors expressed concern about the lack of parking in the project and how it might impact street parking in the area, especially in areas without residential parking. The developer has argued that with Ashby BART, multiple car-share services, and bike parking nearby, residents are not likely to have a car. A local activist has countered that studies show it is tenant’s incomes which determine whether they will own a car, not proximity to transit.

Neighbors are also concerned about the shadows caused by the project and the impact its height will have on the residential character of the area. The developer and architect plan to have a series of setbacks on the Russell St. side of the building to make the building less monolithic, and argue that it is the same height as the Harriet Tubman senior housing complex on the northwest corner of Russell and Adeline. The developer has no interest in changing the barriers on Russell St.

The low levels of affordable housing are also causing concern about gentrification, and how the building might change the character of the neighborhood through its effect on property values and an influx of more affluent residents, most likely without children. Locals active with Friends of Adeline, a community group that has emerged to articulate a community-based vision for the Adeline Corridor, have articulated the concerns about affordability most strongly.

I attended the two community meetings, along with BZC’ers Bruce Coughran, Ross Blum, and our abbot and vice-abbot, and I plan to continue to be involved in the process. A few neighbors are planning to call a community meeting about the project in the coming days so we can begin to organize some kind of response. While there is a diversity of concerns among neighbors, we are united by our interest in having a say in the direction our neighborhood takes. If you have questions or would like to become involved, feel free to contact me, and check the bulletin board for announcements of upcoming meetings.

Sejiki

Sejiki is a popular Buddhist festival that highlights the connection between our world and the worlds of spirits. At BZC, we offer it as a sort of Buddhist Halloween. The ceremony is a mixture of spooky and solemn—there will be costumes and noisemakers, but we will also recite the names of departed friends and family and make offerings to appease our own hungry ghosts. This year’s Sejiki ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 31. To allow preparation time for the ceremony, we will not be having early morning zazen or breakfast. Instead, we will begin with a work period at 8:30 am to prepare our temple for the ceremony. The formal program will start with zazen at 9:40, followed by a short lecture and the ceremony at 10:15. We will also be offering a special children’s program beginning with a kids’ activity at 9:30 am at 1933 Russell. Everyone is encouraged to come in costume and bring noisemakers for the ceremony. For more information about the program, please contact Sue at soehser@earthlink.net . You can also give Sue names of departed ones to be recited during the ceremony if you will not be able to attend. If you are planning to attend the 9:30 kids’ activity, please RSVP to Laurie at lauries@kushiki.org or Ryk at ryk@groetchen.com.

Family Sesshin

All are welcome to attend BZC’s annual Family Sesshin. Join this cutting-edge event where our wonderful 2500-year-old practice meets 21st Century Bay Area family life! We need non-parents and ex-children for ballast, so please consider sharing and supporting this special day. The day will include zazen, service, a mindful walk, work period, art projects, stories, and fun activities for all ages. Sign up on the zendo bulletin board. Questions? E-mail Marie Hopper (marie_hopper@sbcglobal.net) or Laurie Senauke (lauries@kushiki.org).

Sounding Board for September 2015

The climate crisis has arrived, despite all crackpot denials. We feel it here in California in the depth of drought, mandated state water rationing, and now in a twelve-month fire season burning through our forests and grasslands.  As responsible citizens and visible members of Berkeley’s religious community, the BZC sangha has been taking steps to evaluate and change our consumption of waterand petroleum-based fuel.

Recently the board asked for reviews of water and energy usage. Board member Mark Copithorne has found that our total electrical usage—for all four of our buildings—averages 1200kWh per month. This is remarkably modest given the usage of residences, zendo, community room, etc. The average California single household uses about 500 kWh per month.

Checking water bills, Office Manager Tamar Enoch has found that our water usage, compared  with 2013 usage is down by the following startling percentages:

  • 1929 Russell is down 45%
  • 1931 Russell is down 50%
  • 1933 Russell is down 42%

The garden committee, with guidance from Sojun Roshi and others, is actively looking at replacement of our front and back lawns with paving and drought-resistant vegetation. As prices of solar panels and installations continue to fall, the

Board is investigating the possibility of solar conversion. Lastly, although we are not a wealthy community, we have in place a socially-responsible investment policy that eschews funds that carry in their portfolios weapon manufacture, tobacco products, alcohol, oil, and gas.

Jizo Ceremony for Children Who Have Died

The loss of a loved one often opens a well of profound grief. No matter how the loved one dies suddenly or slowly, whether through illness, accident, miscarriage, abortion or suicide, our sorrow is deep and may be long-lasting. To help families and friends in their process of grief, we will honor our lost loved ones by participating in a ceremony in our Jizo garden. Jizo, the Earth Store Bodhisattva, is viewed as a guide and protector for those who are enduring the loss of loved one, particularly a child lost in miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion or in early life. Jizo’s vow is to remain in the world until all beings are free from suffering, and he accompanies children when they pass out of this world.

Before the ceremony we will spend time making a personal memorial for a lost one, by writing a message, making a simple necklace or other offering. Attendees are also invited to bring a picture of their loved one or other personal token of remembrance for our altar.

The ceremony will be led by two BZC priests, Gerry Oliva and Judy Fleischman. All BZC members and neighborhood residents are invited to attend. A sign-up sheet will be posted on the courtyard bulletin board. There is no fee but offerings of dana are welcome. For more information or to sign up by phone contact Gerry Oliva at gryoliva@gmail.com or call (510) 652-7217.

All Sangha Potluck – Board Nominations

Please join us for a potluck dinner on Tuesday, September 15, beginning at 6:30pm in the community room. A sign-up sheet is posted on the patio bulletin board for bringing food, drinks or helping with clean-up.

After dinner the Board will nominate three candidates for the three open positions for this fall’s election. In recruiting candidates, the board has identified skills that support the sangha’s interests, including but not limited to: oral and written communication, organization, information technology, money management, fundraising, engineering, building maintenance and non-profit law. Board members are expected to attend monthly meetings, an all-day retreat on a Sunday in January, and to serve on at least one working board committee: finance, buildings, development, electronic communication, nomination/election process. As in the past, all BZC members are welcome to nominate fellow members for this position, but please contact them first concerning their willingness to be nominated. If you yourself are interested in being nominated, please contact either Stephanie Solar or Stan Dewey.

During the meeting there will also be opportunity for board committee chairs to provide updates regarding finance, building projects, fundraising, electronic communication, election/nomination reform, and HEAR. We hope to see you at the dinner and meeting and wholeheartedly welcome your participation in the nomination process.

Aspects of Practice 2015

Aspects of Practice—led by Vice-Abbot Hozan Alan Senauke and BZC senior students—will begin with sesshin on Saturday October 17, and continue through the closing sitting on Saturday November 14. As always, this is an opportunity for new and old students to study and practice together the basics of zazen, forms, and dharma here at BZC. And of course, we will share work, practice discussion, and tea.

This year our classes and lectures will focus on our Chinese ancestors—Soto and Rinzai, men and women—and how their teachings and example remain alive to us so many centuries later. Copies of the texts will be available in advance.

As fall begins, please join us for this opportunity to refresh our timeless practice. All the relevant info and signup sheets will be posted late in September. If you have questions, email Hozan at alans@kushiki.org or leave a note in his box on the porch. See you there.