Category Archives: News

BZC Campout

All are warmly invited to the annual Berkeley Zen Center campout, scheduled for July 11-12. We’ve reserved a group campsite in nearby Tilden Park, and will meet for a potluck dinner and possibly a short hike, as well as s’mores and songs around the campfire, sleeping under the stars, and waking up to oatmeal and coffee/tea/cocoa in the morning. Join us to pass on the campfire rounds we grew up with, tell stories, and learn the latest songs from our own kids.

All ages are welcome! If you prefer not to stay for the night, come for the dinner and company. If you would like to stay but are missing a tent or sleeping bag, let us know, and we can almost definitely find one for you. Contact marie_hopper@sbcglobal.net if you have questions, and look for a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in mid-June.

Sounding Board

Wenzi said, “The path of water is such that when it rises to the sky, it becomes raindrops; when it falls to the ground, it becomes rivers.”
– Eihei Dogen Zenji’s Sansuikyo

Except right now in California, not so much. The BZC board and practice committee are looking at ways to reduce our water consumption, including:  stop watering lawns (and possibly replace lawns with bricks or drought -resistant plants), replace  remaining toilets with low-flow, and hand water most garden areas. Some of us are familiar with  other measures from past droughts, like saving sink and bath water that runs as we are waiting for hot water, flushing toilets only when  necessary, and using gray water for irrigation.

Statewide there is a mandate for 25 percent reduction in water consumption, and East Bay MUD has set some strict guidelines (www.ebmud.com). BZC  spontaneously reduced water consumption between 2013 and 2014 by 26 percent; we’re not definitively sure  of the reasons for this savings, but residents have been conserving water, we fixed a major leak  during the kitchen remodel, and we added a water-efficient clothes washer. This reduction will be  recognized by the state, so we are well on our way to our mandatory goals. However, we’d like to go beyond that and do everything we  can to conserve water, just on general principles. This will take an all-inclusive effort from the  many parts of BZC, including gardeners, residents, dishwashers and other position holders.

The board’s role is to make resources available where they can support this effort, and the whole  BZC sangha can contribute to this effort to stay responsibly connected to earth, water, fire, and
air.

Sangha Harmony

The HEAR committee will be sponsoring a series of councils to promote sangha harmony and develop our conflict resolution skills by raising  controversial issues in a safe setting. The committee is open to your input about what topics fall  under this description. Our first council will take up the dynamic relationship of BZC residents
and non- residents. The meeting will be on July 11 at 1:00 pm, convened by Stan Dewey and Laurie  Senauke.

The residency program at BZC contributes an important structure to the practice at BZC, and to the  sangha. By combining intensified temple practice and rent subsidized housing, residents are able to
commit to following the schedule fully, and provide a backbone for BZC activities. Residents also  open their homes for various community programs, thus, sangha members interact with residents in a  variety of ways. Over the years, the resident group has evolved (and also stabilized), and market  rents in our neighborhood have skyrocketed.

This launching council seeks to open up the issues on both sides of the resident-non-resident  divide. Within the safety of the council process, thoughts and feelings can be brought to light,
heard and understood by participants. In the interest of having a deep conversation about a  complicated set of issues and considerations, we are keeping the number of non-resident to roughly  equal the number of resident participants. The committee knows of some members who might have particular interest in participating, but we are open to others. Members who would like to be  considered to participate in this council should indicate their interest to the conveners. The  conveners will make invitations with the aim of having broad representation of opinion and feeling.

Lay Ordination

This year’s lay ordination ceremony—zaike tokudo—will take place on Saturday, June 6, in the zendo at 3:00 pm. Receiving lay ordination from Sojun Roshi are the following students:

  • Michael Cole
  • Jeanne Courtney
  • Kelsey Hermann
  • Heather Garnos
  • Teri Jo Tinus

Deb Self is receiving lay ordination from Hozan Sensei.

Congratulations in advance to all who have been studying and sewing diligently with our sewing teacher Jean Selkirk. Everyone is warmly encouraged to attend the ceremony and the reception afterwards. Check the zendo bulletin board for details and please sign-up for preparation (tenzo assistance & set-up) and clean-up.

Note from the Librarian

After serving as BZC librarian for more than two years I have become familiar with the collection we house in the community room and have come to truly appreciate it. I frequently stumble across unknown (to me) gems on the bookshelves. Also, the library regularly acquires new books and subscribes to several periodicals (Tricycle, Shambala Sun, Buddhadharma, and more). All of these are available to check out. I try to be in the library on Tuesday afternoons from 4:30 to 5:30pm. You are welcome to come in and browse. If the library is not open, look for me in the office.

A new version of the computer program we use to catalog books was recently installed (thank you, Troy DuFrene). Several new books are just being processed and will soon appear on the “New Books” shelf. They include: The Heart Sutra, Kazuaki Tanahashi; Unfathomable Depth, Sekkei Harada; Meditation on Perception, Bhante Gunaratana, and The Nirvana Sutra, Vol. I, translated by Mark L. Blum.

Last but not least, the librarian’s plea: remember your overdue books and return them soon!

Thank you.

Changing Hands

Maria Winston and Tamar Enoch have been our co-head jikidos for the past two years. They have done a wonderful job of organizing the morning cleaning of the zendo. They also purchased cushions for the zendo chairs which has been much appreciated by the people who use them. We offer our heartfelt thanks to Tamar and Maria and welcome Ben Clausen to this position.

Twelve O’Clock Zen

High noon…that watershed moment when morning turns to afternoon. No better way to celebrate the turning than by sitting zazen at BZC, Monday through Friday. We sit from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm, informal zazen, just sitting. Please join us.

Rabbits on Cushions

Half-Day Sitting

Half-day sittings include five periods of zazen,  kinhin (walking meditation) and an informal tea. Sojun Roshi asks participants to commit to the entire four-hour schedule. A $10 donation is  requested. If you have questions or if you cannot  sign up on the bulletin board, contact the May half-day director Peter Overton  (peterovrtn@gmail.com or (510) 848-5239).