Tag Archives: practice period

Spring Practice Period

Our annual spring practice period will begin with a one-day sitting on Saturday, May 2 and continue through the shuso ceremony on Sunday, June 14. Sojun Roshi invites everyone to increase their commitment to practice during this period while still tending to their obligations outside the gate.

Sojun Roshi has invited Sentei Kunka Susan Marvin—Spring Garden/Virtuous Influence—to be the shuso this year, sharing the abbot’s seat and setting an example for us all. Chodo Kaiku Dean Bradley—Wild Bird Path/Open Sky—will serve as benji, assisting the shuso.

There will be a Thursday night class with Sojun Roshi, with the topic to be announced. You can download the detailed  2015 Practice Period Calendar. Practice period applications will be available on the main bulletin board shelf in April. Please fill one out and return it to the shuso’s box on the community room porch by Mon., April 27.

In addition to signing up for practice period and turning in a registration form, sign up separately for a number of the individual practice period events. See the bulletin board for signup sheets.

Practice Period Events

  • Opening Sesshin: May 2, 5:00am to 9:00pm
  • Opening/Shuso Entering Ceremony: May 2, about 4:00pm
  • Shuso Talks/Lectures: May 4, 16, 22, and 30
  • Classes: Thursday evenings, May 7-June 4, 7:15-8:45pm
  • Bansan (tea and dharma discussion with the abbot): Friday, May 15, 5:40pm
  • Dinner and Skit Night: Saturday, May 23
  • Shosan (dharma dialogue with the abbot): June 5, 5:40pm and June 8, 5:40am
  • Lay Ordination: Saturday, June 6, 3:00pm
  • Five-Day Sesshin: June 10 to 14
  • Shuso Hossen (dharma dialogue with the shuso): Sunday, June 14

One Day Sesshin: Aspects of Practice Period Opens

The Aspects of Practice opening sesshin, led by Laurie Senauke, will take place on Saturday, October 18. We encourage both long-term and new sangha members to participate. Please sign up on the patio bulletin board by Wednesday morning, October 15, after zazen. If this is your first sesshin at BZC, we recommend that you first participate in a full Saturday program and also speak with the sesshin director. The fee is $35 and should be paid in advance (a discounted fee is possible; please speak to the director). Put checks marked “October 18 sesshin” in the courtyard laundry room door mail slot or mail to the BZC office manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley 94703. You can also use the bill pay option on your banks’ website with the notation “October Sesshin fee.”

Please feel free to contact the sesshin director, Gerry Oliva at (510) 652-7217 or sesshindirectorbzc@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Aspects of Practice 2014 —Beginner’s Mind: Exploring Suzuki Roshi’s Unpublished Koan Talks

Aspects of Practice—led by BZC Senior Students Denkei Raul Moncayo, Laurie Senauke, Ron Nestor, Ryushin Andrea Thach, Greg Denny, and Gerry Oliva—will begin with the opening sesshin on Saturday, October 18, and continue through the closing sesshin on Saturday, November 15.

Continue reading Aspects of Practice 2014 —Beginner’s Mind: Exploring Suzuki Roshi’s Unpublished Koan Talks