Class

Beginner’s Mind (Jan 11–Feb 1)

Recurrent

Location
Boundless Mind Temple
326 Clinton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
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Description
  • Four Saturdays from Jan 11 through Feb 1, 2025
    9:30 AM–11:00 AM EST
    Register by January 8

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.
—Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Join us for a four-week class for newcomers to Zen practice. Boundless Mind Temple’s guiding teachers, Sarah and Charlie Senseis, will offer students a basic understanding of and orientation towards Zen practice and history. We invite you to join whether you are totally new to meditation, have practiced in other Buddhist traditions, or want an overview of the different forms and practices at our temples.

Each class will take place Saturday morning, 9:30 AM–11:00 AM EST, at Boundless Mind Temple, and students are encouraged to stay for the regular dharma talk, temple cleaning, and tea time afterwards.

Class dates: January 11, January 18, January 25, February 1, 2025

Class 1, Zazen (Meditation): Guidance, forms and home-practice
Class 2, Embodiment: The three treasures, bowing, chanting and ritual
Class 3, Lineage: An overview of Buddhist traditions and the development of Zen
Class 4, Community: Precepts, the Sangha treasure, meeting with teachers

Please register (below) by January 8. Requests for pricing exemptions are due January 1. See more info on Equitable Pricing below.

 

About the instructors:

Sarah Dōjin Emerson’s formal practice in Soto Zen began in 1996. She lived and trained at Tassajara Zen Mountain center and other sites of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1997-2007. She received Dharma Transmission from Abbott Konjin Gaelyn Godwin of the Houston Zen Center in 2015. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, and has worked in the fields of mental health and pastoral care with children and adults. She experiences Bodhisattva Zen practice as deeply supportive to inquiring into, challenging and transforming systems of oppression, particularly racial inequities and the harm they cause within convert Buddhist sanghas, and in U.S. society generally. Sarah has also worked for many years in grief support- clinically, ritually and in community- specializing in child loss. She lives with her partner, Charlie Pokorny (who is also a Soto Zen Buddhist priest), their children (who are her most profound and constant teachers) and numerous pets in Brooklyn, NY.

Charlie Korin Pokorny grew up in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. He was ordained as a priest by Reb Anderson in 1999 and received dharma transmission in 2018. He practiced as a resident at Tassajara and Green Gulch Farm and studied koans with Daniel Terragno. Charlie and Sarah served as head priests at Stone Creek Zen Center 2014-2022. He teaches at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley (including courses on Buddhist philosophy, history, meditation and ritual practice). Charlie, Sarah and their children moved to Brooklyn in 2022.

 

 


Equitable Pricing Information

At BZC, we are committed to making our classes, workshops, and retreats accessible to all. To support this, we offer an equitable pricing model based on a sliding scale, reflecting our intention to move towards equity within our sangha and acknowledge historical contexts of wealth.

Determining Your Rate: Please refer to our Equitable Pricing Model to find the registration rate that best fits your circumstances.

Financial Assistance: No one will be turned away due to financial constraints. If you are unable to pay the lowest rate, please use this form to request a pricing exemption. Note that exemption requests are due at least one week prior to the event start date unless stated otherwise.

Questions? If you have any questions or concerns about registration, please contact us at info@brooklynzen.org.

 


Location Details

Boundless Mind Temple is located in the Parish House of Christ Church Cobble Hill, next to 326 Clinton Street. Enter the driveway on Clinton, go past the scaffolding, and through the double doors. There are two flights of stairs leading to the center, located on the second floor. The closest subway stop is the F/G at Bergen Street.


Stay Connected with BZC!

  • For monthly newsletters and/or weekly agendas, choose from your BZC Mailing List options here.
  • To receive community news and updates on offerings, request to join the BZC Community Listserv here.
  • For updates specifically from the Millerton Zendo, please request to join the Millerton Zendo Community Listserv here.

 


Donations

BZC relies on donations to sustain its spaces, teachers, and staff. Make a gift on our website, via PayPal through paypal@brooklynzen.org or Venmo. You can also support a dharma teacher or practice leader here. Or, consider becoming a Member to support us year-round!

 


COVID Protocol

We ask that all participants be fully vaccinated and boosted. Masks are optional. Please see the BZC Covid Protocol for more information.


 

Fee
$140 — $240
Questions?
info@brooklynzen.org

To request a refund for this program you must notify BZC in writing at least 2 days before the beginning of the program. This supports the organizing effort involved in managing registrations and cancellations. To request a refund, please email info@brooklynzen.org

We are in an historical building which is not wheelchair accessible. There are two flights of stairs leading to the center, located on the second floor. Chairs, benches, and extra support cushions are available. If you have any additional questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@brooklynzen.org.
Beginner’s Mind (Jan 11–Feb 1)
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