My Calendar

Events in October 2022

  • Lecture: Ryushin Andrea Thach

    Lecture: Ryushin Andrea Thach


    Sat, Oct 1, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • 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

  • Open Discussion

    Open Discussion


    Mon, Oct 3, 2022

    There will be an open discussion in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:

    7:30 am: zazen

    8:00 am: open discussion

    Open Discussion

    Open Discussion


    Mon, Oct 3, 2022

    There will be an open discussion in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:

    7:30 am: zazen
    8:00 am: open discussion

  • Class: Buddha's Eight-fold Path

    Class: Buddha's Eight-fold Path


    Thu, Oct 6, 2022

    Laurie Senauke and Susan Marvin will lead this session, focusing on two limbs of the Eight-fold Path.

    While anyone can attend the classes, we ask that you register so you can be notified about reading materials. Note that the class fee is $40 or whatever you can afford. Register here: Class Registration Form.  

    If you have questions about the classes, please contact our Class Coordinator, Ryushin Andrea Thach: andrea.thach@gmail.com

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ron Nestor

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Ron Nestor


    Fri, Oct 7, 2022

    There will be a Zoom student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen.

    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.

  • Lecture: Rhonda Magee

    Lecture: Rhonda Magee


    Sat, Oct 8, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • 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

  • Sesshin Close Aspects of Practice

    Sesshin Close Aspects of Practice


    Sun, Oct 9, 2022

    We invite you to join us for a one-day sesshin at Berkeley Zen Center on Sunday, October 9, from 7:50 AM to 5:30 PM.  This sesshin will close the Aspects of Practice study period.
    1.  Deadline to sign up is Noon on Thursday, October 6.  In-person attendance will be limited to 30 people.   Slots will be given on a first-come-first-served basis.
    SIGN UP BY CLICKING HERE:
    2. The sesshin will also be offered online:  sign up with the same form as above.
    3. For in-person sesshin attendees, proof of vaccination and booster shots are required to participate.  Lunch will be served buffet style outside in the courtyard. For work period, please bring suitable clothes to change into.
    4. Judy Fleischman will serve as doshi and give the dharma talk.  Dokusan will be offered by Judy Fleischman and Practice Discussion by another Senior Student.
    5. The sesshin fee is $15.  You may pay online, or you can send a check to BZC at:
    Berkeley Zen Center
    1931 Russell Street
    Berkeley, CA 94703
    Attention:  Office Manager, Helen Cheng
    Additional donations may be made at https://berkeleyzencenter.org/support-bzc/.
  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Heather Sarantis

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Heather Sarantis


    Mon, Oct 10, 2022

    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.

  • Lecture: Peter Overton

    Lecture: Peter Overton


    Sat, Oct 15, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • 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

    Jukai (Lay Ordination)

    Jukai (Lay Ordination)


    Sat, Oct 15, 2022

    This year’s Zaike Tokudo (Jukai/Lay Ordina­tion Ceremony) will take place on Saturday, October 15, at 3:00 p.m. in the zendo. Heather Sarantis, Helen Cheng, Yoni Ackerman, and Joe Buckner will receive precepts, rakusu, and lineage papers from Hozan; Nick Robinson and Nathan Britton will receive from Ryushin Andrea Thach; Diane Ritchey will receive from Peter Overton; and Phillip Sherard and Ten Bartholomew will receive from Gerry Oliva.

    Congratulations in advance to the ordinees, who have been studying and sewing diligently with our sewing teacher, Jean Selkirk, and with Hannah Meara. In-person attendance is limited to the guests of the ordinees and those with ceremony roles. Please join us in the online zendo for this joyous occasion! 

  • New Member Entering Ceremony

    New Member Entering Ceremony


    Mon, Oct 17, 2022

  • Lecture: Susan Moon

    Lecture: Susan Moon


    Sat, Oct 22, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • 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

  • Sangha Work Day

    Sangha Work Day


    Sun, Oct 23, 2022

    On Sunday, October 23, we will be having a Sangha Work Day. The day will open with coffee and pastries at 8:00 a.m., then zazen from 8:15 to 8:40 and work circle at 8:45, with work starting at 9:00. Lunch will be provided by our tenzos from noon until work circle at 12:45 p.m., and we’ll wind up with informal zazen 3:45‒4:00.

    For more info, click here.

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Kabir Nabi

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Kabir Nabi


    Mon, Oct 24, 2022

    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.

  • Lecture: Dave Rutschman

    Lecture: Dave Rutschman


    Sat, Oct 29, 2022

    Saturday Program Link (ie, Online Zendo)
        • 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

    Sejiki Ceremony - Feeding the Hungry Ghosts

    Sejiki Ceremony - Feeding the Hungry Ghosts


    Sat, Oct 29, 2022

    On Saturday, October 29, BZC will again 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 Hondo Dave Rutschman, followed by a joyous ceremony in the courtyard.
    The outdoors altar will be filled with fruit, cakes, and other food offerings to entice spirits from the beyond and those present. Raucous noisemaking by children and adults will call forth hungry ghosts and the spirits of the departed. After offerings and chanting of 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 in Halloween costumes. Noisemakers will be provided and you may also bring your own. The talk and ceremony will start in the zendo at 10:15 a.m. All are welcome to join the work circle at 7:35 a.m. to help set up the altar.

  • Women’s Sesshin

    Women’s Sesshin


    Sun, Oct 30, 2022

    All women, feminine identified, non binary and transwomen of the sangha:

    The BZC annual women’s sesshin will take place on Sunday, October 30th We are delighted that Jisan Tova Green will be our speaker and doshi for this time together.

    This will be a hybrid sesshin. There is space in the zendo for 29 people to attend in person, on a first come/first serve signup basis.  We will also have the capability for people to attend on zoom. We will meet from 7:45AM-12 noon. We ask that those attending be present for the full sesshin. Lunch will not be served; some people may wish to join with others for lunch nearby after the sesshin.

    Everyone attending in person will need to be up to date on their Covid 19 vaccinations and to have sent a copy to the office manager, or alternatively, to bring a copy of their up to date record to the sesshin. Everyone attending in person will need to be masked for the morning, with a K95 mask. The fee is $15 or whatever you can best afford. Checks should be made out to Berkeley Zen Center, and marked women’s sesshin.

    The signup sheet is attached; please fill it out and email it to Marie Hopper at marie_hopper@sbcglobal.net .Please indicate on the sheet any special needs that you may have, for example, if you need to sit in a chair, or a kneeling chair .If you have further questions please contact Luminous Heart Penelope Thompson, sesshin director,  at penelopethompson9@gmail.com

     Click Here To Sign Up

  • Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Courtney Gonzalez

    Way-Seeking Mind Talk: Courtney Gonzalez


    Mon, Oct 31, 2022

    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.