Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

Every Saturday at 7:30 pm, the community at 2304 McKinley Avenue in Berkeley gathers to hear a lecture on the Flower Adornment Sutra, or Avatamsaka. The text is taken line by line, and the aim, as the monastery puts it, is to bring its ancient wisdom up to date for modern lives. Rev. Heng Sure lectures, or monks and nuns of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. The evening is also streamed live on the DharmaRealmLive YouTube channel, and earlier lectures are archived there and on DharmaRadio.

The Saturday lecture carries a lineage. The monastery's founder, Ven. Master Hsuan Hua, began lecturing on Mahayana sutras in the West in 1969. The monastery describes continuing that work as keeping the teachings of the Bodhisattva Path alive as an oasis of clarity and kindness. Sutra texts come from the Buddhist Text Translation Society, a DRBA organization, and teachers from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are invited for special days.

The week is full. Open meditation runs weekdays from 6:15 to 7:15 am and every day from 5:15 to 6:15 pm. Tai Ji Quan in the Guang Ping Yang style, taught by Futung Cheng, meets Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. On Thursday evenings James Baraz and Eve Decker of the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley lead sitting and teachings, with tea served from 6:45. On Friday evenings Professor Martin Verhoeven pairs meditation with a study of the Avatamsaka Sutra. On the first Tuesday of each month, monks from Abhayagiri Monastery offer tea, chanting, meditation and a Dhamma talk. The monastic community also lectures on the Infinite Life Sutra, the Pure Land text.

Much of this is also offered online, including a 4 am morning ceremony, Amitabha recitation at midday and an evening ceremony. On October 11, 2026, a Pure Land Practice Day is held in Chinese. The monastery also lists seven-day retreats in a contemplative setting in Ukiah, California.