New Members Meeting

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our new members morning everyone
and welcome to or new member opening ceremony
ah i'm just gonna briefly go over the ceremony and your job being here is to just open yourself up your heart a near warped to these new members that are joining us officially many of whom you'll say will be spin around and
they have been around but this is their official entrance into b c c
so what we're gonna do this morning his sojourn will open the ceremony with their a making an offering and that i will make an offering and i read a statement and all the members a long they'll be muted will be reading it following he really did along with me oh
as is their wealth their commitment to be c and then
the new members will amuse themselves and each one will make an offer our friend and they'll go in the order that they came to be sitting and then the they will introduce themselves
and mrs then were up soldier will make a statement of welcome followed by holes on making a statement and then each member in that same order will say something about themselves
and at that time everyone you don't accept for those of us making offerings please feel free to sit down
and then we'll have time for questions from the saga
so you'll be able to use your chat box or raise your hand and we followed up and end with our for vowels and exit bells
case so ah i think we're ready to begin surgeon will open the ceremony now

oh please new members join in with me in your home sandow enjoying the berkeley zen center we undertake the practice of living and awakened live
we will study and practice the teachings of the three treasures buddha dharma and sangha
we
promise to continue this practice
we humbly asked for the support of all the members to help us realize the way

so jonathan will make our first offering

would you like to introduce yourself jonathan
source of power during that after my name's jonathan coats thank you thank you
our next member
me

my name's yummy ackerman

come on the day everyone i am a damn i'm from india

i would you like to make an offering

carol is it my turn yes it is head okay somebody else spoken with search okay

judy could you put a spotlight heather serratus
heather is spotlighted oh thank you
good morning and heathered scientists

morning and pay to get down
welcome

just looking for terran okay

it could be my eyes i'm not seeing terran here are you here
i'm not keen are either
okay well let's let's see i'm an idea that's good head on
okay on i know you introduced yourself would you like to make an opera nature altar

you are you inviting me
would you like to make an offering new that your altar do you make an offering
i will do the next year
oh we could just bow tear buddha hear about to you thank you thank you with him can be ligaments
him

key
it can you introduce yourself again

good morning everyone
i'm very pleased to meet all of you here
but in the morning mean the a this night but only a day
be
excuse me i do on we've got one more person and then we're gonna talk hockey you're not caught through with this part but we let a cute make your offering say your day so we'll get back to you a thank you again and we have one one new member

everyone and then hard estimation
meet you wait

when her
eight will arm
don't think tear and showed up
so will catch her next year now a certain will make a statement

give to meet yourself surgeon
searching your muted

this is like on my work telling me the turnover the alarm
like of alarms me
john and as it is a great pleasure for me on behalf of myself and the saga to accept you another into the saga and those members ah
i've been thinking a little bit about this and as such an unusual time according set in the tell you that
to do this ceremony on zoom is pretty simple
but you know we don't have this contact personal contact
i started thinking about you know
ah the normal times we had our give you girl
gosselin
an instruction all the time
the and adjust your posture and
and because we're in the same
a space
oh will learn his lesson in a certain way through exclusive through our pores through association and through training
i'm sure i've been thinking that i'd be nice to
often i have short thousand refreshers like fifteen minutes or something that to and a focus on certain aspects absolute
the not alone for
refresh your but shortland says paying attention to certain aspects of our pasture and are a breeding and took one and our mind
the girl that we continually continuously are adjusted to that
remembering how to do this
so on
the that's one thing and written about it would help color blue and a pen everybody else
hello
we've already been practicing with uber while to argue that other
to have you permit this up to this practice is is a great pleasure for everyone know people really inspired the older people i mean not the older people but people been around long time
the in vice versa so town
if you have any problems let us know don't hide yourself
that's my wish is that you present yourself and be out there and don't be afraid to ask questions and to have interviews
that's part of our practice and it really helps especially understand edge

so we're all here the can support you
and i'm no
let's go
okay

girl i see the terran has joined
hi good morning and so sorry i'm late
where are you
ah might highlight me if i talk
is it picking me up
this one velvet
hi good morning
am so sorry that i'm late i'm really happy i made it here
did i miss everybody introducing themselves and making their offerings
probably you did he did that are okay well that's okay to and why don't you make years now and then will we help them will hear from hose on and then will proceed so we'd love to have you make your offering okay can you remind me really quick i woke up a little disoriented from the smoke
what it one bowers three
you can you can do one

