Zen priest, dharma teacher, and head teacher at Russian River Zendo, Surei Darlene Cohen died last night.
As many of you know, Darlene was one of the first teachers to visit Brooklyn Zen Center. She led our very first one-day sit. It was in no small part her enthusiasm and encouragement that led to the founding of the basement sitting group that is our community today. Her practical teaching so full of laughter, her often irreverent style that stood us all the more upright in the dharma, her insistence that all people no matter their physical circumstances should have...
Brooklyn Zen Center’s guiding teacher Teah Strozer will be visiting Brooklyn to lead a three-week period of intensified practice in February. The period will begin on Tuesday evening, February 1st, and will conclude with a 5-day sesshin, which will go from February 16th to the 20th. During the period, there will be an expanded zazen schedule, dharma talks, discussion as well as opportunities for participants to have private practice discussion with Teah.
The theme of this winter’s practice period will be urban lay practice. As part of this investigation, we’ll be reading...
Head teacher Teah Strozer's talks and teaching this spring will focus on the topic of time. Teah’s description of the subject is as follows:
This spring our community will be focusing on how we practice with time. There is no such thing as time. Time is a mental construct. But we live bound by it: losing it, wasting it. We're told to live 100% in the present moment, a moment of eternity. But we choose to live in linear time. In spiritual practice, we hope to be enlightened, later. Over the next few months, we’ll explore this notion of time with masters...
This is a sitting group for undergraduate college students open to all students from all New York City colleges.
This group offers a sustained opportunity for all those interested in exploring how our practice can both support the way we parent and, more broadly, help to inform our relationships with children. Meeting monthly, we hope to both learn from and support each other in the practice of parenting. Please note that this group is open to parents, those contemplating parenthood, as well as those non-parents who work with children in educational or caregiving capacities.
We’re currently using Naomi Aldort's book Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves as a text for the...
Here are a few suggestions that might be of interest - some on Zen and some on Buddhism more generally. Enjoy!
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki
Not Always...
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
It is this opportunity and flexibility available to the beginner's mind that we deeply value in our Zen practice. So if you are new to practice, welcome! We have a saying, "not knowing is most intimate," and in this spirit we welcome all beginning practitioners. If you are new to Zen and are curious about a supportive way to enter the practice, here are a few suggestions.
GETTING STARTED
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Though the culture of our community has never been one of strong requirements, there are a few customs that might be helpful to know for those new to practice at Brooklyn Zen Center.
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ARRIVING AND LEAVING
When there are consecutive zazen periods, please feel free to come for either or both of the periods. If arriving for the first period of zazen, please try to be seated in the zendo five minutes before the beginning of the meditation period. If arriving for the second period, we ask that you try to arrive during the ten-minute...
Teen Meditation at Brooklyn Zen Center is:
- meditation for teens by teens
- open, creative, authentic, compassionate, & fun!
- bringing mindfulness into our lives, relationships, schools, families & communities
- creating a healthier, happier & more peaceful world through self-understanding
- welcoming of all teens no matter your background
At every meeting we meditate, discuss our...
Please check out our growing archive of online dharma talks. The talks from Reb Anderson's recent retreat and Teah's talks from last fall (as well as some talks from Norman Fischer that he gave at BZC in 2008 and 2009) have all been posted online.
Please click on this link for audio recordings of recent talks.
Our recorded talks are offered free of charge and are made possible by the donations we receive. To support BZC's ongoing offering of the dharma, please consider making a donation by clicking...
The following are customs for sesshins (Zen meditation retreats).
Please try to arrive and be settled at your seat at least five minutes before the first period of zazen in the morning as well as throughout the day. The signal for zazen will be two hits on the bell in the common area 10 minutes before zazen begins. At the sound of the bell, please go to the zendo directly. There will be one hit on the bell 5 minutes before zazen at which time we are to already be settled in for zazen.
Maintaining silence throughout the sesshin is a great support...
ATTENDANCE
Please pay for all days that you plan to attend. If you are attending any part of a day, we ask that you pay for the entire day. We also require a two-day minimum attendance for retreats of three days or more to cultivate both a sense of continuity for those participating as well as the deep stillness that is at the heart of the practice of retreat.
Please register by clicking here and filling out our online form no later than four weeks before the start of a sesshin....
Step 11 says, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
How do we understand God or Higher Power in the context of Buddhist practice? What is Buddhist prayer and meditation? How does a recovering addict integrate their program with Buddhism?
The Brooklyn 12-Step Sangha is open to people from any recovery program seeking to understand Buddhism. We’ll meet weekly to meditate, read from Buddhist 12-Step literature and...
We are having a Membership Drive from November 12 through December 17th in continuing support of our community that is growing in so many ways! Our practice is thriving at Brooklyn Zen Center as more practitioners join our community and we deepen our practice together.
Our community has always carried a deep respect for our Zen Buddhist tradition with an aim to respond to the requests of the New York community and the world as it is today. Zen has always valued a spirit of mindful spontaneity and creativity in its cultivation of compassion and wisdom....
We are having a Membership Drive from November 12 through December 17th in continuing support of our community that is growing in so many ways! Our practice is thriving at Brooklyn Zen Center as more practitioners join our community and we deepen our practice together.
Our community has always carried a deep respect for our Zen Buddhist tradition with an aim to respond to the requests of the New York community and the world as it is today. Zen has always valued a spirit of mindful spontaneity and creativity in its cultivation of compassion and wisdom....
Brooklyn Zen Center will be welcoming in 2012 with a special celebration this coming New Year's Eve.
The festivities will start at 8 pm (doors open at 7:45) with a period of temple cleaning. At 9:20 we'll have noodle soup. Starting at 10:30 we'll sit three periods of zazen, the third of which will go until just past midnight. During the last period, we'll strike 108 bells that will ring in the New Year. It's a very sweet, joyful and peaceful way to celebrate this transition - and there's also something very powerful about sitting quietly in the zendo while the city...
Brooklyn Zen Center will be welcoming in 2012 with a special celebration this coming New Year's Eve.
The festivities will start at 8 pm (doors open at 7:45) with a period of temple cleaning. At 9:20 we'll have noodle soup. Starting at 10:30 we'll sit three periods of zazen, the third of which will go until just past midnight. During the last period, we'll strike 108 bells that will ring in the New Year. It's a very sweet, joyful and peaceful way to celebrate this transition - and there's also something very powerful about sitting quietly in the zendo while the city...
Over the past year, many sangha members have asked about ways they can help out at Brooklyn Zen Center. BZC will be having an orientation for all interested volunteers on Saturday, January 21st, from 1:30 to 3:00pm (after lunch).
This orientation will offer a chance for those interested to come together and talk about how they would like to volunteer and to learn about the myriad opportunities -- from the kitchen to the zendo and beyond -- that are available. Tea and refreshments will be served.
Volunteer activity is a core part of our practice and is essential...
Over the past year, many sangha members have asked about ways they can help out at Brooklyn Zen Center. BZC will be having an orientation for all interested volunteers on Saturday, January 21st, from 1:30 to 3:00pm (after lunch).
This orientation will offer a chance for those interested to come together and talk about how they would like to volunteer and to learn about the myriad opportunities -- from the kitchen to the zendo and beyond -- that are available. Tea and refreshments will be served.
Volunteer activity is a core part of our practice and is essential...
We'll be having our winter workday on Saturday, February 4th, from 9am to 5pm. The workday will take the place of our regularly scheduled Saturday program.
A workday is a great way to engage in the practice of mindful activity and a wonderful opportunity for members of the community to work together to care for our practice space. The day will combine periods of zazen with periods of mindful work, and there will be a break for lunch. No experience is necessary (although some familiarity with assembling Ikea furniture will come in handy)!
...
We'll be having our winter workday on Saturday, February 4th, from 9am to 5pm. The workday will take the place of our regularly scheduled Saturday program.
A workday is a great way to engage in the practice of mindful activity and a wonderful opportunity for members of the community to work together to care for our practice space. The day will combine periods of zazen with periods of mindful work, and there will be a break for lunch. No experience is necessary (although some familiarity with assembling Ikea furniture will come in handy)!
...
The Brooklyn Sit-a-thon is a borough-wide event where we join together on April 21st to spend a day in sitting meditation as a way to raise funds for the Awake Youth Project – a program coordinated by Brooklyn Zen Center in partnership with Brooklyn College Community Partnership to bring mindfulness and meditation programs to Brooklyn...
