Facilitated by
Diane Eshin Rizzetto
This course welcomes anyone seeking a rich and supportive environment to cultivate Deep Hope in challenging times.
Deep Hope: Course Information
Many of us feel shaken by the times we live in—by the personal struggles in our own lives and by the social, economic, political and environmental crises shaping the wider world. Fear, anger, confusion, despair can take hold, and hope may feel far away. Yet, when familiar structures begin to unravel, something else becomes possible. Times of uncertainty can also open the door to a new way of living and acting with clarity, courage and hope, even in the midst of suffering.
This six-week course invites you to explore the path of Deep Hope—a living, active force that arises when we meet the unknown with openness and possibility. The path of Deep Hope begins with ourselves, expands to our relationships—family, friends, co-workers—and then flows into the world, each step building strength, clarity, and compassion for whatever comes next.
We will draw upon a range of Buddhist teachings including but not limited to the Paramitas:
Giving and receiving all that sustains and supports us
Engaging skillful action
Resting in patience amid complexity and conflict
Wholehearted effort rooted in wise compassionate action
Presence in meditation
Experiencing the interdependence and connection of everything
We approach the Paramitas not as abstract ideals, but as living practices that grow out of our everyday life. When we engage with them, we uncover a Deep Hope—a grounded, resilient, and courageous hope rooted in presence and wise action rather than wishful thinking or attachment to specific outcomes. As we explore this work together, we connect to a deep source of strength and resilience building a foundation so each of us, in our own way, can skillfully take action in our turbulent world.
Our work together will be in the form of Circle—an age-old practice that fosters deep listening, bearing witness, and openness. Diane Eshin Rizzetto will facilitate us through Dharma instruction, group exercises, meditation, and activities that encourage us to explore how personal practice and engaging in the world are part of one continuous movement. It begins with cultivating the inherent strength of the Paramitas toward ourselves, expanding relationships and engagement with others—all while remaining rooted in every day actions. This widening circle illustrates that spiritual practice and going forth in the world, in whatever capacity, are inseparable, each deepening and sustaining the other.
Dates and Time: Sundays, October 12,19,26, 10:00AM - 11:30AM; Saturday, November 1, 10:00AM - 11:30AM; Sundays, November 9,16, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
In person only. Class size limited to 18
Donation: Suggested donation is $150-$250 or whatever you can afford.
Registration
The Way of Deep Hope: Cultivating Steadfastness and Wise Action in Today’s World will be offered in person at the Bay Zen Center in Oakland, CA.
The circle size is limited to 18 in person participants. Once the limit is reached a message will be posted here. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list you can do so by marking the checkbox at the bottom of this enrollment form.
Please fill out the enrollment form below. You will be enrolling for all 6 sessions:
Sundays, October 12,19,26, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Saturday, November 1, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Sundays, November 9,16, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Donation: Suggested donation is $150-$250 or whatever you can afford. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
If you have questions email deephopecircle@gmail.com
The Facilitator
The Bodhisattva enters the marketplace, taking useful action
in a suffering world for the benefit of all.
The role of the facilitator is to help guide the process of our work together and to encourage group participation. In the words of Paul Hawken: “One person’s knowledge can only represent a fragment of the totality of what is known, wisdom can be achieved when people combine what they have learned….We become human by working together and helping [and bearing witness to] one another.”
Facilitator, Diane Rizzetto, is a Dharma teacher who has been teaching and practicing, primarily in the Zen tradition, for 40 years. A former abbot and founder of the Bay Zen Center in Oakland, CA, she is also a co-founder of the Ordinary Mind Zen School, a non-denominational approach to cultivating awareness in the activities of daily life. She is the author of Deep Hope: Zen Guidance for Staying Steadfast When the World Seems Hopeless and Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion. Diane’s teachings remind us that our meditation practice includes but is not limited to the personal, inward reflection for it also encourages us to clearly face the challenges the future holds for we humans, and to recognize that the future we hope for, requires an inner transformation that will inevitably bring about outer (social) change.