Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Week of Mar 25th

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Dan Jackson

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Dan Jackson


    Mon, Mar 25, 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

    Drop-in Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 27, 2024

    The Wednesday Drop-in group is a weekly event, now in person, that goes from 7:10 to 9:00 PM. It includes a 30-minute period of Zazen meditation and a brief service in the zendo, followed by tea and refreshments and an hour of reading and discussion in the Community Room. The group particularly welcomes newcomers to Zen Buddhist practice and/or new to 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 groups is facilitated by a BZC Priest, Ikushin Gerry Oliva. Gerry can be contacted at gryoliva@gmail.com for further information.

  • Class on the Heart Sutra taught by Karen Sundheim

    Class on the Heart Sutra taught by Karen Sundheim


    Thu, Mar 28, 2024

    Upcoming Class on the Heart Sutra taught by Karen Sundheim

    The Heart Sutra is the most chanted sutra in Mahayana Buddhist temples throughout the world. We chant it at BZC twice daily on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sesshins. Sojun often said all of Buddhism and zen is expressed in this Perfection of Wisdom in 25 lines. Karen Sundheim will be teaching a class to explore this important Mahayana text on Thursday evenings 7:15 - 8:45 pm March 14, 21, 28 and April 4. It will be offered in hybrid format.

    Please register by using this link so that you can receive any study materials: 

    https://forms.gle/yGrxtGLHU6dTboaf6

    Class fee is $40. Questions can be directed to the class coordinator, Ryushin Andrea andrea.thach@gmail.com.

     

  • Dharma Talk: Peter Overton

    Dharma Talk: Peter Overton


    Sat, Mar 30, 2024

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    • Temple cleaning:  7:35 – 8:10 (in person)
    • Zazen:                        8:30 – 9:10
    • Service:                      9:10 – 9:30
    • Kinhin:                       9:30  – 9:40
    • Zazen:                        9:40 – 10:05
    • Kinhin/break         10:05 – 10:15
    • Lecture:                   10:15 – 11:15
  • Women's Sesshin

    Women's Sesshin

    All day
    Sun, Mar 31, 2024

    There will be a Women’s Sesshin on Sunday, March 31, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The speaker will be Mary Mocine, retired abbot of Clear Water Zendo, and Hannah Meara will be the director. A buffet lunch will be offered.

    Sign-up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-5tfwc7elF4U7gw-trOirNoBLRqEBLqpCW9V9LEUFB5R7ZA/viewform

    A donation of $25 for in-person and $15 for online attendance is requested. For more information, please contact Hannah at hmeara@gmail.com.