Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events

Weekly Schedule

Events in October 2020

  • Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Thu, Oct 1, 2020

    "YEBZ" at Berkeley Zen Center invites younger practitioners and beginners to join us in open discussion groups about Zen Buddhism, meditation, and developing a personal practice. Our aim is to cultivate “Kalyana Mitta,” spiritual friendship, to provide members with the opportunity to meet others in their age group and similar situations to support each other in bringing Zen practice more fully into our daily lives.

    The group meets on in the Online Zendo on Thursdays when there isn't Group Dokusan, from 6:30 to 7:30 (right after evening zazen).

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Sarah Liu

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Sarah Liu


    Fri, Oct 2, 2020

    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: Hozan Alan Senauke

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke


    Sat, Oct 3, 2020

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
    • 9:45 am: zazen
    • 10:15 am: lecture and discussion
    • We’ll end around 11:15 am

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

    Buddhist Global Relief: Online "Walk" Against Hunger

    Buddhist Global Relief: Online "Walk" Against Hunger


    Sat, Oct 3, 2020

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Joe Buckner

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Joe Buckner


    Mon, Oct 5, 2020

    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 - Zazen and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In - Zazen and Study


    Wed, Oct 7, 2020

    Our longstanding Wednesday night drop in group continues in the Online Zendo!

    7:00: Zazen
    7:30: Reading and discussion

    The group is currently led by BZC Practice Leader Gerry Oliva; join us!

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Group Dokusan with Sojun Roshi

    Group Dokusan with Sojun Roshi


    Thu, Oct 8, 2020

    Sojun-Roshi is offering this open Group Dokusan, with 8-9 students. He will be setting the tone with a short introductory talk, and then invite the questioners. All are welcome to listen in on these Dharma exchanges.

    To join, please enter BZC’s Online Zendo

    Dial-in (audio only): call 408 638 0968
    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914

    More info, email Gary: gartim@gmail.com

  • Lecture: Sojun Roshi

    Lecture: Sojun Roshi


    Sat, Oct 10, 2020

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
    • 9:45 am: zazen
    • 10:15 am: lecture and discussion
    • We’ll end around 11:15 am

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ajayan Idukki

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ajayan Idukki


    Mon, Oct 12, 2020

    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 - Zazen and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In - Zazen and Study


    Wed, Oct 14, 2020

    Our longstanding Wednesday night drop in group continues in the Online Zendo!

    7:00: Zazen
    7:30: Reading and discussion

    The group is currently led by BZC Practice Leader Gerry Oliva; join us!

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Thu, Oct 15, 2020

    "YEBZ" at Berkeley Zen Center invites younger practitioners and beginners to join us in open discussion groups about Zen Buddhism, meditation, and developing a personal practice. Our aim is to cultivate “Kalyana Mitta,” spiritual friendship, to provide members with the opportunity to meet others in their age group and similar situations to support each other in bringing Zen practice more fully into our daily lives.

    The group meets on Thursdays when there isn't Group Dokusan, from 6:30 to 7:30 (right after evening zazen).

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

  • Lecture: Mary Duryee

    Lecture: Mary Duryee


    Sat, Oct 17, 2020

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
    • 9:45 am: zazen
    • 10:15 am: lecture and discussion
    • We’ll end around 11:15 am

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

    Young East Bay Zen Dharma Study

    Young East Bay Zen Dharma Study


    Sat, Oct 17, 2020

    This monthly gathering meets on in the Online Zendo for study and discussion.

    Priest Ordination for Kika Susan Hellein

    Priest Ordination for Kika Susan Hellein


    Sat, Oct 17, 2020

    Sojun Roshi will offer priest ordination/shukke tokudo to Doko Kika Susan Hellein. This ceremony—face-to-face in the zendo with just a handful of people carefully present—is both the confirmation of Kika’s strong and steady practice, and a new beginning with ordination as a Soto Zen priest-in-training. Please join Kika and our BZC community for this joyous event in the Online Zendo.

     

     

  • Annual Women’s Retreat

    Annual Women’s Retreat


    Sun, Oct 18, 2020

    Our annual Women’s Retreat (via Zoom this year) will be Sunday, October 18.

    The retreat will be led by Seishin Gyokuko Karen DeCotis, a transmitted priest of Sojun Roshi, who practices in Bozeman, Montana. Karen says: “The theme of the day will be: Are you and your soul separated?, drawing on the famous koan of Senjo. Women in particular often suffer the travail between service to the world and self care and knowledge. How can we embody the full range of the feminine to both honor this individual existence as well as offer ourselves to the world in fulfillment of our Bodhisattva Vow? In our time together we will experientially dive into the feminine energies of the practice, which include both wisdom and compassion, strength and softness, rigor and nurture. The retreat will offer guided and silent meditation, reflection, journaling, dialogue, stories, and shared examination of being women in practice.”

    The retreat will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. We will share a virtual brown-bag lunch together.

    The suggested dana for the day is $15, or whatever you can afford.

    Please register to penelopethompson9@gmail.com.
    On Friday afternoon, the sesshin schedule, a copy of the chants and the koan will be sent out to all registered participants.
    Even if you are new to zen practice, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience sangha and sitting together; there will be minimal instruction for zazen and for walking meditation (kinhin).
    Join us. It is a joy to gather together in this way.
    Annual Women’s Retreat

    Annual Women’s Retreat


    Sun, Oct 18, 2020

    Our annual Women’s Retreat (via Zoom this year) will be Sunday, March 14.

