Chaotic, Reckless, Wakefulness
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 2/15 - 2/21⚡️
“Dogen said, ‘Don’t hang out with deluded people.’ But I felt like I was surrounded by these people at Eiheiji. I wondered, am I just totally screwed up? I didn’t want to be self righteous, but something definitely felt off. I just couldn’t put my finger on it yet as a 20 year old kid…
But when I started to actually see the whole institution, and what happened historically, and what Dogen and Keizan’s wishes actually were… In a word, their wish was to see us enjoy our encounters with Shakyamuni Buddha, just like Dogen did.” - Gyokei Yokoyama
Hello Sangha!
And a happy day of boundless love to everyone! The best part about breaking your heart is how many pieces you’ll have to share (or so we hear). To us it’s just one more excuse to tell you how lucky we feel to get to share all of our unique, fleeting, and illusory little pieces of space, time, and sangha with you. Because we really really do.
But speaking of love letters born from the fertile fields of empty space, tomorrow (Saturday 2/15) 1pm - 4pm (following the usual Saturday morning session) is the grand return of our Zen Writing Workshop, back by popular demand! Join us for a few hours of free writes, zazen (of course), free flowing banter, absolutely zero judgements (guaranteed), and on the spot found poetry you didn’t even know you were writing. Writers of all (including no) experience levels welcome, no pre-written work required. It’s a self contained afternoon to help us flex our creative capacities, engage in a little playtime, and call it practice. And we’d be delighted to see you there in person or on zoom. But! Since it’s a structured group workshop, we do ask people to be on time for this event please.
Also! This Monday at 7:30pm we are making the evening session an Intro to Zen Night, which means it’s a great night to bring your Zen curious friends and loved ones who’ve been meaning to check it out. Or your Zen curious self if that’s you! The evening will follow the standard format, with a slightly more in depth meditation instruction, a half hour sit, and a talk designed to give you everything you need to kick off your practice right, or kick that can down the road to be there to bite you in the butt when, and in exactly the ways, you need. And if you think you’re too advanced for the beginner class, well, that sounds to us like you might need to take that class again…
Also! Saturday March 1st at 7pm, join us for our first “Same Difference” Rent Party, in which we host a variety show of music, comedy, stories, poetry and other entertainments here in the ACZC zendo. We’ve heard rumors of homemade ginger beer and popcorn…
But speaking of a fundamental love that can never let you down even when it does, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to bring you Chaotic, Reckless, Wakefulness (How to train Zen) w/ Gyokei Yokoyama. Gyokei takes an honest historical look at the tough love of monastic training, and the rebels and reformers who tried to improve it along the way. What kind of people are we trying to cultivate, and what kind of monks are we actually making? What does it take for a monk to be so bad even Dogen won’t sit with them? And does meeting the great matter of life and death actually require risking your life? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, here’s some ZenLit(™) for the week:
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Love & Listening said:
“I began with a practice of inner listening and entered into free flow. I became still, and both activity and calm no longer occurred. Gradually progressing, my hearing and what it heard came to an end; but I didn’t stop there. My awareness and what is aware of it were then both emptied. When all awareness was completely emptied, both emptiness and what was emptied also came to an end. When all occurring and ending had come to an end, the end of stillness appeared.
Suddenly, I leapt beyond the world and all worlds beyond it, all space and time were illuminated, and I gained two extraordinary abilities. First, I rose to unite with the fundamental awesome heart of all Buddhas throughout space and time, and my capacity for love became the same as theirs. Second, I came down and united with all beings in all realms, and their longings and woes became my own.”
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 - 2/15, 10am - 12:30pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Henry Zander - Our biggest day of the week! two half hour rounds of zazen, one walking meditation in the middle, and then crowd favorite and great sangha friend, Henry Zander of the Lincoln Zen Center, joins us for a warm and wily discussion to kick off our weekend. See y’all there!
Saturday - 2/15, 1pm - 4pm
Zen Writing Workshop - Meditation, free writes, readings, reaction/reflections, and found poetry all created spontaneously in a judgement free zone. All experience levels welcome (including none at all), no prewritten work required. As a structured group event, we do ask people to be on time for this one please.
Monday - 2/17, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion (Intro to Zen) w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of sweet sweet zazen and then our friendly caretaker takes the hot seat for a briefly thorough introduction and reminder of what exactly we’re doing here - for beginners of any and all experience levels. Join us!
Wednesday - 2/19, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit Night - The Bodhisattva of Love and Listening reveals all! And gives us her bare bones road map to meditative enlightenment. But is the reward what we really wanted? Are we ready for the reality of love, or, can it be avoided even if we wanted?? Let’s discuss.
Thursday - 2/20, 7:30pm - 8:40pm
Evening Zazen - Join us for the newest addition to our schedule with two rounds of perfectly still uninhibited evening zazen to wind down your day and your week, and maybe even go a little deep. See y’all there.
Friday - 2/21, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra in English and then Sengcan’s classic ode to finding faith in the friends you’ll never truly know (some things are just too close to see…). Poetry for the ages! Come on out and lend us your voice. We hear it’s a gift that keeps on giving
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