The Brooklyn Zen Center was co-founded by Greg Snyder, Laura O’Loughlin, and Ian Case in 2005. Its current president is dharma teacher, Greg Snyder. Its founders have different levels of expertise on Buddhism, and different strengths that they bring to the center. Greg Snyder is a lineage holder in the Suzuki Roshi lineage of Soto Zen. He received dharma transmission and priest ordination from Teah Strozer, who is the head teacher at the center. Anti-violence, peace-building, and social justice initiatives are major themes that surround the activities Greg Snyder is involved in. Besides teaching the dharma, he also facilitates various programs which explore “self-identities that may unconsciously perpetuate societal suffering”. Laura O’Loughlin is another one of BZC’s founders. She is a lay dharma teacher and a psychotherapist. She incorporates her knowledge of mindfulness in her healing work as a clinician. Before founding the BZC, she lived in Buddhist communities and was the director for the Austin Zen Center. Ian Case is another co-founder of the BZC. He was a student in the center since its beginning, and was ordained as a Buddhist priest in October 2016 by Teah Strozer. Currently, he is involved in the center as head of the meditation hall.
The administrative team and teachers at BZC are constituted of people that come from a variety of backgrounds that add to the diversity of the center as a whole. Teah Strozer is the head teacher at the center, and has been practicing meditation since 1967. She received dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman, and thus is a lineage holder of the Soto Zen tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. She has studied under various Buddhist masters including Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Strozer splits her time between the BZC and the San Francisco Zen Center where she taught for years, as well as the Bay School of San Francisco. When in the BZC, she leads extended meditations retreats as well as practice periods. Greg Snyder and Laura O’Loughlin are the two other teachers at the center.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was a Japanese Zen Buddhist priest who belonged to the Soto Zen tradition. He is credited with helping to promote Zen Buddhism in the United States. The Soto Zen tradition is one of the largest Zen traditions in Japanese Buddhism. Soto Zen stems from a Chinese version of the teachings, the Caodong School. The founder of the Soto sect in Japan was Dogen, a Japanese Buddhist priest. The Soto Zen tradition advocates for meditation without a goal, but rather, because it is self-fulfilling, and because our Buddha nature wants to practice.
His most popular teaching revolved around the concept of the “beginner’s mind”, which he talked about in his popular book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. The beginner’s mind refers to the state of being open and eager to receive a teaching. After arriving in California in 1959, he saw how many people of diverse backgrounds came to him for instruction in meditation and thus, the San Francisco Zen Center was founded to meet these needs.
Hoitsu Suzuki is also part of the Soto Zen lineage. The dharma was transmitted to him by his father Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. In 1966, he became the abbot of Rinsoin temple, which is a temple located in Japan. He followed in father’s footsteps and was involved with the San Francisco Zen Center as well. After the death of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Sojun Mel Weitsman, a Soto Zen Buddhist priest, received dharma transmission from Hoitsu Suzuki. Weitsman also founded the Berkeley Zen Center in 1967. He transmitted the dharma to Teah Strozer, the head teacher at the BZC.
The BZC is a diverse community, whose members all have different backgrounds yet come together for the same reason: to practice Zen Buddhism. The BZC is committed to creating a space in which all are welcome to practice Zen Buddhism.
Branching Streams is a group of centers that focus on the practice of Soto Zen. As part of Branching Streams, one of the purposes of the Brooklyn Zen Center is to promote Soto Zen in a way that embraces people from all backgrounds and thus creates a community where individuals can learn from each other.
Its commitment to inclusivity can be seen through the programs it offers. Greg Snyder, a teacher and president of the center, facilitates programs such as “Undoing Whiteness and Oppression”. This program focuses on the Buddhist vow which states that one shall not do harm, and hopes to create a space in which individuals who identify as white may reflect on the ways in which biases and certain social positions may result in oppression. Similar to this, another program offered at the center is titled: “undoing patriarchy and unveiling the sacred masculine”. Through this program, individuals who identify as male meet to reflect on the concept of patriarchy, and its ramifications, as well as move towards developing compassion. In order to create a sense of community and support, the “People of color Sangha” is another program offered at the BZC. The meeting is facilitated by members of color, who meet with the goal of creating support and understanding of the ways in which its members face “oppressive, racial, biased social structures”.
The center’s goal of inclusivity can also be seen in the way that it accommodates its programs and events in a way that fit the lives of its members. They offer tools that can help one continue with the practice of mindfulness throughout the day. In this way, they are not specifically following a tradition, but instead, they are adjusting Buddhist practices to fit the daily lives of its members. Awake Youth Project is another program offered that hopes to teach meditation and mindfulness techniques to underserved high schools. In this way, the BZC is bringing the tools of meditation, in a secular manner, to a greater audience. This community’s practices differ from other Buddhist communities, particularly those that are predominantly Asian American, in that they are not placing tradition in the forefront of their practice. But rather, they seek to accommodate its member’s needs, and focus particularly on the practice of meditation and mindfulness in a way that can appeal to people of all religions and backgrounds.
The Brooklyn Zen Center has a variety of practices and programs that they offer. As seen by the programs they offer, one goal of the BZC is to present the Zen Buddhist tradition in a way that is approachable to all of its members.
As stated by Shunryu Roshi, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few”. The concept of a “beginner’s mind” is something that is emphasized in BZC. Through this knowing, they fully welcome all who wish to practice Zen, and offer tools to the new practitioners so they may familiarize themselves with the practice.
Like traditional Buddhist monasteries, the BZC is supported solely by donations of its members. But unlike the old practices, by becoming a member through regular donations, one is offered extra benefits, such as participation in a 3-month “Beginner’s Mind Experience”, a separate membership rate for events, and borrowing privileges in their library. In doing this, they describe as partaking in the practice of dana, or giving, which is also described in Shunryu Suzuki Roshi’s book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. But even if one is not able to give, the BZC makes it clear that no one will be turned away because of lack of funds. Taking part in meditation and practice at the center is a form of “giving practice”. Their meditations take place in the mornings during weekdays, and extend towards the afternoon on Saturdays.
The center also provides a copy of chants from ancient texts that they recite during certain services and ceremonies. Having these available aids the members in becoming more familiar with Buddhist texts and thus deepening their practice.
Kitchen training is a practice that the BZC offers as a way to incorporate Zen Buddhism in the daily lives of its members. This practice focuses on being present and mindful as you are preparing your food.
The BZC also offers a variety of sources for those that wish to further expand their practice. Their library is one of the sources available for further practice. They emphasize the many ways in which aligning with the dharma can help align the mind toward awakening. Using one passage or sentence as koan can help understanding “arise spontaneously”. For example, a “critical phrase” is part of a koan that makes no logical sense. Through meditation, in the effort to make meaning of the phrase, one will exhaust the mind and thus be in a space able to receive the teaching that the phrase holds.
The BZC also offers a detailed study list that can help structure a plan of study for those that are interested in taking part of the many benefits that study may bring. This detailed study list covers readings from the Four Noble Truths, to the Abhidharma, to Koans, and much more.
The BZC allows its members control over how much they wish to be involved with the practice of Soto Zen Buddhism. Whether it’s only attending meditation sessions once a week, or being involved in the many practices as well as the study of the ancient texts.
By: Alexandra Robles
Works Cited
“A New York City Soto Zen Buddhist Meditation Center.” Brooklyn Zen Center, brooklynzen.org/.
“The Soto Zen Buddhist Association.” SZBA, szba.org/soto-zen/.