As we approach the end of the year, we have once again the opportunity to look back at the past 12 months and reflect on the rich and profound life of our sangha. Through online and in-person offerings, multiple engaged practice groups, sangha gatherings and a myriad of other embodied practice and study activities, the Brooklyn Zen Center community continues to grow strong. During the past year we opened a new zendo in Millerton, celebrated Jukai with 16 ordinands, created a new logo and website, strengthened our administrative team with a new full-time position, created new programs and developed existing ones (Undoing Whiteness as The Path of Liberation, BIPOC Zen Practice Group, Parents Group, Queer Dharma Share, B12), sat retreats, planted vegetables, and marched in the streets of NYC with thousands of others calling for the protection of Mother Earth. This selection of images includes some – but not all – of the highlights of our sangha life during 2023. May we continue to practice together in the year ahead!

Between Earth and Sky

The assembly for the third annual garden opening ceremony at Ancestral Heart Temple, Millerton.

Sewing the Rakusu

During this past year, sixteen people in our community engaged in a months-long period of study and practice with the bodhisattva precepts. As part of their training, ordinands got together under the guidance of dharma teacher Sarah Dōjin Emerson to sew the rakusu, the small Buddha robe worn around the necks of lay practitioners and priests.

A Visit from Soshin Teah Strozer

We enjoyed a visit by the honorary founding teacher of the Brooklyn Zen Center, Soshin Teah Strozer, pictured here (right) with Kosen Gregory Snyder (left). Teah is a Zen Buddhist priest, dharma teacher, and lineage-holder in the Soto Zen tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Teah served as BZC’s founding dharma teacher from 2007 through 2017.

Life at Ancestral Heart Temple

Ancestral Heart Temple (our “mountain temple”) is located near the town of Millerton, two hours north of New York City. Between six and twelve residents live and practice at Ancestral Heart, following a full daily schedule of zazen, work, and study. AHT emphasizes long-term residential Zen practice, and trains priests who make lifelong vows to the sangha. AHT residents cultivate connection with the land, the body, and ancestry. Pictured here: Gerardo standing in front of his beautiful, finished garage shelf!

Jukai Ceremony at BZC

On June 11, at the end of a three-day sesshin at Boundless Mind Temple, 16 members of our sangha formally received and acknowledged the Bodhisattva Precepts in a Jukai ceremony. This was the first Jukai at BZC since 2019.

Image by  Reece Taylor Williams. More images available here.

New Millerton Zendo

In July, Brooklyn Zen Center dharma teachers, Zen priests, staff, senior practitioners and local community members came together to celebrate the opening of the new Millerton Zendo, a meditation space in Millerton, NY. Since then, BZC has been offering in this new space weekly programs on Saturday mornings which include zazen instruction, zazen, service, and dharma talk or discussion.

New BZC Visual Identity

After a multi-month process and many working sessions, we unveiled our new BZC visual identity in the summer of 2023. Developed with designer Cathleen Tseng, this identity includes a new logo and website, communicating BZC’s grounding in Zen tradition as well as our radical forward-looking aspirations. The new logo is inspired in the Kechimyaku, the bloodline chart given at precept ceremonies that traces a direct connection through the ancestors to Shakyamuni Buddha, and emphasizes Sangha among the Triple Treasure— the treasure that BZC offers in a unique and profound way.

We were so happy with this new design that we wanted to share it in BZC merch! The BZC T-shirt campaign continues to go strong and you can celebrate our new sangha logo, get a great holiday gift, and support BZC all in one!

BZC Admin Team Together In Person—well, almost…

In September, Bianca Ozeri stepped into the role of BZC’s new Development & Membership Manager. Bianca has been a part of BZC since 2018 and brings a willingness to shape this role with creativity and a strong commitment to our sangha. Based across multiple time zones, the BZC administrative team came together in person at the end of the summer in Brooklyn: Dulce Fernandes, Communications Coordinator (pictured left), Ryan Lee Wong, Administrative Director (center), and Bianca Ozeri (right). Not pictured here is David Chow, Accounting and CRM Consultant, who is based in San Francisco.

BZC Sangha at the March to End Fossil Fuels

The BZC sangha—along with other faith-based communities, grassroots organizations, and thousands of people—joined the March to End Fossil Fuels, a collective action calling for the end of oil and gas projects and for declaring a climate emergency. In the streets of NYC, the BZC community came together with some 75,000 people, in a Bodhisattva action to care for Mother Earth and all beings. More images available here.

New Undoing Whiteness Course

This fall, a cohort of 22 participants got together at the Watershed Center in Millerton for the kick-off gathering of Undoing Whiteness as The Path of Liberation. This is a ten-month course of inquiry and healing from the racial conditioning of whiteness and white supremacy, within the framework of Zen practice. The program builds on previous curricula developed by the BZC Undoing Whiteness and Oppression group and is supported in somatic, trauma-oriented, and historically informed methodologies. Participants are now gathering monthly in online meetings through the end of June 2024.

The altar at the yurt zendo at Watershed Center in the opening retreat of the new Undoing Whiteness as the Path to Liberation course.

Visiting Teachers

Throughout the year, many visiting teachers joined our sangha to offer dharma talks and workshops. These included Sally Chang, Rev. Grace Song, Rev. Keiryū Liên Shutt (pictured below), Kaira Jewel Lingo, and Chimyo Atkinson. Most of their dharma offerings, as well as those from BZC teachers, are available at the BZC Audio Dharma Podcast. We also held the first BZC Summer Reading Program with author Chenxing Han and her book Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists.

Molly and Milo

The original BZC dog pair, Molly and Milo, seen here in their best winter lounge-wear.

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BZC is currently raising funds in our 2023 End of Year Fundraiser. All contributions will support the continuation of our practice in the years ahead. Thank you for your generosity!