an introduction i am turn can proudly to sit out i'm sorry so that's okay just introduce yourself which were still of we'd like to hear from hose so this is just introduce do you sell okay
i'll link you here and elliott okay thank you i'd like to ask hosts are now to say something
thank you carol and job welcome to to jonathan yoni heather
david karen j and then we have this
wonderful new crop of ah
ah
ripe apples can the xanga who are pub
ah smoked cured ah
and virus tested
and so i really feel that
i just
even though we're not sitting together and i think that surgeons point about ah refreshing and refining the points of czars and is is really important ah hems deeply moved by the fact that
people are
coming regularly that you guys have
strengthened and establish your practice in this in his period of time ah and are here regularly with with all of us it's a
the saga is really the thread that weaves us together ah even though we we have the buddha who we emulate and we have the dharma that we aspire to actualize a all of that take
it's place in the context of the sanga a hand ah so this morning we welcome you ah it's not we welcome you actually to we acknowledge that you are part of the sanga you know that we've
we've been seeing you here ah prickly through the pandemic and oh
i'm just all of us are grateful for the opportunity of being able to to practice together with you so i can offer you this welcome and embrace and ah
i know that all of the sangha members and that includes such and myself are available to you ah to help and support your practice and to help you do the work of saving all sentient beings
thank you in the morning
year old son and so did occur when i like the hear from the new members and we'll start with jonathan you sir we're just gonna go in the order that people join
hello again my name's and coats i am
see i grew up in brooklyn and and i've now been in oakland for
see thousand and nine am the pier with my wife my daughter and and see i first came to his and practice
pretty shortly after him with to eloquent ah i started a crinkled farm and i have practiced done enough
ha
the intervening years but came to pc see and just about a year and a half ago
i'm very glad to be here
know what else what else can i say
maybe that's not

hello everyone my name's yoni ackerman i'm i'm from eames iowa i came to pc see about a year and a half ago which was the beginning of my son practice
right now practice for me means is well i mean a lot of things one of the biggest things on my mind is is right livelihood and finding ways everyday to put my effort into helping all beings which i think it's a very
challenging
endlessly challenging thing and i i continue to appreciate all the support i've gotten from saga in that in my search thank you are

morning everyone had their stratus i live in berkeley with my husband and my ten year old son
and i came to busy see in january i started practicing in the early nineteen nineties and did so intensely for a number of years studied with maley scott through a program at the buddhist peace fellowship
and then took a an extraordinarily long pause on this practice and then had been working my way back towards this feeling like i've been clearing out obstacles and then landed at vcc in january very intentionally and i have to
say the ability to connect to the sanga through the pandemic has been ah
a lifesaver and a soul saver in a source of inspiration and the highlight of my weaker how i'll ever often i can get here so i'm very grateful
i'm in your notes it said carol what do you find challenging about buddhist practice and i just wanna a name out loud that i ah
i'm
my greatest resistance or challenge is still with a regular is often practice just with their
being
a mom and working and other things establishing a regular practice so i take inspiration from all view and welcome the idea of regular tune-ups ah as we go along and a welcome your encouragement as well thank you
well

david kill mommy born and raised in oakland currently living downtown oakland
and have long been curious about zen
as part of the larger current japanese culture and aesthetic and have dabbled with
what zen and zazen over the years but finally a circle back to have more seriously through by way of yoga and mindfulness meditation and realize that
as and practices really resonate be stepping stone
he can see that the end of last year
and i'm very grateful
while that know you're feeling during yeah to candy
beckett

everyone
so and tear and i'm originally from san diego nights with can debate for about ten years i moved up here to go to college then stayed
and i've been practicing at bcc for about a year and what brought me to be easy see really was that i have a classroom teacher am i taught high school for five years and middle school now and confronting the challenges of being in a classroom where you're in a interacting with you know upwards of one hundred different people throughout the day who are all coming in with all of their
different you know ideas and problems and needs
i hadn't started exploring meditation is a way to try it and be a more effective teacher and i didn't even realize that this was a thing people did together so after a couple of years of kind of developing a meditation practice kissed in my living room i discovered hey this is a thing i can go do with other people and that brought me to be easy see
but i've been really happy to be here and be learning with everyone sense

