Calendar

2024 BZC Calendar of Events (Updated 4.17.24 )

Weekly Schedule

Week of Sep 16th

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Linda Galijan

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Linda Galijan

    –
    Mon, Sep 16, 2024

    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.

  • Drop-in Sitting and Study Group

    Drop-in Sitting and Study Group

    –
    Wed, Sep 18, 2024

    The Drop-in Sitting and Study Group meets weekly from 7:10 to 9:30 PM on Wednesdays. It
    includes a 35-minute period of zazen meditation in the Zendo, followed by an hour of reading and
    discussion, tea and refreshments in the Community Room. The group particularly
    welcomes newcomers to Zen Buddhist practice or folks new to the Berkeley Zen Center. It also provides an
    opportunity for practitioners to sit and study together on an ongoing basis. We meet every Wednesday
    except for the five-day Spring Practice Period sesshin (retreat) in June, the annual seven-day Buddha’s
    Enlightenment sesshin in December and during the two-week interim period during the December
    holidays. We also maintain a Google group to share reading materials we are studying, announce other
    BZC events and issues related to logistics.

    The group is facilitated by a BZC Priest, Ikushin Gerry Oliva.
    Gerry can be contacted at gryoliva@gmail.com for further information.

  • All-day Study Sitting

    All-day Study Sitting

    –
    Sat, Sep 21, 2024

    Berkeley Zen Center will host a Study Sitting on Saturday September 21. The schedule begins at 5:00am and ends at 5:30pm. Work period will be shortened to provide an additional period of lecture and discussion in order to consider a text in our tradition more carefully.
    The day will be led by Linda Galijan and Greg Fain. We will be reading the opening paragraphs of Dogen's Gyoji Continuous Practice.
    To sign up, register here https://forms.gle/qNQZaG7iGZGRMu6a6.  The deadline for sign up is Thursday, September 19 at noon. When the registration form is completed, you will automatically receive a confirmation email.
    Berkeley Zen Center asks for a $35 donation. Online participation is also possible and we ask for $15. A sliding scale is accepted.
    Mark Copithorne will be the director for the day. If you have questions or need to change your plans, please contact him.
    Dharma Talk: Linda Galijan

    Dharma Talk: Linda Galijan

    –
    Sat, Sep 21, 2024