Open Discussion
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 2, 2021
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 2, 2021
5:45 pm – 6:20 pm
Fri, Aug 6, 2021
There will be a way-seeking mind talk in the online zendo at the time of the usual Friday afternoon zazen:
5:40 pm: zazen
5:45: talk
Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center
“Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.
The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.
7:50 am – 5:00 pm
Sat, Aug 7, 2021
On Saturday, August 7, Abbot Hozan Alan Senauke will lead a one day sesshin, from 7:50 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note the later time. The day will include zazen, kinhin, the Founders' Day Ceremony, a work-period from home, and dokusan. Please sign up by Wednesday, August 4. The suggested donation is $15, payable to the Berkeley Zen Center via the generosity tab on the BZC website or through a check in the mail. Please indicate that your payment is for the August sesshin (you can send a note to bzcofficemanager@gmail.com if there is no place to leave a note).
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Mary Beth Lamb at sesshindirector@berkeleyzencenter.org. You may sign up here: Sign Up sheet for the August 7 Sesshin.
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Sat, Aug 7, 2021
Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
Passcode: bzc
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sun, Aug 8, 2021
From July through September Hozan Sensei will offer Abbot’s Tea on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom for up to twelve people per meeting. For registration and information, please contact Hannah Meara (hmeara@gmail.com).
To date we have had ten of these teas over the last months, including four during practice period. There has consistently been lively and free-ranging discussion focused on practice and dharma.
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 9, 2021
There will be a Zoom student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:
7:30 am: zazen
8:00 am: way-seeking mind talk
What is a "way-seeking mind" talk? See below.
Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center
“Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.
The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Sat, Aug 14, 2021
Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
Passcode: bzc
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 16, 2021
There will be a Zoom student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:
7:30 am: zazen
8:00 am: way-seeking mind talk
What is a "way-seeking mind" talk? See below.
Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center
“Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.
The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Sat, Aug 21, 2021
Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
Passcode: bzc
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 23, 2021
There will be a Zoom student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:
7:30 am: zazen
8:00 am: way-seeking mind talk
What is a "way-seeking mind" talk? See below.
Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center
“Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.
The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Sat, Aug 28, 2021
Meeting ID: 657 798 2914
Passcode: bzc
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Sun, Aug 29, 2021
Marie Hopper and Laurie Senauke will be facilitating this meeting, set up to give everyone a chance to share their current experience re Covid - 18 months in, particularly as it relates to BZC and thoughts about criteria for any kind of in-person practice. We may all have different perspectives, but I suspect we share many common concerns and interests as well.
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Mon, Aug 30, 2021
There will be a Zoom student talk in the online zendo right after a shorter period of zazen:
7:30 am: zazen
8:00 am: way-seeking mind talk
What is a "way-seeking mind" talk? See below.
Way-Seeking Mind at Berkeley Zen Center
“Way-Seeking Mind” talks by practitioners at Berkeley Zen Center have been a regular event on Monday mornings for more than thirty years. Each of us came to Zen practice as a seeker, with a spirit of inquiry. Each of us arrives at BZC from our own diverse backgrounds—social, familial, educational, religious, and so on. The idea of our way-seeking mind talks is for students to share how it is that they came to practice. Each person tells his or her own story in a unique way that often blends autobiography, spiritual biography, and the practice questions that each of us is engaged with.
The talks are by invitation, and last about twenty-five minutes, including time for presentation and short question & answer period. For newer students, this is a chance to meet and hear those we are sitting with. Those invited to talk have been sitting steadily at BZC; for them it is an opportunity to tell their story and be seen and heard. One of the teachers or senior students is available for advice in shaping one's talk, should that be useful.