Brooklyn Zen Center

Buddha light. Hard to find who is «running the show» — and a «whatever goes» feel to the place. Seems orientated to beginners and curious, people who are bringing their street selves and baggage to the scene.

I started coming here about a year ago, mostly a beginner in meditation and certainly in Buddhism. Now I feel like part of the community. This is a special place, with special people. I had and still have resistance to the forms and the chanting, but I keep coming back because the attitude here is so warm and non-​dogmatic. In fact it’s a great place to sit with my resistance and get to know it.
The food for Saturday lunches and retreats is outstanding, and the large, immaculate kitchen is a central focus of the space (along with the zendo). Working in the kitchen here is just as much practice as sitting in the zendo.
The teacher, Teah Strozer, is a huge asset of the Zen Center. She speaks clearly and directly and compassionately, and for me bridges the often confusing gap between Japanese Zen and everyday life in NYC. Her teaching has been a real blessing to me. I also just took her Intro to Zen Buddhism class. I highly recommend it!
I also attend and now co-​lead the Friday Night Zen group. My relationship with the Brooklyn Zen Center got a lot closer when I started coming to this group, where there are no forms and many beginners and lots of direct, refreshing honesty about how we feel about all this meditation stuff.
Anyway, so I’m obviously now involved here, but I write this review as someone who has really benefited from this place and these people. I’m very glad this is here.

Went on a Saturday morning for the intro class. The teacher explained everything in a way that was real accessible. The place is beautiful and it exudes peace, making it a great venue for meditation. The expectation is that you meditate while facing the wall and this really helped me to focus. Beautiful peaceful atmosphere!

Full disclosure: I now work closely with the leadership at the Zen Center, but I didn’t always! Only a year ago, I had never set foot in a Zen Center of any kind and was, to be honest, pretty intimidated by the forms and the ritualism. Well, what drew me in was the warmth of the staff, the down-​to-​earth quality of the community, the incredible peace of the meditations, and the sheer beauty of the space.
In fact, they offer the space for rentals for baby showers, (alcohol free) weddings, meetings, retreats, etc. because it’s so gorgeous and very well-​located off the R train and Union Ave. But I digress — they are a fantastic community and I’m a BIG fan of their Saturday meditations that sweeten the entire week. Watch out — you may find yourself volunteering with them in no time.
Highly recommended!