Category Archives: News

Berkeley Zen Center Seeks A New Abbot

The Abbot provides spiritual leadership to the BZC, and is a teacher, guide, and resource to Sangha members. The Abbot is hired by and reports to the BZC Board of Directors. The Abbot collaborates with
the Board and the Sangha to discern and clarify the vision and direction of BZC and makes decisions in consultation with appropriate Sangha members. The Abbot must be a highly collaborative individual with a desire to provide leadership in response to the needs of the Sangha. The Abbot shall have a regular daily zazen practice; attend all regular sesshins; and implement and abide by BZC’s ethical standards and guidelines for Sangha members. The Abbot is encouraged to take appropriate time for personal reading, study, research, and reflection.

Detailed Announcement

Detailed Job Description

Detailed Abbot Qualities Sought

Board Nominations

Are you interested in serving on the BZC Board? Or is there someone you would like to nominate? If so, please contact the Board Recruitment & Elections Committee (Ellen Webb at ellenwebbdance@gmail.com or Rob Walker at rkwalker3@gmail.com), and include any relevant information about why you or your nominee would make a good BZC Board member. 

Every year the BZC sangha selects up to three at-large members to two-year terms on the BZC Board. This year we have three vacancies. Many changes are happening at BZC and we need strong board members to chart our course at this time. Board members attend about ten meetings a year (on Sunday mornings for approximately two hours), plus an all-day retreat in the first part of the year. They also serve on at least one working Board committee: Finance; Buildings & Grounds; Development; Leadership; Communications & Social Media; Archive; and Recruitment & Elections. 

Board members also assist the President and other officers on ad hoc projects related to BZC practice and administration. Board members may serve a maximum of two consecutive two- year terms. 

Elections take place in October and the new term starts in January 2026. The Board will present its nominees at the All-Sangha Meeting on Sunday, September 14. 

Nominations can also be made by sangha members at that meeting. BZC members of all ages and practice experience will be considered for board membership. In particular, the BZC seeks nominees with skills in oral and written communication, organizational planning, information technology, money management, fundraising, engineering, building maintenance, and nonprofit law. 

Coming of Age Program Starts Fall 2025

The 2025 – 2026 program will begin in September and is open to those who will be in 7th or 8th grade.  Watch this space at the beginning of Mary for details.  Here’s the general shape of the program: 

Berkeley Zen Center is pleased to offer a coming of age program for children between the ages of 12-14.  Teachings will include meditation instruction, orientation to the basic functioning of a buddhist temple, and the tenants of the 4 noble truths and the eight-fold path. We will celebrate what we have all experienced at the conclusion of this program with a half day meditation retreat that will welcome family to attend. It is our hope that it will provide the participating youth with a chance to reflect together on their experiences as they begin to face more complexity in their lives, socially, ethically, and personally.

We understand that there are many competing activities on children’s schedules these days, especially on weekends. If you anticipate that your child will need to miss more than two of our meetings, this program may not be a good fit.

A donation of $500 per child is requested, however no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. You are welcome to contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

If you have any questions about our program, please contact the program coordinator, Marie Hopper, at marie_hopper@sbcglobal.net

Dogen’s Four Embracing Actions

Dogen’s Four Embracing Actions (Excerpt from a talk by Hozan Roshi, July 2016)

I’m going to talk about how we cultivate and manifest Bodhisattva nature in our practice here in this wonderful room, and in our practice in the world, which are not two things. The context is with such alarming public discourse, based on fear, on separation of one group from another, but my question is not about Republican or Democrat or politics as such. It’s about how you and I can carry our practice, the composure, effort, and patience of zazen from this room into the world. How can we cultivate our ability to plant seeds of peace to replace seeds of violence, greed, and delusion that we actually all have within us, to transform them?

This is an important teaching, one of the most accessible teachings by our ancestor Dogen from his Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. The first is generosity or giving. The second is loving or kind speech. The third is beneficial action. And the fourth is identity action. These are the ways a Bodhisattva goes forth in the world, ways one can operate, the natural functioning of an awakened Bodhisattva. They are also ways we can cultivate our Bodhisattva nature, develop that nature to give birth to the Bodhisattva within us by living in these ways, returning to these practices, particularly when things are hard or things are going wrong.

Dogen starts by talking about generosity, or Dana: “Giving means not to be greedy, and not to be greedy means not to covet. Even if we rule the four continents, in order to teach, to offer the teachings of the true way, we must simply and unfailingly not be greedy.” He says it’s like offering treasures we are about to discard to those we do not know. “We give flowers blooming on the distant mountains to the Tathagata, and we offer treasures accumulated in past lives to living beings.” In his time, to give flowers blooming in the distant mountains was to give the Buddhists something they already had; flowers just bloomed. In our time, we have to make an effort to sustain those flowers because what we are doing on our mountains is stripping them for timber, strip mining them for coal, developing them for housing projects. There’s no room for the flowers to bloom in many places. For us to give flowers on the distant mountain to the Tathagata, to the Buddha, calls for a serious effort or intention, and that’s in the spirit of giving. Dogen writes that we offer ourselves to ourselves, and we offer others to others. That’s to me the turning line. We offer ourselves to ourselves. In other words, we allow ourselves to be as we are, to be as our true selves, not necessarily as our narrow selves or small selves, but to be as free and open as we can, to hold this posture when we offer ourselves to ourselves. That’s what we’re doing when we’re sitting zazen.