    More details to follow.

    The retreat will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. We will share a virtual brown-bag lunch together.

    The suggested dana for the day is $15, or whatever you can afford.

    Join us. It is a joy to gather together in this way.
  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Phil Sherard

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Phil Sherard


    Mon, Oct 19, 2020

    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.

  • Selected Tuesday Evenings With Hozan Alan

    Selected Tuesday Evenings With Hozan Alan


    Tue, Oct 20, 2020

    A safe and informal setting where up to 8 people at a time can meet — to express their interests, questions, and concerns, and talk among ourselves about things that concern us all: the continuity and shape of Suzuki Roshi and Sojun’s practice, our sense of and needs from the BZC community, and the state of our ever-changing world.

    Click here for more information

    To sign up:
    Contact Hannah Meara for a place in the room: hmeara@gmail.com

  • Wednesday Night Drop In - Zazen and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In - Zazen and Study


    Wed, Oct 21, 2020

    Our longstanding Wednesday night drop in group continues in the Online Zendo!

    7:00: Zazen
    7:30: Reading and discussion

    The group is currently led by BZC Practice Leader Gerry Oliva; join us!

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Lecture: Sojun Roshi

    Lecture: Sojun Roshi


    Sat, Oct 24, 2020

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
    • 9:45 am: zazen
    • 10:15 am: lecture and discussion
    • We’ll end around 11:15 am

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

    Stepping Down Ceremony for Sojun Mel Weitsman

    Stepping Down Ceremony for Sojun Mel Weitsman


    Sat, Oct 24, 2020

    The Board of Directors of Berkeley Zen Center, with boundless gratitude, invites to you the Stepping Down Ceremony and Stepping Into Founding Dharma Teacher position for Hakuryu Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi.

    Ceremony will be virtual; go to "Enter the Zendo Now" at the scheduled time.

  • Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Sun, Oct 25, 2020

    "YEBZ" at Berkeley Zen Center invites younger practitioners and beginners to join us in open discussion groups about Zen Buddhism, meditation, and developing a personal practice. Our aim is to cultivate “Kalyana Mitta,” spiritual friendship, to provide members with the opportunity to meet others in their age group and similar situations to support each other in bringing Zen practice more fully into our daily lives.

    The group meets on in the Online Zendo on some Sundays.

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

    All-Sangha Meeting to Appreciate Sojun Roshi

    All-Sangha Meeting to Appreciate Sojun Roshi


    Sun, Oct 25, 2020

    Please click here to join the online Zendo.

    Sojun Roshi will step down from his position of Berkeley Zen Center Abbot in a Zoom ceremony at 3:00 Saturday, October 24th. His new position will be Founding Dharma Teacher. He will continue when possible to interact with our members, maintain his BZC office, give lectures, and join us on occasion in the zendo. He has led and taught our Sangha since 1967. As part of the Stepping Down ceremony (on Saturday, 10/24 at 3 pm, also in the online zendo) ten representatives from several Sanghas including BZC will offer appreciatory remarks to Sojun.
    On this occasion, from 7:00-8:30 PM, we'll have a Zoom All Sangha meeting. The purpose of it will be to give us a chance to offer brief appreciatory remarks to Sojun also. Everyone is welcome. Because we expect many people to attend, comments will likely be limited to one minute apiece with a time keeper. Even then we may not be able to accommodate everyone. In that case other venues may be available later. We realize that consolidating all one's feelings for Sojun in one minute is impossible. There's no way! So we strongly recommend focusing on one important aspect or experience and staying just with that. It's simply the difficult limitation that will enable us to all join in.
    Karen Sundheim and and Ron Nestor will manage the meeting with Karen moderating. Please join us for this heartfelt occasion.
  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Preston Evers

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Preston Evers


    Mon, Oct 26, 2020

    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 - Zazen and Study

    Wednesday Night Drop In - Zazen and Study


    Wed, Oct 28, 2020

    Our longstanding Wednesday night drop in group continues in the Online Zendo!

    7:00: Zazen
    7:30: Reading and discussion

    The group is currently led by BZC Practice Leader Gerry Oliva; join us!

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Thu, Oct 29, 2020

    "YEBZ" at Berkeley Zen Center invites younger practitioners and beginners to join us in open discussion groups about Zen Buddhism, meditation, and developing a personal practice. Our aim is to cultivate “Kalyana Mitta,” spiritual friendship, to provide members with the opportunity to meet others in their age group and similar situations to support each other in bringing Zen practice more fully into our daily lives.

    The group meets on in the Online Zendo on Thursdays when there isn't Group Dokusan, from 6:30 to 7:30 (right after evening zazen).

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

    Group Dokusan with Sojun Roshi

    Group Dokusan with Sojun Roshi


    Thu, Oct 29, 2020

    Sojun-Roshi is offering this open Group Dokusan, with 8-9 students. He will be setting the tone with a short introductory talk, and then invite the questioners. All are welcome to listen in on these Dharma exchanges.

    To join, please enter BZC’s Online Zendo

    Dial-in (audio only): call 408 638 0968
    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914

    More info, email Gary: gartim@gmail.com

  • Lecture: Gerry Oliva

    Lecture: Gerry Oliva


    Sat, Oct 31, 2020

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
    • 9:45 am: zazen
    • 10:15 am: lecture and discussion
    • We’ll end around 11:15 am

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc