“Seeing who you get along with is a great way to get to know yourself. Seeing who you don’t get along with is also a great way to get to know yourself.” - Dave Cuomo
Hello Sangha!
Last night was our first Zen Beginner’s Night, and someone asked an interesting question: if you wear glasses, should you leave them on during zazen or not? Not the most consequential inquiry, perhaps, but an uncommon one that delighted us! It’s funny how even after years of practice, a simple thing you’ve never really considered can pop up and surprise you. (The answer? There is no hard and fast rule, just find what works best for you 🤓.)
And speaking of the many different ways you can find yourself on the cushion, tomorrow, 10/3, is the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s our Half Day Retreat! We’ll do a full morning of Zen practice (as always feel free to come and go as you like):
7:00 - 8:10am………………Zazen & Kinhin
8:10 - 8:30am………………Chanting Service & Well Being Dedication
8:40 - 9:10am…………..…Zen Breakfast
9:10 - 9:50am………..……Cleaning & Work Practice
10:05 - 11:15am….……..Zazen & Kinhin
11:15 - 12:15pm………...Dharma Talk w/ Dave
And if anyone (who 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’d be happy to include them in this month’s well being dedication.
Last but not least, on Sunday night we’re hosting a very special event: 🎤A Karaoke Party in the Zendo!🎤 From 5:00 - 8:00pm we’ll be harnessing the power of YouTube and a few auxiliary cables to hook us up to our favorite songs so we can sing our little hearts out in celebration of a few personal milestones around here. Whether you like to sing or you like to hang out while others do, come through and help us raise a glass! We’ll have drinks and popcorn at the ready.
🍁🧘🍂Registration is open for ACZC’s Fall Retreat 🍁🧘🍂
Join us Friday, 12/5 - Sunday, 12/7 for a commuter retreat at ACZC and nearby Sozenji temple in Montebello to celebrate Rohatsu. More details and registration here! Feel free to email us with any questions, as ever. We can’t wait.
And speaking of community happenings that strike us just so, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to present 🎙️ “Can’t We All Just Get Along? (Accord) w/ Dave Cuomo” 🎙️
Dave takes a historical and personal look at getting along with others and the magic sauce to finding a teacher and community you click with. Do we get to pick our sanghas any more than we get to pick our family? Is self reliance actually a Zen goal? How do we get along in places where it seems like we’d definitely rather not belong?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
Shitou was once asked by Yaoshan, “I generally understand the different modes and styles of Buddhism, but I’ve heard that in the South they can point straight to your heart and mind so that you can see your nature and become a Buddha. What do they mean by that??”
Shitou said, “You won’t get it like this, you won’t get it not like this, you won’t get it neither like this nor not like this. What will you do??”
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 10/4, 7am - 12:15pm
Half Day Retreat w/Dave Cuomo - Our biggest day of the month! Starting at 7am, we’ll do a full morning of Zen practice and conclude with a talk with Dave. He’ll follow up his talk on getting along with a look at famous Zen couples throughout history to see what we can learn from those who got along for the long haul. Are some bonds special? What does a full Zen life look life? Has anyone in history ever been who they thought they were?? Lets Discuss!. Join us for as much or as little as your schedule permits. (Full schedule here for reference.) We can’t wait. See y’all there!
Sunday - 10/5, 5pm - 8pm
Karaoke Night at ACZC! - We’re not gonna sit zazen, and we’re not gonna chant, but we WILL be putting our high quality mics to work! Join us for a celebratory evening of belting out our favorite tunes right here in the zendo with our favorite people to sit next to in silence. It’s gonna be a blast, come out for a song or two!
Monday - 10/6, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Tanya Orlov - One half hour of zazen and then our dear friend and former ACZC resident Tanya returns with a seasonal talk about hungry ghosts. Time to get spooky, Buddhist style 👻! See you there.
Wednesday - 10/8, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit Night - This week! The thrilling conclusion of our mini deep dive into Dogen’s classic Inmo. Shitou’s gonna point us straight to our hearts and minds, Huineng is going to come straight at us, and we’re going to learn the question that makes the universe go round. Let’s take one last thrill rider on the spin cycle of space, time, hearts, and minds, y’all.
Friday - 10/10, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we chant the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra along with Dogen and Hongzhi’s inimitable Zazenshin. The sky is wide open to heaven and the birds are flying like birds. 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