My Calendar

Week of Feb 1st

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Blake Tolbert

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Blake Tolbert


    Mon, Jan 29, 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.

  • Way Seeking Mind Talk: Ed Herzog

    Way Seeking Mind Talk: Ed Herzog


    Fri, Feb 2, 2024

    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 in person Zazen on the First Friday of the month.

     

  • Dharma Talk: Ellen Webb

    Dharma Talk: Ellen Webb


    Sat, Feb 3, 2024

    Saturday Morning Schedule

    To be announced

     

  • February Zazenkei

    February Zazenkei


    Sun, Feb 4, 2024

    There will be a Zazenkai (a day of just
    sitting) on Sunday, February 4, 8:00 a.m. to
    4:00 p.m. There will be eight periods of zazen
    plus kinhin, bowing, and eating. We will
    maintain silence throughout except for bells to
    mark meditation periods and chanting the
    refuges aloud at the closing. A mid-day break
    will allow time for sack lunches to be eaten
    outdoors. The fee is $15 or what you can
    afford. Please check the BZC website for the
    sign-up link in mid-January.