For several past presidential election days, we have kept the zendo open all day until the polls close. We did this to support those in need of respite and support in difficult circumstances. This year, on Tuesday, November 5, we will again have a special all-day program. This will include the usual periods of 6:00 morning and 5:40 evening zazen as well as the informal noon sitting. Starting after morning zazen we will keep the zendo open for informal periods of sitting and/or walking meditation overseen by volunteer sangha members who will be hosts/timekeepers, and who can welcome anyone who attends and direct them to the restrooms, etc. We will also provide coffee and hot water for tea. Attendees can bring snacks for themselves or to share with others. There is no need to register. As we get a sense of the number of volunteers, we will send out and post a more detailed schedule. For more information, please co

November 8 at East Bay Meditation Center and Live Streamed 

Berkeley Zen Center is co-sponsoring an exciting event in support of our sister sangha, East Bay Meditation Center, on Friday November 8, 7 pm to 9 pm Pacific Time. It features Angela Davis & Lama Rod Owens in Conversation, moderated by Prentis Hemphill. This event is a fundraiser to support EBMC. Check out BZC’s “ad” in the “program.” Registration and more information at:

https://eastbaymeditation.org/

We hope to see many of you at this groundbreaking event.

Aspects of Practice

This fall the Berkeley Zen Center sangha is so
happy to welcome Visiting-Teachers-In-
Residence Greg Fain and Linda Galijan. They
will lead our Aspects of Practice period with the
theme “Ordinary Bodhisattvas: The
Brahmaviharas in Action.” This theme will be
studied at Thursday evening classes as well as
in Saturday dharma talks and Way-Seeking
Mind talks. Aspects opens and closes with
one-day sittings on October 12 and
November 9. Most programs will be in hybrid
format; check the website in mid-September for
the full calendar of activities. Please consider your schedule and responsibilities and participate as fully as you can.

Registration will open after Labor Day. The
link to the registration form will be shared on
the listserv and posted on the website. There
will be separate registration forms for the class
and for each of the one-day sittings. Please do
sign up separately for those events. We look
forward to this opportunity

The Saturday program will now begin at 6:00 and includes Oryoki breakfast.  See the schedule page for the current Saturday schedule and the schedule for other days of the week.

• 6:00-6:40 Zazen
• 6:40-6:50 Kinhin
• 6:50-7:20 Zazen
• 7:20-7:40 Service
• 7:40-8:30 Breakfast
• 8:30-8:45 Break
• 8:45-9:30 Work Practice
• 9:30-10:05 Zazen
• 10:05-10:15 Kinhin
• 10:15-11:15 Dharma Talk

Followed By Informal Tea

GUIDELINES/OPTIONS for Saturdays:

• Come at 6:00 and stay for the morning
• Come at 6:00, stay through work period in order to give back to the temple
• Come after breakfast – for work period at 8:45  or for 9:30 zazen and stay for Dharma Talk and tea

Many helping hands keep a Sangha vibrant and running, and this is how BZC continues to manage the many tasks and functions at our temple.
In deep appreciation we express our gratitude to those who have filled the positions below over the past one or two years. And we welcome those who will now fill these positions.

Note: A complete list of all positions is posted on the patio bulletin board.

We all treasure our temple. And like ourselves, our temple, specifically our temple property, needs a lot of love. Please read on about a new project to maybe get some more of the love flowing.

There are two main challenges of taking care of our sangha property. One is addressing large projects that require financing and/or the hiring of outside contractors or other vendors. Examples are the heating and ventilation project we just completed for the upstairs of 1929, and the upcoming project to replace all the windows downstairs in the community room and the kitchen. The generosity of members and friends makes these large and exciting projects happen.

There is a second challenge, though: all the smaller projects, repairs and tasks that could potentially be accomplished on our own, from within the sangha, if only we had more time. History shows that our sangha members are as generous with their labor, time, and sweat as with their pocketbooks. Unfortunately, the work periods in our schedule—sesshins, work days, Saturdays—do not offer enough time to address all the care our property needs.

For this reason, we would like to try a new initiative—the creation of an ongoing work crew, and we are looking for volunteers. The idea would be that folks would volunteer to be on the crew and offer time to help, but on their own schedule, in coordination with the project manager. Here are some of the other proposed features of this initiative:

1. Tasks would only be ones each volunteer is comfortable with. Possible tasks might include painting (there is a lot of painting we need to get done!), simple carpentry, simple home repairs, various cleaning (maybe messy cleaning, like scraping old paint).

2. Work would be accomplished during “off” sangha hours.

3. All necessary tools and materials would be provided.

4. Support and guidance would always be available from the project manager or others. I

If you are interested in being part of this crew, or if you have any questions, please contact Greg Denny at greg@techsperience.org. Thank you!

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 sanghas in the Suzuki Roshi lineage can bring a group of from 7 to 10 members including the teachers.

This year there will be two sangha week groups from BZC. The first will be July 2‒7, led by Ryushin Andrea Thach. The second will be September 3‒8, led by Ikushin Gerry Oliva and Mary Duryee. The daily program includes 5:50 a.m. zazen, 6:50 service, 7:15 soji (short work period), 7:30 breakfast with other guest students, 8:30 until noon work assignments, then noon lunch with students. The rest of the day will be structured by each study group. We will then join the guests for dinner and sit the final zazen period of the day.

The cost for these programs will be approximately $80 per day. 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 round trip. If you are interested in participating, please let us know by the end of March. If there are more than 8 people interested, we will do this by lottery. There will be no scholarships available for this event.

If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Ryushin Andrea Thach (andrea.thach@gmail.com) for the July week or Gerry Oliva (gryoliva@gmail.com) for the September week.