Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Events in April 2022

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Raghav Bandla

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Raghav Bandla


    Fri, Apr 1, 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.

  • Lecture: Karen Sundheim

    Lecture: Karen Sundheim


    Sat, Apr 2, 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

  • Open Discussion

    Open Discussion


    Mon, Apr 4, 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, Apr 6, 2022

  • Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity

    Class: Four Koans from The Book of Serenity


    Thu, Apr 7, 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.

  • Buddha’s Birthday Celebration

    Buddha’s Birthday Celebration


    Sat, Apr 9, 2022

    Buddhists throughout the world celebrate Buddha’s Birthday. We follow the Japanese tradition of symbolically bathing the baby Buddha, represented by a small statue ensconced in a flower-covered bower. This year’s ceremony will be in the courtyard on Saturday, April 9, following a short talk by Abbot Hozan. Due to the uncertain path of Covid we cannot at this point predict the kind of participation this year’s ceremony will offer, whether on Zoom or in person. Watch for announcements in early April.

    If you would like to help decorate the bower at 7:45 a.m. on April 9, please email Hannah Meara (hmeara@gmail.com). School-age children are welcome to participate. The seven people who sign up first will be asked to take part in person. All children and adults must be fully vaccinated and wear masks.

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke


    Sat, Apr 9, 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: Preston Evers

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Preston Evers


    Mon, Apr 11, 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, Apr 13, 2022

    Parent/Guardian Dharma Study and Support Group

    Parent/Guardian Dharma Study and Support Group


    Wed, Apr 13, 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: Mary Mocine

    Lecture: Mary Mocine


    Sat, Apr 16, 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

  • Half-day Sitting

    Half-day Sitting


    Sun, Apr 17, 2022

    There will be a half-day sitting at BZC’s zendo on Sunday, April 17, from 8:00 a.m. to noon. We will have five periods of sitting and kinhin, with a break in the middle.

    Zazen will be physically distanced, with a capacity of 24 people sitting in the zendo. For the present, wear an N-95 or KN-95 mask.

    Please bring your vaccination card unless you already have one on file with the BZC Office Manager (bzcofficemanager@gmail.com).

    Click here for more information. 

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Christian Evans

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Christian Evans


    Mon, Apr 18, 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, Apr 20, 2022

  • Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke


    Sat, Apr 23, 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

  • Sojun Roshi Public Dokusan

    Sojun Roshi Public Dokusan


    Sun, Apr 24, 2022

    Please join us for an online gathering to view the first video of Sojun Roshi's Public Dokusans, which were offered in the Online Zendo on Thursday evenings throughout the 2nd half of 2020.  The video lasts about one hour; Sojun makes a brief introduction and then invites questions; there are about 10 encounters in this recording.
    Sunday, April 24 at 7 PM in the Online Zendo
    Sojun Roshi Public Dokusan

    Sojun Roshi Public Dokusan


    Sun, Apr 24, 2022

    Please join us for an online gathering to view the first video of Sojun Roshi's Public Dokusans, which were offered in the Online Zendo on Thursday evenings throughout the 2nd half of 2020.  The video lasts about one hour; Sojun makes a brief introduction and then invites questions; there are about ten encounters in this recording.
    Sunday, April 24 at 7 PM in the Online Zendo
  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ross Blum

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ross Blum


    Mon, Apr 25, 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, Apr 27, 2022

  • Lecture: Peter Overton

    Lecture: Peter Overton


    Sat, Apr 30, 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