Tag Archives: 2015

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

Cooking, Serving

When I filled out the practice period application, I noticed the option to help serve dinner at the Men’s Shelter. Although I had served once years ago at the shelter, I had never helped prepare the
meal. So, I spoke to Laurie about it, signed up on the community room porch bulletin board and  showed up on Center Street on May 8 a little before 5pm. I was early and had some time to hang out
on the street a half block from city hall, across the park from my old alma mater, Berkeley High,  and a few doors from the Veteran’s Hall.

Laurie arrived at 5pm with a load of food that Don had purchased earlier from Costco and we helped  bring in food. Several long-time stalwarts prepared lemonade and set up the serving tables for
don_and_laurie_shelterbuffet. Folks were washing dishes, locating tools and some of us pitched in to wash and cut up potatoes, prepare salad, portion out chicken into baking/serving pans. I learned by watching how to
mash cooked potatoes with the skins on, add a quart of 2% milk and a cube of butter. Delicious.

In the freezer, Laurie discovered ice cream from a previous dinner that could go with the Trader  Joe blondies which I had overbaked a bit… some of the men don’t have good teeth, so soft is better.

After serving the line of men who thanked us and told us frequently how good the food was, I filled a plate with food and joined some of them at a table. One man asked about Buddhism and where we were located. Laurie invited him to a zazen orientation at 8:45am on Saturdays. Another man told  me he had lost his small business when he got sick and ended up at the shelter. The third man was not able or willing to engage in conversation  and left after he finished his meal and before dessert. Men can stay for 30 days, have to leave
each day by 7am and return at night for dinner and bed. You can see some of the dorm area from the  dining hall.

It is a good space to be in and the more hands make the work lighter. I was glad to see more  volunteers show up for serving and clean-up help. We were all out of there by 8pm.

I’m still thinking about Friday. How can I impact the roots causes of poverty, ill will, and greed? How can my Buddhist practice and my
political practice make a difference? One idea is that you can really help by preparing food, serving, and eating with people. Give it a try and then consider if you can schedule yourself regularly and be one of those who can be counted on to be  there.