Events in October 2023
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October Beginner's Sesshin
October Beginner's Sesshin
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Sun, Oct 1, 2023Please join us for a special sitting that comes around only twice a year. This is an opportunity for new and old practitioners alike to become intimate with beginner’s mind. The sesshin will be led by Laurie Senauke and Susan Marvin. The focus will be on the basics of Suzuki Roshi's practice: zazen, kinhin, and bowing. New students will receive clear explanations of our sometimes challenging forms, while more experienced students will have a chance to fine-tune their practice.
Here is the link to register (please be sure to read the details below):
https://forms.gle/uC7hnTD6p2GfmAtq8
The sesshin will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October It will be offered in-person only (no online participation). The rhythm of the day will be similar to our regular sesshins, with shorter periods of zazen and some on-the-spot instructions. Please bring your own bag lunch (or you can purchase a lunch nearby).
The fee for this day is $15, or whatever you can afford.
You may pay online, or you can send a check to BZC at:Berkeley Zen Center1931 Russell StreetBerkeley, CA 94703Attention: Office Manager, Helen ChengIf you have questions, please contact the day's directors, Susan Marvin (lai_hang@yahoo.com) and Laurie Senauke (lauriesenauke@gmail.com). -
Open Discussion
Open Discussion
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Mon, Oct 2, 20237:30 am: zazen
8:00 am: open discussion -
Class: What is a Good Life
Class: What is a Good Life
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Thu, Oct 5, 2023Berkeley Zen Center is pleased to host Shaykh Yassir Chadly for a 3-session dialogue with Abbot Hozan about “a good life” in our respective Sufi and Zen traditions.
Please register at https://forms.gle/WTS5VK9PFNo9PeSz5
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Sonia Tamez
Way Seeking Mind Talk: Sonia Tamez
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Fri, Oct 6, 2023BZC 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 in person Zazen on the First Friday of the month.
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Lecture: Abbot Hozan
Lecture: Abbot Hozan
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Sat, Oct 7, 2023Saturday 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
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Half-Day Sitting 10/8
Half-Day Sitting 10/8
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Sun, Oct 8, 2023Berkeley Zen Center will have a half day sitting on Sunday October 8 from 8:00 am to noon. We will have five periods of zazen, kinhin, and a silent break with tea and muffins. The event is in person only. A $10 donation is suggested.Email Mark to sign up or ask questions.Mark Copithornecopithorne@hotmail.com -
Zendo Holiday - Informal Zazen
Zendo Holiday - Informal Zazen
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Mon, Oct 9, 2023In honor of Indigenous People's Day, there will be no formal program today. Informal zazen only, and times to be announced.
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Lecture: Gerry Oliva
Lecture: Gerry Oliva
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Sat, Oct 14, 2023Saturday 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
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Laurie Senauke
Way Seeking Mind Talk: Laurie Senauke
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Mon, Oct 16, 2023There 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 talkWhat 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.
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Aspects Class: Genjo Koan
Aspects Class: Genjo Koan
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Thu, Oct 19, 2023The theme for this year's Aspects of Practice class will be Dogen Zenji's Genjo Koan - Actualizing the Fundamental Point. It will be offered hybrid - in person for up to 40 people as well as in the Online Zendo.
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Lecture: Hannah Meara
Lecture: Hannah Meara
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Sat, Oct 21, 2023Saturday 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
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Ellen Webb
Way Seeking Mind Talk: Ellen Webb
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Mon, Oct 23, 2023There 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 talkWhat 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.
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Aspects Class: Genjo Koan
Aspects Class: Genjo Koan
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Thu, Oct 26, 2023The theme for this year's Aspects of Practice class will be Dogen Zenji's Genjo Koan - Actualizing the Fundamental Point. It will be offered hybrid - in person for up to 40 people as well as in the Online Zendo.
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Lecture: Abbot Hozan
Lecture: Abbot Hozan
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Sat, Oct 28, 2023Saturday 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
Sejiki Ceremony - Feeding the Hungry GhostsSejiki Ceremony - Feeding the Hungry Ghosts
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Sat, Oct 28, 2023On Saturday, October 28th, BZC will celebrate Sejiki, an annual ceremony from our Soto Zen tradition that we have missed during the pandemic. The morning program will include a short zendo talk by Hozan, followed by a joyous ceremony in the courtyard. The outdoors altar is filled with fruit, cakes, and other food offerings. Raucous noise-making by children and adults call forth hungry ghosts feel and the spirits of the departed. After offerings and chanting the “Sutra of Opening the Gate of Sweet Dew,” we will read the names and honor all those who have died this year.
Families and children are encouraged to participate. Since we have adapted the tradition to dovetail with the western tradition of Halloween, members and children are welcome to come Halloween costumes. The talk and ceremony will start in the zendo at 10:15. All are welcome to join the work circle at 7:35 to help set up the altar and decorate the grounds.
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Way Seeking Mind Talk: Susan Marvin
Way Seeking Mind Talk: Susan Marvin
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Mon, Oct 30, 2023There 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 talkWhat 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.