A Real Heart Warmer
ACZC Happenings, 3/3 - 3/10
“This internal experience was also weirdly external. Something that felt so distant, foreign and alien, was still an inherent, important, and somewhat perfect part of me.” - Henry Zander
Hello Sangha!
And Happy Celebration of Silliness to you. What is a Celebration of Silliness you ask? (Besides just the general idea of existence…) Good question! Why, it’s our great ancestor Dongshan’s memorial this week, a man so generous he threw his own seven day funeral feast and gave it a splashy little name, which we get to commemorate this week when Dave regales us with the full story followed by a special bagel brunch (get it? They’re like little enzos… The zenniest of breads) during our Half Day Sit tomorrow (Saturday 3/4) at 10am (details below - schedule posted here).
And also this coming week is the worm moon, which means you are all invited to join us to chant our little hearts out for sentient beings of all shapes and sizes at our Full Moon Ceremony, Sunday (3/5) at 7pm.
But speaking of coming together under the big bad moonlight that nobody asked for*, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to bring you Henry Zander w/ “A Real Heart Warmer” (What Am I Doing Here??). Henry, who, as many of you know, will soon be joining us to take the reigns as temporary center caretaker this summer, brings us to the great Christian midwestern plains to regale us with a personal practice story of finding yourself somewhat alone in your own weird wildness only to find the odd ways a solitary experience can flourish and hone itself when it finds its way into a community. How is poetry both a boon and a hindrance to practice? What do we gain or lose when we sit together instead of on our own? And how is it that a practice that preaches ultimate oneness can often leave us feeling isolated? Find out here!!
(*another Henry Zander quote. There were just too many good ones to choose from… )
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms
And hey, here’s the koan for the week.
Case in point:
Whenever Luzu saw a monk coming he would face the wall in meditation.
When Nanquan heard about this he said, “I always tell them, ‘You should start your practice before the age of before everything. Get the understanding that precedes the Buddhas.’ But no one gets even the half of it. And they’ll go on that way until the Year of the Ass.”
This Week in Zen! All sessions hosted in person and on Zoom unless otherwise marked (email us for quick and easy Zoom access info):
Saturday - 3/4 at 10am
Half Day Sit w/ Dave Cuomo - Our biggest day of the month! Two half hour rounds of zazen, one walking meditation in the middle, a short Well Being Ceremony, a discussion with Dave, a short break for lunch (lunch provided for those joining in person), and then two more rounds of that sweet sweet zazen. As always come for as much or as little of the day as you are able. The lunch rumor is our tenzo has prepared us a bountiful bagel brunch with homemade cinnamon raisin bagels, and did someone say something about chocolate tonic tea? Color us intrigued. We'll see y’all there.
If anyone you know (personally) is sick or otherwise in need of good health well wishes, you can add their names to the form you see here (bottom of the page) and we will be happy to include them in this month’s Well Being Dedication.
Sunday - 3/5 at 7pm
Full Moon Ceremony - One half hour of zazen followed by the oldest (and some say most beautiful) ceremony in Buddhism - The Rayaku Fusatsu, aka repentance ceremony. Join us!
Monday - 3/6 at 7:30pm
Sit & Talk w/ Tanya Orlov - One half hour of zazen and then Tanya, a friendly and familiar face to all who’ve been joining us on Mondays, takes the hot seat to tell us the story what she’s doing and why she’s here, while we just maybe learn something about those things for ourselves. Join us!
Wednesday - 3/8 at 7:30pm (Zoom Only)
Sit & Koan Discussion w/ Robert Holliday - This week! Old Luzu thinks he’s got his teaching moves all worked out, but a few centuries worth of Zen masters seem to have a few notes. Can Luzu read the writing on his own wall? Can we?? Let’s discuss.
Thursday - 3/9 at 7pm (Zoom Only)
Yoga & Zazen w/ Nina Snow - And Nina is back for a perfect Thursday evening of winding down and opening up with one hour of slow flow yoga, follow by one half hour of sweet sweet zazen. See y’all there.
Friday - 3/10 at 8am
Heart Sutra Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra in English, followed by Shitou’s easy going (some might say lazy ode (not us of course, but some…)) ode to how little we ultimately need to know, the Straw Hut Song. Poetry for the ages! Come on out and lend us your voice.
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