Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Week of May 30th

  • Zendo Holiday

    Zendo Holiday


    Mon, May 30, 2022

    There will be no talk or discussion this morning.

  • Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In Sitting and Study


    Wed, Jun 1, 2022

  • Class: Parables from the Lotus Sutra with Abbot Hozan

    Class: Parables from the Lotus Sutra with Abbot Hozan


    Thu, Jun 2, 2022

    Abbot Hozan Alan Senauke will be teaching this year's Practice Period Class on the Parables the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra is one of the most important Mahayana Sutras. Its influence runs throughout Soto Zen's founder Dogen's teachings. The parables reveal the inherent possibility of awakening in each of us.

    The class will be held on Thursdays evenings May 12, 19, 26 and June 2 from 7:15 til 8:45 pm. This class will be held on zoom, and subsequently will be available on the website under “lectures.”
    PDFs of excerpts will be available to class participants. Sign up for the class as part of the practice period sign up. If you are not participating in the practice period but will be attending the class, please notify the Class Coordinator, Ryushin Andrea Thach at andrea.thach@gmail.com.

    If you’d like a hardcopy of the materials for the class, please let the Abbot assistant, Jonathon Koltz know. He can be contacted at jonkoltz@gmail.com.

    For a digital copy of the materials for the class, click here.

    Suggested donation is $40 and can be paid by using the "generosity" tab on the BZC website. Use the middle choice of "classes and sesshins" and please note that your payment is for the practice period class on Paypal or send the office manager a note at bzcofficemanager@gmail.com or pay by check by mail.
    If you have questions, contact the Class coordinator.

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Marie Hopper

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Marie Hopper


    Fri, Jun 3, 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: Abbot Hozan

    Lecture: Abbot Hozan


    Sat, Jun 4, 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 Work Day

    Sangha Work Day


    Sun, Jun 5, 2022

    The day will open with coffee and pastries at 8:00 a.m., then zazen from 8:15 to 8:40, work circle at 8:45, with work starting at 9:00. Lunch will be provided by our tenzos from noon until work circle at 12:45 p.m., and we’ll wind up with informal zazen 3:15‒3:30.  Greg Denny will be the Work Leader for the day.

    Come and join the festivities of caring for our temple property. Whether you are here for part or the entire work day, all who enter through our gates reap the benefits of our efforts!

    If you would like to join us, please contact me, Greg Denny, either by email (gr...@techsperience.org) or phone (510.402.8282). Please also let me know which of the following categories of work you are able to participate in:

    - cleaning

    - gardening

    - painting

    - simple carpentry or building-related tasks, possibly using tools like drills or saws

    Some work may get you dirty. Dress appropriately.

    Finally, we will be adhering to the following covid protocols:

    - vaccination and one booster required. If you have not already done so, please email your vax info to BZC’s office manager Helen Cheng.

    - all must wear a KN94, KN95, or N95 mask while indoors. We are also recommending that people wear it outdoors as much as possible.

    Any questions, let me know.....    Greg

    Board Meeting

    Board Meeting


    Sun, Jun 5, 2022