Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Events in March 2022

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 2, 2022

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Mira Queen

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Mira Queen


    Fri, Mar 4, 2022

    There will be a way-seeking mind talk in the online zendo at the time of the usual Friday afternoon zazen:

    5:40 pm: zazen
    5:45: talk

    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.

  • Lecture: Denkei Raul Moncayo

    Lecture: Denkei Raul Moncayo


    Sat, Mar 5, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • Zendo opens:       8:30 am
        • Zazen:                      8:40 – 9:20
        • Service:                   9:20 – 9:30
        • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
        • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
        • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

    BZC Community Picnic

    BZC Community Picnic


    Sat, Mar 5, 2022

    Come out for a BZC community picnic! Please save March 5, 12:30‒4:00 for a BZC social gathering at Live Oak Park, Picnic Area #2 in Berkeley. The site is next to the Berkeley Art Center at 1275 Walnut Street (across the street from the main part of Live Oak Park).
    Everyone in the BZC community is welcome. Please bring yourself and something to eat or drink to share. The site is wheelchair accessible. Vaccination status will not be checked, and masking is optional.
    For any questions, please contact Heather Sarantis at heathersarantis@gmail.com or 415-730-4515.

  • Women's Sesshin

    Women's Sesshin


    Sun, Mar 6, 2022

    Our annual spring women’s sesshin will be
    Sunday, March 6. The schedule will be 8:00‒
    12:00 and will include periods of zazen, kinhin,
    a service, and the reading and discussion of a
    text. The sesshin will be led by BZC women
    practice leaders.
    The suggested donation is $15 or whatever
    amount works for you. Mail a check to the BZC
    Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley
    94703, or pay through the website using the
    “Sits/Classes” tab on the Donate page. Be sure
    to indicate on the payment that it is for the
    women’s sesshin.
    For questions or to sign up, please contact
    Leslie Bartholic at lbartholic@comcast.net.

  • Open Discussion

    Open Discussion


    Mon, Mar 7, 2022

    There will be an open discussion in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:

    7:30 am: zazen

    8:00 am: open discussion

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 9, 2022

    Parent/Guardian Dharma Study and Support Group

    Parent/Guardian Dharma Study and Support Group


    Wed, Mar 9, 2022

    New in 2022!  We're launching an online parent dharma group (to become in person with childcare when Covid allows). The idea is for us to support each other in holding and growing our parenting as an expression of practice. The theme for our first meeting is Taking Refuge in Buddha.

    We will meet on the 2nd Wednesdays at 8 pm. I am convening the group, and it will include visits by other BZC practice leaders.
    Upcoming meetings:

    May 11
    Note - NO MEETING June 8

    Note that this meeting will not be in the main Online Zendo, but in the room where we offer Zazen Instruction - link is on the website below the Online Zendo link on the home page, and will be sent to those who let me know they are coming.

    If interested in joining us, or for more information, email Laurie Senauke (lauriesenauke@gmail.com)

  • Lecture: Judy Fleischman

    Lecture: Judy Fleischman


    Sat, Mar 12, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • Zendo opens:       8:30 am
        • Zazen:                      8:40 – 9:20
        • Service:                   9:20 – 9:30
        • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
        • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
        • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: James Kenney

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: James Kenney


    Mon, Mar 14, 2022

    There will be a Zoom 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.

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 16, 2022

  • Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity

    Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity


    Thu, Mar 17, 2022

    Ellen Webb, Ryushin Andrea Thach, and Ron Nestor will present three koans from Thomas Cleary's translation of The Book of Serenity. This collection of 100 koans or cases is the koan collection most associated with our Soto lineage.We're aiming for interactive class discussions of these three provocative cases, which can be understood from different points of emphasis. We'll supply a scanned copy of Cleary's text and Word files of excellent commentaries by Koun Yamada. For those without printers we will have paper copies available on the bulletin board shelf at BZC.  The Book of Serenity is also available from booksellers and online. The four cases we’ll be working with are case #12, Dizang Planting the Fields, case #20, Dizang's Nearness, and case #36, Master Ma is Unwell, case #53, Obaku's "Drinkers". Studying koans in this way is not the same as the Rinzai practice of working with one's teacher and trying to embody the koan, so we want to be clear about the difference. However, we have found it to be rich and helpful in clarifying the essential points of Zen practice.

