Zen Center Courtyard

Free zazen instruction and orientation for beginners: Saturdays 9:20-10:00 a.m. in Community Room.

Saturday morning talk: 10:10-11:00 a.m. in zendo.

Weekly schedule
Saturday childcare
Classes
Yearly Calendar (pdf)

Schedule/news

Hits since 03/03/12: 14641

Berkeley Zen Center

Classes

Sign-up sheets for classes are posted on the zendo bulletin board. Please check there for last-minute changes.

  • Introduction To Buddhism, Spring 2008

    Vice abbot Hozan Alan Senauke will teach a six- week Introduction To Buddhism class on Thursday evenings from February 7 to March 13th. A better class title might be Basic Buddhism as it's directed at practitioners of all experience levels.Classes will begin at 7:15 and end at 8:45. The fee for the class series will be $60.00 with no discount for missed classes. For those experiencing financial hardship please speak with class coordinator Ron Nestor to arrange a cost reduction. A sign-up for the class will be posted on the bulletin board the second week of January. If it's difficult for you to make it to BZC before the series starts you may email Ron at the address below to register. Our text will be "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh.Copies are now available for $14.00.To receive a copy in advance of the class for pick up at BZC email Ron at shoppingrk [at] yahoo.com. Otherwise books will be available at the first class.

    INTERVIEW

    Ron: Good morning Alan. I've always thought that our Introduction to Buddhism class was one of the hardest classes to teach because there's so much material. How do you decide what to include and what not to include?

    Alan: Well, it is daunting, but in this case Sojun, you, and I decided to use Thich Nhat Hahn's The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching as a text. That begins with the four noble truths and the eightfold path and then talks about fundamental elements of Buddhist practice that are common to every tradition. So we can use this as a road map. Of course everything will not be covered. There are many ways to approach an introduction — as discreet practices, or from the standpoint of the Buddha's life. Then of course there is a multiplicity of schools. The important thing is to keep pointing ourselves towards practice, to have some intellectual tools and some practice tools, and to get the big picture. For instance in discussing the six paramitas we have to take up the Bodhisattva ideal. So we'll be talking about some of the broader and later teachings, not just early Buddhism.

    Ron: Thich Nhat Hanh is known as a Zen master but he's also a consummate scholar. We might think that Zen emphasizes just sitting, but his practice has included lots of study. He's an example of a Zen teacher who is erudite about the traditional Buddhist teachings.

    Alan: Yes, of course. Most of our teachers were and are well versed in the basic teachings. Sojun is studying all the time. The practice of Zen Buddhism is not just sitting; it's actually how you make your whole life. All these other practices and traditions are about that. Thich Nhat Hanh's Vietnamese Zen is strongly infused with the whole range of traditional teachings. And I will add that among my early memories at BZC are Sojun’s lectures and classes on basic Buddhism —the factors of enlightenment, the hindrances, and so on. I appreciated the fact that we were getting the building blocks of Buddhism.

    Ron: Can you present this vast subject in six weeks and still have time for discussion?

    Alan: Well, we won’t get to everything but these classes have to be interactive, so we have to find a balance. If I'm just presenting material, then it's actually not so interesting for me or for other people. That means limiting the amount of material that we cover.

    Ron: I imagine we'll have folks attending your class with a wide range of practice experience, from beginners to old-timers. How will a basic Buddhism class be helpful to people who've practiced for a long time at BZC or other places?

    Alan: These teachings are bottomless. Each time I approach them I see fresh ways that they apply to my life and zazen. There is no end to this study.

    Ron: Thank you Alan.
  •  

     

     

     

     

    Last revised 01/04/08.
    Copyright 2000 Berkeley Zen Center.
    Comments about this site to