Events in January 2025
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Patrick McMahon Way Seeking Mind Talk: Patrick McMahon
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Fri, Jan 3, 2025BZC schedules a Way-Seeking Mind Talk on the First Friday afternoon of each month. The talk, followed by Q&A, begins at 5:45pm after five minutes of zazen and runs until 6:25pm. Please note, our First Friday afternoon WSM Talks are online only. The zendo is closed for in person Zazen on the First Friday of the month.
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Sojun Roshi Annual Memorial Ceremony Sojun Roshi Annual Memorial Ceremony
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Sat, Jan 4, 2025Hakuryu Sojun, BZC’s Founder and first Abbot, died on January 7, 2021, after leading the sangha for over fifty years. We celebrate his life with a formal ceremony. This year’s ceremony will be held on Saturday, January 4, at the time of our usual lecture at 10:15 a.m. Linda Galijan and Greg Fain will deliver a short dharma talk which then will be followed by the ceremony; we will all have the opportunity to make a flower offering and to express our appreciation for Sojun Roshi’s life and teachings.
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Half-day Sitting Half-day Sitting
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Sun, Jan 5, 2025There will be a half-day sitting on Sunday, January 5, from 8:00 am to noon. Suggested donation is $10. To sign up or to ask any questions, please contact the director, Gary Artim (gartim@gmail.com).
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Open Discussion Open Discussion
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Mon, Jan 6, 2025 -
Dharma Talk: Sue Oehser Dharma Talk: Sue Oehser
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Sat, Jan 11, 2025Full Saturday Program Schedule
- 6:00-6:40 Zazen
- 6:40-6:50 Kinhin
- 6:50-7:20 Zazen
- 7:20-7:40 Service
- 7:40-8:30 Breakfast
- 8:30-8:50 Break
- 8:50-9:30 Work Practice
- 9:30-10:05 Zazen
- 10:05-10:15 Kinhin
- 10:15-11:15 Dharma Talk
- Followed By Informal Tea
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Daryan Rezazad Way Seeking Mind Talk: Daryan Rezazad
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Mon, Jan 13, 2025There 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 talkWhat 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.
Call Me By My True Names with Peter Overton Call Me By My True Names with Peter Overton
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Mon, Jan 13, 2025Join us for three Monday evenings in an exploration of Thich Nhat Hahn’s timeless poem “Call Me By My True Names.”Peter Overton will lead our conversation on Thich Nhat Hanh’s beloved poem. The class will be offered on three Monday evenings (1/13, 1/27, 2/10) from 7:15-8:45. We will explore Thich Nhat Hanh’s invitation to deeply meet ourselves and each other as a doorway to practice.This hybrid class will meet in the zendo. Class fee is $30.Link to Thay’s poem:https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem.To register and receive any additional class materials: https://forms.gle/tF29cVqvYyEsXSQb8.Contact class coordinator Ryushin Andrea Thach at andrea.thach@gmail.com for questions. -
January One-Day Sitting January One-Day Sitting
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Sat, Jan 18, 2025Berkeley Zen Center will host a one day sitting on Saturday, January 18. The Doshi and speaker will be Greg Fain.Register at this link: https://forms.gle/zseZAuLiBdiT6kg97Please register as soon as you can. The deadline for registration is Thursday, January 16 at noon.Berkeley Zen Center asks for a $35 donation for in person and $15 for online participation. A sliding scale is accepted.For more information on either sesshin, please contact the sesshin director, Mark Copithorne (copithorne@hotmail.com).Dharma Talk: Greg Fain Dharma Talk: Greg Fain
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Sat, Jan 18, 2025During One-Day Sitting
Those not participating in the sitting, please join us in the online zendo; public program begins with zazen at 9:30 am.
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Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day
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Mon, Jan 20, 2025Neighborhood Engagement Program
Every year since 2017, BZC has had a half-day MLK program to commemorate the life and teachings of Dr. King. This year’s program will take place on Monday, January 20. (Note that the usual Monday morning program in person and online will NOT be offered).
The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end by 1:30 p.m. We will begin with two periods of zazen, then there will be a talk on one of Dr. King’s teachings, small discussions focused on excerpts from Dr. King’s sermons, and a full group sharing, followed by another period of zazen and closing service.
We will then take a break with tea and refreshments.
The remaining program will take place outside on the front lawn, where we will invite anyone who passes to write a short statement about Dr. King on a card that they can hang on the tree in front.
Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Gerry Oliva at gryoliv@gmail.com or Judy Fleischman at judy@sensingwonder.com.No Early Program Today No Early Program Today
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Mon, Jan 20, 2025Note that due to the special Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day program, which begins at 8:30) the usual Monday morning program, in person and online, will NOT be offered.
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Dharma Talk: Linda Galijan Dharma Talk: Linda Galijan
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Sat, Jan 25, 2025Full Saturday Program Schedule
- 6:00-6:40 Zazen
- 6:40-6:50 Kinhin
- 6:50-7:20 Zazen
- 7:20-7:40 Service
- 7:40-8:30 Breakfast
- 8:30-8:50 Break
- 8:50-9:30 Work Practice
- 9:30-10:05 Zazen
- 10:05-10:15 Kinhin
- 10:15-11:15 Dharma Talk
- Followed By Informal Tea
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Juen Boissevain Way Seeking Mind Talk: Juen Boissevain
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Mon, Jan 27, 2025There 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 talkWhat 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.
Call Me By My True Names with Peter Overton Call Me By My True Names with Peter Overton
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Mon, Jan 27, 2025Join us for three Monday evenings in an exploration of Thich Nhat Hahn’s timeless poem “Call Me By My True Names.”Peter Overton will lead our conversation on Thich Nhat Hanh’s beloved poem. The class will be offered on three Monday evenings (1/13, 1/27, 2/10) from 7:15-8:45. We will explore Thich Nhat Hanh’s invitation to deeply meet ourselves and each other as a doorway to practice.This hybrid class will meet in the zendo. Class fee is $30.Link to Thay’s poem:https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem.To register and receive any additional class materials: https://forms.gle/tF29cVqvYyEsXSQb8.Contact class coordinator Ryushin Andrea Thach at andrea.thach@gmail.com for questions.