     

    Cost for the series is $40 or what you can afford. More information will be posted on BZC Community Group as we get closer to the dates. All are welcome.

  • Lecture: Karen DeCotis

    Lecture: Karen DeCotis


    Sat, Mar 19, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • Zendo opens:       8:30 am
        • Zazen:                      8:40 – 9:20
        • Service:                   9:20 – 9:30
        • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
        • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
        • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Sangha Meeting and Budget Approval

    Sangha Meeting and Budget Approval


    Sun, Mar 20, 2022

    All BZC members and friends are warmly invited to bring a cup of tea to the online zendo and join this meeting on Sunday, March 20, 7:00 p.m. We will hear committee reports, review the 2021 financial report, discuss the Board-recommended 2022 budget, and consider our 2022 fundraising goals. The budget is our treasurer’s best effort to project the financial goals and realities for BZC’s current year. After discussion, the budget will be submitted for approval by those in attendance. We look forward to seeing you!

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Lisa Nelbach

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Lisa Nelbach


    Mon, Mar 21, 2022

    There will be a Zoom 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.

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 23, 2022

  • Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity

    Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity


    Thu, Mar 24, 2022

    Ellen Webb, Ryushin Andrea Thach, and Ron Nestor will present three koans from Thomas Cleary's translation of The Book of Serenity. This collection of 100 koans or cases is the koan collection most associated with our Soto lineage.We're aiming for interactive class discussions of these three provocative cases, which can be understood from different points of emphasis. We'll supply a scanned copy of Cleary's text and Word files of excellent commentaries by Koun Yamada. For those without printers we will have paper copies available on the bulletin board shelf at BZC.  The Book of Serenity is also available from booksellers and online. The four cases we’ll be working with are case #12, Dizang Planting the Fields, case #20, Dizang's Nearness, and case #36, Master Ma is Unwell, case #53, Obaku's "Drinkers". Studying koans in this way is not the same as the Rinzai practice of working with one's teacher and trying to embody the koan, so we want to be clear about the difference. However, we have found it to be rich and helpful in clarifying the essential points of Zen practice.

     

    Cost for the series is $40 or what you can afford. More information will be posted on BZC Community Group as we get closer to the dates. All are welcome.

  • One-Day Sesshin

    One-Day Sesshin


    Sat, Mar 26, 2022

    We will have a one-day sesshin on Saturday, March 26, 7:50 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The sesshin will be via Zoom. For further information, please contact the sesshin director, Blake Tolbert, at sesshin@berkeleyzencenter.org.

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke


    Sat, Mar 26, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • Zendo opens:       8:30 am
        • Zazen:                      8:40 – 9:20
        • Service:                   9:20 – 9:30
        • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
        • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
        • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Liz Horowitz

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Liz Horowitz


    Mon, Mar 28, 2022

    There will be a Zoom 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.

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Mar 30, 2022

  • Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity

    Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity


    Thu, Mar 31, 2022

    Ellen Webb, Ryushin Andrea Thach, and Ron Nestor will present three koans from Thomas Cleary's translation of The Book of Serenity. This collection of 100 koans or cases is the koan collection most associated with our Soto lineage.We're aiming for interactive class discussions of these three provocative cases, which can be understood from different points of emphasis. We'll supply a scanned copy of Cleary's text and Word files of excellent commentaries by Koun Yamada. For those without printers we will have paper copies available on the bulletin board shelf at BZC.  The Book of Serenity is also available from booksellers and online. The four cases we’ll be working with are case #12, Dizang Planting the Fields, case #20, Dizang's Nearness, and case #36, Master Ma is Unwell, case #53, Obaku's "Drinkers". Studying koans in this way is not the same as the Rinzai practice of working with one's teacher and trying to embody the koan, so we want to be clear about the difference. However, we have found it to be rich and helpful in clarifying the essential points of Zen practice.

     

    Cost for the series is $40 or what you can afford. More information will be posted on BZC Community Group as we get closer to the dates. All are welcome.