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Berkeley Zen Center Dharma Talks

Berkeley Zen Center Dharma Talks

Plunge Into Sangha

Jul 19, 2026 · 41 min · 10 segments

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Saturday, July 18th 2026 by Zenshin Greg Fain.

Speakers: Greg FainGuest

Top entities: Berkeley Zen Center×10 Sangha×11 The Buddha×13 Dharma×9 Dōgen×3

Oryoki Breakfast Practice3:31 – 6:04

3:31

Yeah.

3:31

Okay.

3:32

Oh my gosh.

3:33

Wonderful.

3:34

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Berkeley Zen Center.

3:37

Um [clears throat] so, um, yeah, there were 11 people eating breakfast this morning and two people serving breakfast.

3:53

Last Saturday, I served Oryoki with Ross.

3:57

Another thing that...

3:59

Wow, what a joy.

4:01

Um, yeah.

4:04

It was just the two of us.

4:06

Again, just two servers.

4:09

It was really great.

4:10

I love serving Oryoki.

4:13

Uh, this is, uh, you know, dynamic activity.

4:21

Zen is a religion of action, and when you serve Oryoki, you get to check out everybody's bowls.

4:33

[laughs] It's fun.

4:35

They're all a little bit different.

4:37

[laughs] They're all, like, expression of people's practice in a way.

4:42

I, I enjoy that a lot.

4:44

And the silent interaction when you're doing it is something, uh, yeah, I really...

4:51

Uh, been doing it for years and, uh, still not tired of it.

4:56

You know, I'll probably keep doing it as long as my body allows me to.

5:02

The fact that, um, there were only 11 people for Oryoki breakfast, but we did it anyway, what I thought was Mel would be so proud.

5:16

This was really important to him.

Berkeley Zen CenterPlace of WorshipTemple in Berkeley, California
98%10 mentions
SanghaEntity
95%11 mentions
The BuddhaPersonTeacher
91%13 mentions
DharmaEntityReligion
88%9 mentions
DōgenPersonJapanese monk and writer
84%3 mentions
ZenEntityPhilosophy
80%8 mentions
ŌryōkiEntity
77%7 mentions
GenjōkōanBook
73%4 mentions
Indra's netEntity
70%2 mentions
LaughterEntity
66%1 mention
BuddhismEntityReligion
63%5 mentions
ZazenEntity
59%3 mentions
Tassajara Zen Mountain CenterEntityMonastery in Monterey County, California
55%2 mentions
Shunryū SuzukiPersonMonk and teacher
52%5 mentions
EnglishEntitySpoken language
48%1 mention
Reb AndersonPersonAmerican Zen Buddhist teacher
45%3 mentions
Jean-Paul SartrePersonFrench philosopher
41%1 mention
San Francisco Zen CenterTourist AttractionMeditation center in San Francisco, California
38%2 mentions
SesshinEntity
34%1 mention
CaliforniaAdministrative AreaUS state
30%1 mention
SanskritEntityIndian language
27%2 mentions
DokusanEntity
23%1 mention
JapanCountryCountry in East Asia
20%3 mentions
British ColumbiaAdministrative AreaCanadian Province
14%1 mention
VancouverCityCity in British Columbia, Canada
14%1 mention
Blanche HartmanPersonTeacher
9%3 mentions
United StatesCountryCountry in North America
5%1 mention
HinduismEntityReligion
2%1 mention

BuddhismReligion
Cultural PracticesReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
ZazenReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism > Meditation
Zen BuddhismReligion > Buddhism
RitualsReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
TeachingsReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
Religion
Community PracticesReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
SanghaReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism > Community Practices
OryokiReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism > Rituals
DharmaReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism > Teachings
InterdependenceReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism > Cultural Practices
MeditationReligion > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism

Oryoki Breakfast Practice3:31 – 6:04

3:31

Yeah.

3:31

Okay.

3:32

Oh my gosh.

3:33

Wonderful.

3:34

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Berkeley Zen Center.

3:37

Um [clears throat] so, um, yeah, there were 11 people eating breakfast this morning and two people serving breakfast.

3:53

Last Saturday, I served Oryoki with Ross.

3:57

Another thing that...

3:59

Wow, what a joy.

4:01

Um, yeah.

4:04

It was just the two of us.

4:06

Again, just two servers.

4:09

It was really great.

4:10

I love serving Oryoki.

4:13

Uh, this is, uh, you know, dynamic activity.

4:21

Zen is a religion of action, and when you serve Oryoki, you get to check out everybody's bowls.

4:33

[laughs] It's fun.

4:35

They're all a little bit different.

4:37

[laughs] They're all, like, expression of people's practice in a way.

4:42

I, I enjoy that a lot.

4:44

And the silent interaction when you're doing it is something, uh, yeah, I really...

4:51

Uh, been doing it for years and, uh, still not tired of it.

4:56

You know, I'll probably keep doing it as long as my body allows me to.

5:02

The fact that, um, there were only 11 people for Oryoki breakfast, but we did it anyway, what I thought was Mel would be so proud.

5:16

This was really important to him.

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