Brooklyn Zen Center

What is Brooklyn Zen Center?

Brooklyn Zen Center is a Soto Zen community in the tradition of San Francisco Zen Center’s founder, Shunryu Suzuki. The community’s founding students came from both San Francisco Zen Center and Austin Zen Center, where they studied with dharma teachers from both centers.

What is the mission of Brooklyn Zen Center?

The mission of Brooklyn Zen Center is to cultivate an open community based on the Buddha’s teachings of love and interconnectedness. The formal name for the practice space is Koshin-ji or Boundless Mind Temple. The Center continues to honor the practice in its tradition with the belief that all beings are Buddha.

Who are the main teachers of the Center?

The head dharma teacher is Teah Strozer. Teah is a Zen Buddhist priest, dharma teacher, and lineage holder in the Soto Zen tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. She received dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman. Greg Snyder is a dharma teacher at Brooklyn Zen Center, as well as its co-founder and current President. He is also the Senior Director of Buddhist Studies at Union Theological Seminary, where he directs and teaches in a Masters of Divinity program focused on Buddhism and Inter-religious Engagement. Laura O’Loughlin is co-founder and lay teacher at Brooklyn Zen Center. Before she began training with Teah Strozer, Laura was a student of Darlene Cohen’s. She is currently a psychotherapist, affiliated with the Buddhist Psychotherapy Collective, with her own practice in Manhattan. Zazen is held regularly throughout the week.

What is the essence of Zen practice?

The essence of practice is just to live with an open heart and quiet mind, responding to what life presents with a sense of awe and deep gratitude. Sometimes this may not be our experience. It may be that we feel our hearts are closed or our minds too busy. We may have a sense that our lives are not enough, or the question “Who am I?” may be foremost in our minds. In this spirit, the community offers support for meditation, inquiry, and study. Though each walks the path alone, we also walk together in our practice towards the liberating realization of who we truly are. As this path unfolds, life emerges as Buddha fields of mystery, wonder, and joy. Everyone is welcome to join us on this lifetime journey.

Suzuki Roshi