Our annual 7-day Rohatsu Sesshin begins Monday, December 2nd and ends on Sunday, December 8th. Partial attendance is possible, with a three-day minimum. Visiting-Teachers-in-Residence Linda Galijan and Greg Fain will lead the sesshin.
On three Thursday evenings—September 21, 28 and October 5 at 7:15pm—Berkeley Zen Center is pleased to host Shaykh Yassir Chadly in dialogue with Hozan about “a good life” in our respective Sufi and Zen traditions.
Please register at https://forms.gle/
Yassir is a Sufi imam, born in Morocco, ministering to Bay Area Islamic communities for many years. From 2002 to 2017 he taught Islamic and Sufi studies at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union. Yassir and Hozan have been good friends since the 90s, sharing the music and wisdom of our spiritual paths. Yassir has visited and lectured at BZC several times. His warm-hearted presence is uplifting.
We can accommodate up to 35 people in the zendo itself (vaccination card required), and we will be live-streaming on Zoom as well. The suggested class fee is $30 (or whatever you can afford). For further information, contact class coordinator Ryushin Andrea Thach andrea.thach@gmail.com.
Please join us for a special sitting that comes around only twice a year. This is an opportunity for new and old practitioners alike to become intimate with beginner’s mind. The sesshin will be led by Laurie Senauke and Susan Marvin. The focus will be on the basics of Suzuki Roshi’s practice: zazen, kinhin, and bowing. New students will receive clear explanations of our sometimes challenging forms, while more experienced students will have a chance to fine-tune their practice.
Here is the link to register (please be sure to read the details below):
https://forms.gle/uC7hnTD6p2GfmAtq8
The sesshin will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 1. It will be offered in-person only (no online participation). The rhythm of the day will be similar to our regular sesshins, with shorter periods of zazen and some on-the-spot instructions. Please bring your own bag lunch (or you can purchase a lunch nearby).
The fee for this day is $15, or whatever you can afford.
We are happy to invite all BZC members to participate in the next year of Many Communities, One Sangha, including those who have already taken part in the first session and would like to continue. The program is offered in hybrid form (both online and in person). There is a fee of $150 for new participants, which is the actual cost of the materials. Returning participants are encouraged to provide dana (voluntary donation) for Rhonda’s work with us. No one will be excluded because of inability to pay or donate.
The link to the form to sign up is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdC9qUrqM1JW4oifgGhdJLS-sTU1NIRaajK2kvhwpKx4duIWw/viewform?usp=sf_link
The program consists of one meeting a month over ten months: five meetings with Rhonda, on Saturday afternoon after our usual program with all participants, alternating with five meetings in smaller discussion groups. While the materials will be the same as those for the first year, we are folding in the suggestions gathered during the first year to streamline and place emphasis on participation and discussion. Each meeting is two to two-and-a-half hours. Outside reading and watching video segments are additional time commitments of about 5 hours (or less) a month.
We are delighted to announce that Prof. Rhonda Magee will continue to work with us for the coming year 2023-2024. Rhonda is a lay entrusted teacher in the Soto Zen lineage and law professor at UCSF Law School. She is the author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities through Mindfulness. This is an extraordinary opportunity to come together, to listen, learn, and find a spacious venue for conversations that can be difficult. The accompanying materials were developed in coordination between East Bay Meditation Center and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, led by Mushim Ikeda, Crystal Johnson, and Rhonda Magee.
Questions or difficulties with the form? Contact Mary Duryee, maduryee@icloud.com
Questions about the program? Contact Sonia Tamez, sonictamez@gmail.com or Mary Duryee.
The MCOS coordinating committee: Karen Sundheim, Heather Sarantis, Luminous Heart, Judy Fleischman, Gerry Oliva, Mary Duryee
Every year the Tassajara Mountain Zen Center provides an opportunity for sanghas to practice together as part of the Guest Practice Program during the summer guest season. Teachers from Suzuki Roshi lineage can bring a group from 7 to 10 members including the teachers. Ikushin Gerry Oliva and Mary Duryee will be leading a study period this year from September 5 to 10.
The daily program includes 5:50 AM zazen, 6:50 service, 7:15 Soji (short work period, 7:30 breakfast with other guest students, 8:30 until noon work assignments, noon lunch with students. The rest of the day will be structured by each study group. We will join the guests for dinner and sit the final zazen period of the day.
The cost for this will be approximately $600 per week. We will plan to drive down together if possible. If we can’t drive all the way to Tassajara because of parking constraints, there is a stage from Carmel Valley to the Center for $65.00 round trip.
If you are interested in participating, please let us know by the end of April or earlier if you can commit to the week of Sept 5-10. If there are more than 8 people interested, we will do this by lottery. There will not be scholarships available for this event.
Contact Gerry Oliva at gryoliva@gmail.com or Mary Duryee at maduryee@icloud.com if you would like more information or are interested in discussing your participation.
https://forms.gle/
The Pali Suttas are considered the earliest teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, memorized by the monks and passed on through word of mouth for several generations before being written down.
The suggested donation is $30, or whatever you can afford. Note that this class will be online only.
With great congratulations A clear and genuine voice Issues from the shuso’s body Enzan has scaled the mountain Taking a straight path To the heights From which he pours the medicine of kindness Into the lake of suffering And now the round mountain Rests atop the mountain seat Mountain upon mountain —Hozan
When Hozan first asked if I would be the Benji for this practice period, my initial response was one of hesitation. The invitation brought up doubting mind. As an introvert, and also dealing with various health issues, I wasn’t certain that I would be able to do all that this position required.
After discussing this with Hozan and some former Benjis, and trying to practice “don’t know mind” and “responding to what’s being asked” to support and nurture our sangha, I said yes.
While I didn’t know our shuso Gary Artim very well, it became immediately clear after meeting with him at Saul’s Deli that this was going to be a great opportunity to get to know him, and that we could mutually support each other.
Gary and I discussed various possibilities of tea schedules, what was needed, and how I could best support him during this time. He graciously offered to add the online schedule components so that the sangha could respond.
Having the teas with the sangha offered a more intimate opportunity to serve and to feel more connected with the sangha as a whole; especially since we had not met in person for more than two years.
The other part of the position that initially gave me pause was writing the Benji poem. My wife Karen Sundheim is the poet in our family, and with her encouragement and advice, and meeting with Luminous Heart, the poem began to arise organically.
Doing the five-day sesshin completely, culminating in the Shuso Hossen, was another practice opportunity to be with the sangha; allowing body and mind to drop away. Being in the zendo again, following our breath, kinhin, chanting, studying the koan of the Whole World Is Medicine, and having delicious daily lunches prepared by our awesome tenzos Laurie and Susan, was enlivening and full of joy.
Deep gratitude to Abbot Hozan and to everyone who assisted, gave support, and practiced together.
—Nancy Suib
Keyboard clicks
Basketballs bounce
A full court press
Our Shuso Enzan Chotoku Round Mountain,
Clear Genuine
Showers us with his kind heart and sincere
practice
At Old Plum Mountain we once again gather
Body to body
Heart to heart
The mourning doves, east and west call to us
Wake up
Take a breath
Settle in
Can you hear it?
Medicine and disease subdue each other:
The whole world is medicine; What is your self?
Circling, Circling
Where do you land?
Now let us hear the Shuso
—Mitsuko Myojun Nancy Suib
June 12, 2022