The second of these embracing actions is loving speech, which he says means to arouse compassionate mind when meeting with living beings. It means don’t immediately stake out your position to challenge or oppose, but actually listen. He says, in general, we should not use any violent or harmful words, which leaves a little opening for when sometimes there might be a need for strong speech, not necessarily harmful, but strong speech. When your child is about to step off the curb into traffic, you have to speak strongly. You may have to do things, to exercise that strength to help people, but in general, not. And then he says speak with a mind that compassionately cares for living beings as if they were our own children. That’s loving or kind speech. The third principle is beneficial action, which means creating skillful means to benefit living beings, whether they are noble or humble. Dogen says we should benefit friends and foes, self and others alike we are all one being. How we treat our friends should not be different from how we treat those we are in opposition to. We may use different language, a different approach, but we have to recognize there’s a fundamental human connection that we have. We are all expressions of this big mind, and this is the way we treat ourselves. When I’m sitting in zazen, there are pleasant and unpleasant thoughts, critical and affirming thoughts that arise in my mind. The practice is to meet them all respectfully and let them walk away. If we push them away, if we react to them, they will hang around and push back. This dynamic of contention is what we feed by our reactivity, so we should benefit friends and foes, self and others alike. Then, Dogen says, because beneficial actions never regress, if we attain this mind, we can perform beneficial actions even for grass, trees, wind, and water. This is the wide vision of Dogen, of Chinese and Japanese Zen. It’s all alive. Everything’s alive, and so it’s not just about me, not just about my family; it’s about the entire world that we inhabit. The fourth point is identity action, sometimes translated as cooperation, sameness, identity meaning being—not like identity politics. It’s being in identity with all that you encounter, meaning we’re all part of one large identity, not to be different from self or others. Do I have an integral sense of myself where I include, as Suzuki Roshi often said, everything as part of myself rather than separating off this and this and this, compartmentalizing it, trying to push this in the basement, sticking this one up in the attic, putting this one forward so people can see it. It’s to not be different from all that one is, to recognize this fundamental oneness of being. He says the ocean does not refuse water; therefore, it is able to achieve vastness. It just takes all the water, as much water as you want to give, and it’ll be as big as it needs to be. The mountains do not refuse earth; therefore, they are able to become tall.

“And wise rulers are not weary of people; therefore they form a large nation. Wise rulers do not weary of their people. That does not mean they fail to offer rewards and punishments, but they never tire of their people. Although people desire to form a nation and have wise rulers, few fully understand why a wise ruler is wise. They are simply glad to be embraced by the wise ruler, but they don’t realize they are embracing a wise ruler.” Thus, the principle of identity action exists both in the wise ruler and the people. A society exists on the basis of our willingness to go along with it. That means sometimes we go along because we’re privileged by it, sometimes because there’s a gun held to our heads, or sometimes for what we perceive to be our children’s sake. But it’s always about society existing on the basis of cooperation.

When that cooperation is withdrawn, societies change; this is how things change. In China’s history, there would be a conflation of natural disasters, probably going on all the time, but people would notice and say, oh, it’s time for us to withdraw our support for this ruler because he’s not wise anymore; we need to find a new one. It’s about this dynamic; the only way a ruler can continue is with either the willing or the coerced cooperation of the people. Identity action means sameness, and this is what Dogen says here: the principle of identity action exists both in the wise ruler and the people. Can I meet people whose views seem diametrically opposed to mine, listen to them, and create an atmosphere where I can present mine? This is highly idealistic, but it’s the best thing that I know how to do. And it’s what I’m working with, basically, when I sit zazen. Can I meet the parts of myself that are deeply troubling to me and just accept them as part of the whole catastrophe? As I develop the capacity to do that, then my ability to include others becomes broader; then, one is bringing forth one’s Bodhisattva nature. And that’s what I wish for each of us. And that’s what I think, at the deepest level, our practice is about.

Mountains and Rivers Sesshin Is Returning!

Mark your calendars for a three-day Mountains and Rivers sesshin at Point Reyes National Seashore, led by Ellen Webb and Susan
Marvin. This is the first sesshin since before the pandemic, and we are excited to be offering it again. It’s a wonderful opportunity to
practice together in an outdoor environment, close to the ocean.

The sesshin (for BZC folks only) will be Friday‒Sunday, July 18‒20 (three days and two nights). It will include a moderate hike in
silence from the Bear Valley headquarters to a group campsite on the morning of Day 1, and back again in the afternoon of Day 3. We’ll set up our tents at a site near the ocean, do periods of zazen and kinhin, study together, cook and serve meals, and have free time for
hiking, ending our days with zazen on the beach facing the ocean.

