A Clever Game
ACZC Happenings, 3/16 - 3/22
“When the Dharma does not fill your whole body and mind, you think it's already sufficient. When the Dharma does fill your whole body and mind, you know something is missing.” - Dogen
Hello Sangha!
And speaking of things said here just the other day that have been ringing in the deep dark quiet of our hearts through the ages, we have a mildly exciting switch up to the format to announce this week. After roaring our way through 376 classic koans over the last seven years, we looked up from our dusty old books and thought “Ok Zen, but what you have done for us lately?” And so, while our research librarian is off on holiday for the next three months (seriously, where’s the commitment, amiright?), we’ll be trading in our classic koan collections to dive into a brand new book that is sure to provide ample confounding fodder for our Wednesday night koan discussions with “The Zen Teachings of Homeless Kodo.” Led by quips and quotes from Kodo Sawaki, a favorite godfather of sorts to our little sangha, and fleshed out with commentaries by Kosho Uchiyama & Shohaku Okumura, we’ve got a perfect springboard for our own quips, queries, and buddhific banter. Some of you might be familiar with this modern classic, and we’re very excited to dive into it together. We’ll be working out the exact format for how to approach it over the next few weeks, so feel free to pop in and help our facilitators and the rest of the gang bumble our way into some fantastic group process. See y’all there!
Also this weekend (tomorrow, Saturday 3/16 - 1pm)! Our own ACZC band leader Robert Holiday returns for Deep Listening and Sonic Meditations in the outdoor zendo. Make some noise y’all!
But speaking of the wisdoms waiting patiently for us just past the limits of our wit, this week on the podcast we are very excited to bring you A Clever Game (What Am I Doing Here??) w/ Pedro Peres. Long time sangha friend Pedro regales us with the story of what he’s doing and why he’s here - from early forays into beating koans at their own game, to communities built around the beauty of emptiness and chasing that certain something missing that just might be the real liberation we might (or might not) have noticed along the way. Why do we avoid the cushion when we know damn well how well it works? Are we better off without an answer to life, the universe, and everything? Do we need more zazen or do we need more sleep?? Find out here!!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, here’s a koan for the week:
Case in point:
Kodo Sawaki said, “…all human beings without exception are homeless. It’s a mistake to think we have a solid home.”
This Week in Zen! All times posted in Pacific time zone, all sessions hosted in person and on Zoom unless otherwise marked (email us for quick and easy Zoom access info):
Saturday - 3/16, 10am - 12:30pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Jordan Mylet - Our biggest day of the week! Two half hour rounds of zazen and then our good friend Jordan joins us to dig into some choice verses from the Full Moon Ceremony (coming up again next week 3/24!). Have we ever done anything wrong we need to apologize for? And who in the end are we doing this all for anyway?? Let’s find out.
Saturday - 3/16, 1pm - 3pm
Deep Listening Study Circle w/ Robert Holliday- Sonic meditations, movement, and dream exercises hosted by ACZC’s band leader and resident sonic expert. Join us!
Monday - 3/18, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave takes the hot seat to dive into Baizhang’s Three Teachings - 1) Learn to be good. 2) Have any such good notions shattered. 3) Stop trying to do anything and realize true goodness. ‘Cause with a formula like that, the pressure’s off! Good or not, this is gonna be a good one, folks. See y’all there!
Wednesday - 3/20, 7:30pm - 9pm (Zoom Only)
Sit & Koan Discussion w/ Mota - We dig into a new book for the next few months, with quips, quotes, and questionable wisdoms less than a century old! Whoa (we didn’t know we could do that either). Join us as Mota takes the hot seat to lead us in a roundtable on ch 1 of “The Zen Teachings of Homeless Kodo.”
Thursday - 3/21 at 7pm - 8:30pm (Zoom Only)
Yoga & Zazen w/ Nina Snow - And Nina is back to round out our evenings and settle down our week with one rousingly restful hour of Slow Flow Zen Yoga, followed by a half hour of that sweet sweet zazen. We’ll see y’all there.
Friday - 3/22 at 8am
Chanting & Zen Breakfast - This week! We recite the advice so nice we get to chant it twice - Hongzhi & Dogen’s tag team classic, Guidance for Zazen (Zazenshin). Poetry for the ages! And then stick around for ACZC’s fresh hot take on traditional Zen breakfast (house milled multi grain porridge! Mmm…). A nutritious (and delicious) part of this complete practice. Let’s dig in.
Tuesday - Friday, 7am - 8am
Morning Sit - One simple hour of what we do best - just sitting. Optional five minute stretch break offered in the middle.
See y’all soon!
Love,
ACZC