My Calendar

Events in January 2021

  • Interim Break

    Interim Break


    Fri, Jan 1, 2021

    Informal Zazen only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm - no speakers or services.

    New Year's Day Reading Salon

    New Year's Day Reading Salon


    Fri, Jan 1, 2021

    Dear Friends,

    Nancy Suib, Karen Sundheim, and Susan Marvin invite you to usher in the NEW YEAR with dharma friends and a Zen Reading Salon.

    Bring a couple of favorite poems, a few lines from a favorite book, or lines from a Sutra to read to others in breakout rooms. If you prefer, you can say something about what this time of NEW YEAR means to you -- what you want to let go and what you want to bring forward. Choose anything you’d like to share that expresses Dharma to you. We'll have time for both all-group and small-group breakout time together.

    Karen and Nancy -- Program Hosts
    Susan -- Zoom Tech Host

    NEW YEAR'S DAY -- Friday, January 1, 2021 (2:45--4:00) Please join us at 2:45 for 15 minutes of Zazen.

    Use the BZC online Zazen/Lecture link to enter.

    We hope to see you there!

    Warmly,
    Nancy, Karen, and Susan

  • Interim Break

    Interim Break


    Sat, Jan 2, 2021

    Informal Zazen only at 9:45 am - no speakers or services.

  • Interim Break

    Interim Break


    Mon, Jan 4, 2021

    Informal Zazen only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm - no speakers or services.

  • Interim Break

    Interim Break


    Tue, Jan 5, 2021

    Informal Zazen only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm - no speakers or services.

  • Interim Break

    Interim Break


    Wed, Jan 6, 2021

    Informal Zazen only at 7:30 am and 5:40 pm - no speakers or services.

  • Open Sitting: Vigil for Sojun Roshi

    Open Sitting: Vigil for Sojun Roshi


    Fri, Jan 8, 2021

    The Online Zendo will be open throughout today and into this evening at 7 pm. This is an open sitting with no bells; come and go as needed. At 7 pm, we will gather to connect voice to voice and warm heart to warm heart in conversation, in sharings, also in the Online Zendo.
    All-Sangha meeting to share love and grief

    All-Sangha meeting to share love and grief


    Fri, Jan 8, 2021

    Join us in the online zendo for this informal gathering.

  • One-Day Sesshin

    One-Day Sesshin


    Sat, Jan 9, 2021

    BZC will offer a virtual sesshin on Saturday, Jan. 9. This virtual sesshin will begin at 7:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. and will include zazen, kinhin, service, a dharma talk, and a work period. Lunch will be on your own. If this will be your first sesshin or if you have questions, please contact the sesshin director at sesshin@berkeleyzencenter.org.

    To sign up, please fill out this form.

    The suggested sesshin donation is $15, or whatever you can afford. Mail a check to the BZC Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley, CA 94703, or pay through the BZC website by going to the Generosity page and clicking the “Sits/Classes” tab. Please consider a donation to Berkeley Zen Center above the suggested fee to help us maintain our practice through the current crisis.

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke

    Lecture: Hozan Alan Senauke


    Sat, Jan 9, 2021

    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

  • Open Discussion

    Open Discussion


    Mon, Jan 11, 2021

  • Remembering Sojun Roshi

    Remembering Sojun Roshi


    Thu, Jan 14, 2021

    Reflections from His Long-Time Students 

    Our series of four gatherings begins tonight, January 14, and continues on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays in January and February (January 28, February 11, & February 25)

    Begins at 7 pm in BZC’s ONLINE ZENDO

    Presenters this week are Ron Nestor, Baika Pratt Heaton, and Laurie Senauke.

    There will be some time for Q & A following the presentations.

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Deb Self

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Deb Self


    Fri, Jan 15, 2021

    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: Peter Overton

    Lecture: Peter Overton


    Sat, Jan 16, 2021

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)

    NOTE NEW 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

       

    • Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
      Passcode: bzc
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    Martin Luther King Jr. Day


    Mon, Jan 18, 2021

    Please join us for zazen, service, and reflections to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Here's our tentative schedule:

    7:30 - 8:10 Zazen
    8:10 - 8:20 Memorial service
    8:20 - 8:40 Kinhin/break
    8:40 - 9:00 Hozan short reading and reflection
    9:00 - 9:30 Breakout groups
    9:30 - 9:45 group sharing
    9:50  Closing vows
  • Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Thu, Jan 21, 2021

    "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.

    Please note that this event uses a different Zoom link than the online zendo. You can join by clicking here (password: bzc).

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

  • Lecture: Susan Marvin

    Lecture: Susan Marvin


    Sat, Jan 23, 2021

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)

    NOTE NEW(ish) 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

     

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up

    Young East Bay Zen Meet Up


    Sat, Jan 23, 2021

    "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.

    Additionally, we will have "facilitated" discussions with a senior student or longtime practitioner every 4th Saturday, and those will be on various Koans from The Hidden Lamp. This session will be a casual discussion.

    Please note that this event uses a different Zoom link than the online zendo. You can join by clicking here (password: bzc).

    For more information, check out our YEBZ page.

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Clay Taylor

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Clay Taylor


    Mon, Jan 25, 2021

    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.

  • Departing Monk Ceremony

    Departing Monk Ceremony


    Thu, Jan 28, 2021

    Three BZC resident priests are moving away from the Bay Area in early February - Alexandra Frappier, Bruce Coughran, and Kika Hellein.  Join us as we wish them well on their journey.

    Remembering Sojun Roshi

    Remembering Sojun Roshi


    Thu, Jan 28, 2021

    Reflections from His Long-Time Students 

    Our series of gatherings continues tonight, January 28, and on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays in February (February 11 & February 25)

    Begins at 7 pm in BZC’s ONLINE ZENDO

    Presenters will be announced.  There will be some time for Q & A following the presentations.

  • Lecture: Steve Weintraub

    Lecture: Steve Weintraub


    Sat, Jan 30, 2021

    This talk will be given by Steve Weintraub, a dharma heir of Sojun Roshi and a resident at Green Gulch Farm.   He will speak about the meaning of the Mountain Seat Ceremony, which will occur the next day, January 31, at 3 p.m.   Steve directed the 2019 Mountain Seat at SFZC for David Zimmerman, the recent Stepping Down Ceremony for Sojun Roshi, and he is now directing our Mountain Seat ceremony for Hozan Alan Senauke.

    Please join us as we deepen our understanding of this important ceremony, including the meaning of each portion of the Ceremony as well as its significance in the history of our Sangha.

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)

    NOTE NEW 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

     

    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
    Passcode: bzc

  • Mountain Seat Ceremony for Hozan Senauke

    Mountain Seat Ceremony for Hozan Senauke


    Sun, Jan 31, 2021

    The Board of Shogaku-ji - Old Plum Mountain Temple
    Berkeley Zen Center

    is pleased to invite you to the

    Shin San Shiki - Mountain Seat Ceremony Abbot Installation for
    Hozan Kushiki Alan Senauke

    Sunday, January 31 at 3 pm

    Ceremonies will be live-streamed via Zoom in BZC's Online Zendo
    Meeting ID: 657 798 2914 Passcode: bzc

    Congratulations can be posted on our online board for Hozan Alan:

    https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/omxxPytM

    or emailed to abbot@berkeleyzencenter.org