Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Events in May 2023

  • Special Open Discussion on MCOS

    Special Open Discussion on MCOS


    Mon, May 1, 2023

    This morning's open discussion will be a conversation with many of the 33 Sangha members who have been participating in the Many Communities, One Sangha program for the last 8 months.  This will take place in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:

    7:30 am: zazen

    8:00 am: open discussion

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Sue Dunlap

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Sue Dunlap


    Fri, May 5, 2023

    BZC 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 Zazen on the First Friday of the month.

     

  • Bodhisattva Ceremony

    Bodhisattva Ceremony


    Sat, May 6, 2023

    Lecture: Ben Connolly

    Lecture: Ben Connolly


    Sat, May 6, 2023

    Today's Saturday lecture will be a book event with Buddhist Author Ben Connelly and his new book, Vasubandhu's “Three Natures”: A Practitioner's Guide for Liberation.

    More about Ben and the book

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    • Zendo opens:       8:20 am
    • Zazen:                      8:30 – 9:10
    • Service:                   9:10 – 9:30
    • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
    • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
    • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15

     

  • Founders’ Ceremony

    Founders’ Ceremony


    Mon, May 8, 2023

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Simone Brumis

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Simone Brumis


    Mon, May 8, 2023

    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.

  • One-Day Sesshin to Open Practice Period

    One-Day Sesshin to Open Practice Period


    Sat, May 13, 2023

    We invite you to join us: Saturday May 13  from 7:50 AM to 5:30 PM. This sesshin will open the Spring Practice Period, and will be led by Hozan Alan Senauke.
    1.  Deadline to sign up is Noon on Thursday, May 11.  In-person attendance will be limited to 33 people.  Those who sign up after we reach the 33-person limit will be placed on a waiting list.
    SIGN UP BY CLICKING HERE:
    2. The sesshin will also be offered online:  (sign up with the same form as above).
    3. For in-person sesshin attendees, proof of vaccination and booster shots are required to participate.  Social distancing protocols will be observed and all attendees will be required to wear an N94, KN94 or KN95 mask.
    4. Lunch will be served outdoors at tables in the courtyard, using a modified oryoki form.  To purchase a set of oryoki bowls and/or to sign up for an oryoki training class, check our website for a link.
    5. We will have a short work period, so please bring work clothes you can change into.
    6. Hozan Alan Senauke will offer dokusan both for in-person and online participants.  Practice discussion will also be offered by a senior student, both in-person and online.
    7. The sesshin fee is $25 for in-person attendees, and $15 for online participation.  You may pay online, or you can send a check to BZC at:
    Berkeley Zen Center
    1931 Russell Street
    Berkeley, CA 94703
    Attention:  Office Manager, Helen Cheng
    Additional donations may be made at https://berkeleyzencenter.org/support-bzc/.
    If you have questions, please contact the Sesshin Director, Rob Lyons at robertlyons2305@gmail.com
    Lecture: Abbot Hozan

    Lecture: Abbot Hozan


    Sat, May 13, 2023

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    • 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
  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Shuso - Sue Oehser

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Shuso - Sue Oehser


    Mon, May 15, 2023

    Our Practice Period Shuso will give her first 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.

  • Practice Period Class: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

    Practice Period Class: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind


    Thu, May 18, 2023

    This spring our practice period class will draw upon the riches of Suzuki Roshi’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Beneath the warm and inviting tone of Suzuki Roshi’s words are boundless depths that appear anew with each reading. Over nearly fifty years of teaching, Sojun Roshi never reached the limits of this book’s Zen wisdom. So, we begin again.
    We will share a selection of chapters, which will be announced. Practice period members, in fact all BZC practitioners ought to have a copy of this book. And a pdf of the whole text can be found at this link. https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Zen-Mind.pdf
    Classes will be held in the zendo and online at 7:15pm, for five Thursday evenings from May 18 to June 15. Suggested class fee is $50 or whatever you can afford. See you in class.
    Please register for the class by clicking this ink: Class – Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind – Sign up
     COVID restrictions will apply. If you have questions, you could reach out to the Class Coordinator Ryushin Andrea Thach at  andrea.thach@gmil.com.
  • Zazen Refresher with Abbot Hozan

    Zazen Refresher with Abbot Hozan


    Fri, May 19, 2023

    Abbot Hozan will offer basic Zazen instruction, including time for Q & A.

  • Lecture: Shuso Sue Oehser

    Lecture: Shuso Sue Oehser


    Sat, May 20, 2023

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    • Zendo opens:       8:20 am
    • Zazen:                      8:30 – 9:10
    • Service:                   9:10 – 9:30
    • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
    • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
    • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15
  • Board Meeting

    Board Meeting


    Sun, May 21, 2023

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Peter Overton

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Peter Overton


    Mon, May 22, 2023

    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.

  • Practice Period Class: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

    Practice Period Class: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind


    Thu, May 25, 2023

    This spring our practice period class will draw upon the riches of Suzuki Roshi’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Beneath the warm and inviting tone of Suzuki Roshi’s words are boundless depths that appear anew with each reading. Over nearly fifty years of teaching, Sojun Roshi never reached the limits of this book’s Zen wisdom. So, we begin again.
    We will share a selection of chapters, which will be announced. Practice period members, in fact all BZC practitioners ought to have a copy of this book. And a pdf of the whole text can be found at this link. https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Zen-Mind.pdf
    Classes will be held in the zendo and online at 7:15pm, for five Thursday evenings from May 18 to June 15. Suggested class fee is $50 or whatever you can afford. See you in class.
    Please register for the class by clicking this ink: Class – Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind – Sign up
     COVID restrictions will apply. If you have questions, you could reach out to the Class Coordinator Ryushin Andrea Thach at  andrea.thach@gmil.com.
  • Lecture: Susan Marvin

    Lecture: Susan Marvin


    Sat, May 27, 2023

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    • Zendo opens:       8:20 am
    • Zazen:                      8:30 – 9:10
    • Service:                   9:10 – 9:30
    • Kinhin/break       9:30  – 9:40
    • Zazen:                      9:40 – 10:10
    • Lecture:                  10:15 – 11:15
  • Zendo Holiday - Informal Zazen Online Only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm

    Zendo Holiday - Informal Zazen Online Only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm


    Mon, May 29, 2023

    There will be no formal program this morning, due to the Memorial Day Holiday.