Please watch the Listserv for more information, and meanwhile let us know now if you are interested: lai_hang@yahoo.com and
ellenwebbdance@gmail.com.

Tassajara Sangha Work-Study Weeks

Every year Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a monastery located in a remote part of the Ventana Wilderness east of Carmel Valley,
provides an opportunity for sanghas to practice together as part of the Guest Practice Program during the summer guest season. Teachers from sanghas from the Suzuki Roshi lineage
can bring a group of up to 10 members
including the teachers.
There will be three groups from BZC
attending this year: Ryushin Andrea Thach and Dave Rutschman will be leading the first group for the week of July 15–20; Susan
Marvin and Ellen Webb will be leading the second group for the week of July 29–August 3; and Gerry Oliva and Mary Duryee will lead the third group for the week of September 2–7.

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, 8:30–12:00 work assignments, and noon lunch with other students. The rest of the day will be structured by each study group, then we will join the guests for dinner and sit the final zazen period of the day.
The groups 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 Jamesburg to the Center for $65.00 round trip.
If you are interested in participating, please let the group leaders know by the end of March. You can find contact information for all the teachers on the BZC website under the Teachers tab if you would like more information or are interested in participating.

Sewing a Rakusu for Jukai

Sewing a rakusu (Buddha’s robe) in
preparation for Jukai (receiving theprecepts/lay ordination) is an  opportunity to deepen your practice and your relationship with
the sangha. Each year, sewing-class students engage in the practice of sewing and studying the bodhisattva precepts together as part of the process to receive a rakusu and a dharma name from their teacher. The sangha celebrates and supports these new
bodhisattvas, affirming their aspiration for continuous practice.
Sewing classes start in March, and the Jukai ceremony is in October. Classes are open to those who have received permission from their teacher to participate. If you are
interested in participating this year, please speak with your teacher (in dokusan, by phone, or via Zoom) or one of BZC’s brown-robe
teachers or green-rakusu teachers. After speaking with your teacher, contact Linda Galijan at lindagalijan@gmail.com and the
sewing teacher, Jean Selkirk, at sewingteacher.bzc@gmail.com.

Practice Period Spring 2025

Practice Period

We are pleased to announce BZC’s Spring 2025 Practice Period, led by Linda Galijan and Greg Fain, with the theme of turning the wheel of the Lotus Sutra. The practice period will begin with an opening one-day sitting on Saturday, May 3, and finish with a five-day
sesshin and Shuso Hossen on June 15. It gives us great joy to announce that our Shuso will be Mark Copithorne, Genzan Seishi (Dark Mysterious Mountain/Sincere Aspiration) and
the Benji will be Debra Callahan (Dharma Joy/Bright Mind). We will have our usual activities, including shuso teas, a practice
period class, a mid‒practice period dinner and skit night, and more!

At all times, I think to myself:
How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed Way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?
(Lotus Sutra, Chapter 16: The Life Span of the Thus ComeOne)

All-Sangha Budget Meeting April 27

All-Sangha Budget Meeting
We will have an All-Sangha meeting on Sunday, April 27, at 7:00pm on Zoom. There will be an update on the Abbot search process
and a presentation of the 2025 Proposed Budget up for Sangha approval. The Board will also present some proposed changes to the
BZC bylaws, which we will ask the Sangha to vote on. If you have any questions, please contact the BZC Board President, Karen
Sundheim (ksundheim@gmail.com).

Jizo Ceremony

The loss of a loved one often opens a well of profound grief. No matter how the loved one dies, whether suddenly or slowly, whether through illness, accident, violence, miscarriage, abortion, or suicide, our sorrow is deep and may be long-lasting. To help families and friends in their process of grief, we will honor our lost loved ones in a ceremony in our Jizo garden on Sunday, March 9, 1:00‒3:00 p.m. Jizo, the Earth Store Bodhisattva, one of the four great bodhisattvas in the Mahayana school, is viewed as a wise and compassionate guide and protector for those who are enduringthe loss of a loved one, particularly the loss of a child. Jizo’s vow is to remain in the worlduntil all beings are free from suffering. Jizo appears in many gender embodiments, and they provide accompaniment as the dead
pass out of this world.

Before the ceremony we will spend time inthe community room  making a personal memorial token for a lost one, by writing a message or by making a simple necklace, a
robe for our garden Jizo statue, or other offering. Attendees are also invited to bring a picture of their loved one or other personal
tokens of remembrance for our altar.

The ceremony will be led by two BZC priests, Gerry Oliva, a retired pediatrician, and Judy Fleischman, a hospice chaplain. All BZC members, members of other Zen groups, and neighborhood residents are invited to attend. A more detailed description will be posted on the BZC courtyard bulletin board. There is no fee,
but offerings of dana are welcome. We will not have a sign-up sheet, but request that those attending let us know in advance so that we
can have adequate supplies and refreshments.

For more information or to let us know that
you’re coming, contact Gerry Oliva at
gryoliva@gmail.com or call 510-652-7217.