An Unsettled Life
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 1/25 - 1/31⚡️
“When I sit, something is peaceful and serene, it's just not whatever's going on in my head. But because of my insistence on needing answers that fit into words, I‘m terrified by the fact that I can't explain that peace.” - Henry Zander
Hello Sangha!
Greetings from the wild wintery east! I’m out helping our friends from the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care with their Winter retreat this week, where Henry’s wise words have been inspiring the zazen here in exactly the right ways. And I look forward to sharing more about all that with you on Monday. But! In the meantime, Pedro and Patrick are holding down the center back in sunny LA Saturday morning for you, and seriously Henry’s talk this week was a banger we couldn’t recommend more. And! This Wednesday our new Zen Lit night continues with a follow up on our five skandas talk from a few weeks ago, by going back to the source with the Surangama Sutra and some choice poetic passages on said skandas. And we would be delighted to see you there.
But speaking of selves we’ve spent eons building only to lose them in a flash, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to bring you An Unsettled Life w/ Henry Zander. Henry eloquently confronts an all too relatable existential crisis of accomplishment as he graduates college and tries to figure out who he is when the stress he knew himself by suddenly falls away. Who are we when our burdens of purpose have run their course? Is setting aside 30 minutes a day to feel panicked the remedy we really need? Are a humble plate rice and beans the best recipe for a hot Buddha Body?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, here’s some Surangama Sutra for the week:
Consider this: a clear-eyed person looks up at a clear sky, where nothing but empty space is to be seen. Suppose that, for no particular reason, this person happens to stare, without moving his eyes, until they are stressed to the point that he sees in the empty air a disordered display of flowers, along with various other images that are disordered and chaotic and lack any real attributes. You should know that the skandha of form can be described like this.
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 - 1/25, 10am - 12:30pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Pedro Perez- Our biggest day of the week! Two half hour rounds of zazen and then Pedro is back with in the hot seat for a roundtable discussion from everyone’s favorite practical guidebook to Zen - Uchiyama’s Opening the Hand of Thought. See y’all there!
Monday - 1/27, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of sweet sweet zazen and then our caretaker is back with the scene report from back East and a practical guide to finding fundamental self worth in your sitting. Join us!
Wednesday - 1/29, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Zen Lit Night - Flowers in space! One half hour of zazen and then we take a poetic deep dive into the skandas, in our usual free flowing discussion format. Let’s discuss.
Thursday - 1/30, 7:30pm - 8:40pm
Evening Zazen - Join us for the newest addition to our schedule, two rounds of no frills evening zazen to wind down your day and your week. Good sit with good friends! See y’all there.
Friday - 1/31, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra in English and then Dongshan’s ode to the open secrets hiding inside the plane sight of you and me - The Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi. 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