Location: Boundless mind Temple located at Christ Church Cobble Hill, at 326 Clinton Street, Brooklyn (enter by the Clinton Street driveway gate, pass the scaffolding, and through the double doors)
Date/Times:
Wednesday through Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday: 6am to 1pm (doors open at 5:30am)
This Rohatsu retreat will be co-led by Kidō Ian Case, Sarah Dōjin Emerson and Charlie Korin Pokorny.
New Equitable Pricing Model
Brooklyn Zen Center (BZC) is committed to offering classes, workshops, and retreats on a sliding scale in an aspiration to move towards equity within our sangha (community).
BZC is a Soto Zen temple, and like all faith traditions, we are built upon a community. “Dana” means generosity in Pali, and is one of our first practices. For some, it is an act of dana to support other community members; for some, it is an act of dana to receive support.
The Buddha insisted that once monks entered the sangha, their former caste became irrelevant—a radical act in a society defined by those social stratifications. As a socially engaged sangha in the American context, BZC asks all of its participants to care for and acknowledge recent histories of caste and class based on racial segregation, patriarchy, and colonial expansion, and to care for those histories as they affect our community. Dana is a profound practice in a culture that tells all of us, regardless of our wealth, that we don’t have enough.
To that end, we offer this pricing model as a mindfulness practice, a mirror to show us how we relate to those American histories, and how we might best care for our communal vow of working towards the liberation of all.
Please answer the following questions for yourself to determine your appropriate registration rate. You don’t need to share the answers with BZC. Anything given beyond the “Sustaining Rate” will go into a fund to make our offerings accessible to others.
- Are you or your immediate family homeowners or landowners?
- Do you hold a college or advanced degree?
- Are you able to make minimum payments on bills or credit cards?
- Do you have zero debt and/or do you have disposable income?
- Do you have a safety net composed of financially stable family and friends?
- Do you have U.S. Citizenship?
- Has your family been free from discrimination in housing and financial institutions?
- Does your income only support you, and not other loved ones?
- Have you or do you expect to inherit money or property?
“Yes” Answers | Non-Member | Member of 3+ Months |
7-9 | Flourishing Rate | Sustaining or Flourishing Rate |
4-6 | Sustaining Rate | Base or Sustaining Rate |
0-3 | Base Rate | Supported Rate |
If you’re unable to pay at the lowest rate, please use this form to apply for an exemption at least a week before the registration deadline.
Registration closes December 3.
Please note our cancellation policy for this offering: To request a refund for this program you must notify BZC in writing at least 72 hours before the beginning of the program. Please see our complete cancellation policy here.
A minimum attendance of three consecutive days is required.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@brooklynzen.org.
About Kidō Ian Case
Kidō Ian Case has been a student at Brooklyn Zen Center since its inception in 2005. During this time he has taken on various administrative and practice roles at the center, including serving for several years as Ino (head of the meditation hall). He was in residence for 15 months at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 2015-2016 and was ordained as a priest by Teah Strozer in October 2016. He served as shuso (head student) at BZC for the fall 2019 practice period. Ian holds an MA in Linguistics from the City University of New York and a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. He served as BZC’s director from 2019 to 2022 and currently serves as Tanto (Head of Practice).
About Sarah Dōjin Emerson
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.
About Charlie Korin Pokorny
Charlie Korin Pokorny 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 also 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.
Access Notes: 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.
Our Location: Boundless Mind Temple is located at Christ Church Cobble Hill, at 326 Clinton Street, at the corner of Kane Street, in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. The closest subway is the Bergen Street stop on the F line. To reach the center, please enter by the Clinton Street driveway gate, pass the scaffolding, and through the double doors. There are two flights of stairs leading to the center, located on the second floor.