good morning everyone high-margin i am from india i leave it and get along lot of the southern state of india
i'm very very happy and they pleased to be here and part of the sangha
i have been introduced to this impact is served by hossein allen and jill drinks or deleted a living in australia i have met the ah vulnerable ellen and within a gym in india several time when they used to come to get india for delivering picture regarding news and practices
and other social activities to a to the day i have been introduced by both of them
and they like to be part of this the as in practice ended sent tradition so i'm following that the tradition and i'm reading or the basic the beginning books of a thin thin by getting dinner time and doesn't mean the and a beginner's mind
just them leading at the beginning to wear polo and practice since thousand and be totally of i'm really very happy to be part of the sangha and they will be happy to meet all of you thank you admit

everyone and then harden and i live in berkeley with my wife lauren and we've been here for have a better year and a half in the bay for maybe three years am i this is the first place where i've ever really been practicing seriously i'd been
kind of interested in buddhism and zen for very long time i'm at least since high school
and had sat at a gender once and it didn't really quite click i kinda all that i got was sore legs out of it
but you know over am
it's been you know a long time since then and i tried to kind of keep up been occasionally set myself and do some reading and studying and you know it stand now a very difficult year i think and back in february i actually lost my father
so it's already kind of a difficult year and i found that the things that had studied from san the things that i've studied from buddhism our a great comfort to me and that time
when march rolled around and unfortunately you know the the lockdown started ah it kind of popped into my head that may be there was no such thing as zoom practice and so i started doing that and beginning of march and it's bang
and just a really wonderful experience to get your own sit with you are and feel very welcomed so so much
thanks to all of you are now it's time we we do have some time yes if anyone would like to ask a question about any of our new members you can use your checkbox the tabs or you're a blue hand and might be details
yeah
and you know you can go into gallery if you'd like to see everyone
well

the department as the question l oh thank you

morning everyone
we can you hear me
i'm actually i don't have a question i just wanted to say
congratulations and welcome to all of you i feel so moved this a ceremony is always moving in the center but somehow oddly it's even more intimate today and for me perhaps coming from the board
meeting community meeting last night where i was rather speechless it was a a beautiful segue into this this kind of harmonious aa meeting of of hassan and surgeon and the community and now welcoming
the new members 'em
you know these are really precious days i mean our days are always precious but somehow we kind of know now how precious they are so i just want to say welcome to each and every one of you i'm so moved by you being here thank you

rogoff would you like to say something raga to have a question for someone yeah i'm not your question again baghdad just wanna say feel very encouraged by ah
all the new members and down i look forward do some are fewer been practicing with already and i look forward to practice with you all together
welcome
he did
oh right
a cope with your vigilant
that's something the morning and take you
to the new members for joining us on one of the things that i found that challenging and most rewarding is overcoming obstacles
in pursuit of a regular practice and i've heard each of you and more let's say that
the youth you're aware of that i'd be interested to hear what was the last obstacle because there will be more like if anyone has a sense of they finally hit that accidents that okay i'm going i'd be interested to hear so if any any of the new members my to comment thank you
with with any new member like to say something about that an obstacle at you hit
i got ever
the to was that you and yeah i can okay
it's not
i don't have like one particular day or something but it was after my fourth year of teaching where every single year i have this period webs like i can't do this i'm gonna quit a i just can't keep doing this it's too hard and i had tried and tried and tried to make it different and then the same thing would happen and so after four years of that i was like well i
i want to keep teaching because i think this is important but i can't keep doing it the way i am so i need to find a way and and it's not getting different stuff to figure out how am i going to be different so that it doesn't affect me so much and so that led me to be more interested meditation in general and then a colleague of mine recommended
checking out bcc of cheese practice of san francisco zen center and so it was like three days after the end of a soulier when i kind of feel like i just looked around it was like i'll have to go there after as to do something about this or else i'm not gonna knock the make it
that's as good as very good have any of any other new member have any and thing like they'd like to add to that total mutual accusations girl or to ask a jerome
come where do you do in india

thank you very much saddam i'm a student or i just to have completed my m for buddhist literature know so little to get the most of the paper was regarding the could not have novel on of the novel for the bud white clothes ah right now waiting for my phd in gala
so when i was doing my m flavors curiously but to study the buddhist culture insulting them especially guideline domino to be had a strong really are a historical cultural the and get everything is missed to i am personally i'm focusing on be iconography studies how the buddhist iconography is
added to the hindu religion with my bosom enlist gonna go found a lot of the aggregate vicar evidences from gala this is an activity and doing well thank you
a bang government says entanglements or virgin
for i think you get would you like ask a question comment via book carry
ice
wow
i have to say that
you know you guys don't know how much mammals to earn
all the members
key to see such a used to group from he can and connect with us and i just have to say i can't wait to get in go
oh okay love your thank you
no question will