The Brooklyn Sit-a-thon is a borough-wide event where we join together on April 21st to spend a day in sitting meditation as a way to raise funds for the Awake Youth Project – a program coordinated by Brooklyn Zen Center in partnership with Brooklyn College Community Partnership to bring mindfulness and meditation programs to Brooklyn...
Head teacher Teah Strozer's talks and teaching this spring will focus on the topic of time. Teah’s description of the subject is as follows:
This spring our community will be focusing on how we practice with time. There is no such thing as time. Time is a mental construct. But we live bound by it: losing it, wasting it. We're told to live 100% in the present moment, a moment of eternity. But we choose to live in linear time. In spiritual practice, we hope to be enlightened, later. Over the next few months, we’ll explore this notion of time with masters Eihei Dogen,...
Head teacher Teah Strozer's talks and teaching this spring will focus on the topic of time. Teah’s description of the subject is as follows:
This spring our community will be focusing on how we practice with time. There is no such thing as time. Time is a mental construct. But we live bound by it: losing it, wasting it. We're told to live 100% in the present moment, a moment of eternity. But we choose to live in linear time. In spiritual practice, we hope to be enlightened, later. Over the next few months, we’ll explore this notion of time with masters Eihei Dogen,...
Class is full.
Starting on Monday, May 7th, head teacher Teah Strozer will be teaching a 5-week Introduction to Zen Buddhism class at BZC. The class will go from 7:30pm to 8:45pm on Mondays from May 7th to June 11th (skipping Memorial Day). The cost for the 5-week series will be $50 for BZC members and $120 for non-members. To sign up for the class, please contact the ino at iancase@gmail.com
Here is Teah's description of the class:
Zen Buddhism is a path to...
Please join us on Thursday evening, May 31st, at 7pm for our third annual mindful walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn.
Once again, we'll be teaming up with the JMC for a wonderful celebration of community, mindfulness and the glorious city that we call home. We'll meet near the entrance to the bridge on the Manhattan side, across the street from City Hall at Park Row and Centre Street...
Please join us on Thursday evening, May 31st, at 7pm for our third annual mindful walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn.
Once again, we'll be teaming up with the JMC for a wonderful celebration of community, mindfulness and the glorious city that we call home. We'll meet near the entrance to the bridge on the Manhattan side, across the street from City Hall at Park Row and Centre Street...
On Sunday, July 22nd, Zen priest Catherine Gammon will be visiting BZC to lead a one-day writing workshop, from 9am to 5pm.
Engaging playfully with imaginative writing as an opportunity to receive, express, study, and reveal our own presently arising body and mind, we will write together from prompts, and read aloud, listen, and respond to one another’s words. Our writings and responses are explorations, and our conversations are based in imaginative and emotional insight rather than craft or editorial critique. Our time together will be intimate and playful, and will offer everyone...
Brooklyn Zen Center will be having a two-day sit with head teacher Teah Strozer on March 24th and 25th (Saturday and Sunday). This retreat will be an opportunity to welcome Teah back to Brooklyn for the spring and will kick off our spring teaching season.
The retreat will feature periods of sitting and walking meditation and dharma talks. The schedule will go from 9am to 5pm each day. A vegetarian meal will be served each day.
The...
Brooklyn Zen Center has scheduled a one-day sit for Saturday, May 12th.
A one-day silent meditation retreat is an excellent opportunity to deepen your practice and sit a little longer than you are accustomed. It’s also a great way to prepare for the longer (3 and 5-day) retreats that we offer throughout the year.
The day will begin at 9:00am and go to 5:00pm. (The doors will open at 8:45am.) An organic, vegetarian lunch will be served.
The fee for the sit will be $25 for Brooklyn Zen Center members, and $40 for non-members. To register, please fill out...
Brooklyn Zen Center will wrap up our spring teaching season with a five-day silent retreat with head teacher Teah Strozer from Wednesday June 13th to Sunday the 17th. The retreat will begin with an orientation on Tuesday evening, June 12th, at 7:30pm.
The retreat will feature periods of sitting and walking meditation and daily dharma talks. There will also be an opportunity for participants to meet with Teah for private practice discussion. The schedule will go from 9am to 9pm for the first 4 days, and from 6:40am to 2pm...
















