Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events (Updated 4.17.24 )

Weekly Schedule

Week of Oct 28th

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: TBA

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: TBA


    Mon, Oct 28, 2024

    There will be a student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:

    7:30 am: zazen
    8:00 am: way-seeking mind talk

    What is a "way-seeking mind" talk?  See below.

    Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center

    “Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.

    The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.

  • Drop-in Sitting and Study Group

    Drop-in Sitting and Study Group


    Wed, Oct 30, 2024

    The Drop-in Sitting and Study Group meets weekly from 7:10 to 9:30 PM on Wednesdays. It
    includes a 35-minute period of zazen meditation in the Zendo, followed by an hour of reading and
    discussion, tea and refreshments in the Community Room. The group particularly
    welcomes newcomers to Zen Buddhist practice or folks new to the Berkeley Zen Center. It also provides an
    opportunity for practitioners to sit and study together on an ongoing basis. We meet every Wednesday
    except for the five-day Spring Practice Period sesshin (retreat) in June, the annual seven-day Buddha’s
    Enlightenment sesshin in December and during the two-week interim period during the December
    holidays. We also maintain a Google group to share reading materials we are studying, announce other
    BZC events and issues related to logistics.

    The group is facilitated by a BZC Priest, Ikushin Gerry Oliva.
    Gerry can be contacted at gryoliva@gmail.com for further information.

  • Aspects Class: Ordinary Bodhisattvas

    Aspects Class: Ordinary Bodhisattvas


    Thu, Oct 31, 2024

    This fall the Berkeley Zen Center sangha is so happy to welcome Visiting-Teachers-In-Residence Greg Fain and Linda Galijan. They will lead our Aspects of Practice period with the theme “Ordinary Bodhisattvas: The Brahmaviharas in Action.” This theme will be studied at  4 Thursday evening classes as well as in Saturday dharma talks and Way-Seeking Mind talks.

    The class will be both in person and online and are open to anyone who would like to attend; we especially encourage those who participate in Aspects of Practice to sign up. Attend on line by clicking on the “Enter Zendo” link on the BZC homepage.

    The class series begins on Thursday, October 17 and runs through November 7 (7:15—8:45).

    Class fee is $40, or whatever you can afford.  Registration form coming soon.

  • Dharma Talk: Ryushin Andrea Thach

    Dharma Talk: Ryushin Andrea Thach


    Sat, Nov 2, 2024

  • All Sangha Work Day

    All Sangha Work Day

    All day
    Sun, Nov 3, 2024