i'm i'm a question for angry is edge
did you are you going
trojan i just arrived at work
we've been much are you drive yeah i hope it hasn't been too distracting i wanted to have a nice fanatic
extend my sincere allowed me to a new i wonder if i could just i've been wanting to raise my hands that couldn't do that keep my hand on the steering wheel know
so i'm to say i know a number of our new members of people who just threw themselves into the to the needs during the beginning of the current crisis and really extended themselves to the saga and to the wider community
a acknowledge how the inspiring and encouraging that has been to near than older member to have young people really get the heart of the practice from the very beginning and be wonderful a role models and an age and a difficult time
welcome everyone i'm so encouraged the to here
thank you andrea will i do have a question from married jury a to each one of you are first of all she wants to welcome everyone marries our president and ah she say she says this is a very moving to hear you and see you
i wonder if each person could say which aspect of the practice sustains you most in these challenging days what aspect of the practice sustains you most
would one of the remembers again thanks to begin
i guess i can start thumbs
generosity the practice as trying to you
be generous towards and with other people

i couldn't go next
yes
i'm
it's ah aspects of sanga definitely a support me a lot
seeing especially
a more seasoned members live their lives provides me with the laws
encouragement and i get a lot out of stuff with the relationships from from

am i can go next so
just knowing that all of you exist keeps me going to snowing that this is a stream of reality that i can tap into is very motivating on the conversations whether it's a dharma talk or the classes
we are really really profoundly sustaining am and i loved that there's this whole universe of
email flurry that happens after a talk or ah you know there's some sort of exchange and then there's always just a a couple of little follow up emails thank you for this i appreciated that i just i really love that kind of engagement because it keeps the conversation alive for me
throughout the day so anybody can email me anytime i love it

i'm from for me i'm returning to the christian each day from rounding is has become essential and and
what i found unexpected was the comfort knowing that i'm not alone in doing that
knowing that the sanga the supported me whether we're on scene together or whether we're not been among the cushion and i know that
you are also on the cushion with his family
say it it's very very comforting thank him

i agree with what a lot of other folks have said that i think the presence of this community has been really helpful and kind of coming back every week i've been meeting with the young in space on group and that's been this like sustaining kind of practice throughout this whole period is as i got completely over zoomed and i stopped going to a bunch of these if
front zoom gatherings that were happening that was the one that stayed i was like i go to this every week i i have to go to this this is really important
and then coming to saturday program and hearing the talks has been with with sustaining and i think also
from the beginning that the framing of i i don't know who i talked to or where where this idea came from but just being like okay what like
you were attached to this idea of what the world was supposed to be like at it's like kicking you and show you know it's not like that and then as this has continued it it just repeatedly as like oh this is what you thought was going to happen now that's that's not it and it feeling like i have some sort of framework to be kind of okay with that
or to just accept that i think has been really helpful and so every time i start to feel like i'm struggling with what's happening and like know you were you were holding onto one idea of what you thought was supposed to happen and that's not what's going on now

yeah i think for me i'm just the ideas even even just compassion in general see self as other and other self others obviously like that's always important but it's been on a good thing to remember to keep
in focus now and just for for me personally i'm the penelope channing service on tuesday that something that i really really been enjoying and something i look forward to every week and can help me i guess focus and then keep that in mind so

i'm gonna be up here
well but i fell from the sanga it is very spiritually connected glue but they built a put me time now and then the better there like a piece that perfect very strong there and many helping nature but nobody asked me you know can
the mayor asked cake in a in heaven with immediately a good response so because the balding of a spiritual friendship is willing to rooted in the summer so i experienced this the her footings from this a saga thank you vitamins
as i just wanna thank everyone who has come and our new members and just let people know there were four that couldn't make it so ah hopefully next year they'll be able to join this ceremony
so just thanks also to do to carol and to judy and to kicker who ah you kept the wheels turning throughout the ceremony thank you thank you so as we say keep coming back
it is very nourishing here his home is what we call home it really is