Dispatch from Japan 🇯🇵🏯🗾
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 5/30 - 6/5⚡️
Hello Sangha!
Your humble caretakers are currently on a bullet train with spotty wifi, so we’ll keep this brief: it’s been an epic trip to Japan so far!
Dave completed the first of his two Zuise ceremonies at Sojiji (Keizan’s temple) on Thursday, and we’re en route to Eiheiji (Dogen’s temple) for the second one early tomorrow morning. When we haven’t been on the clock, we’ve been packing in tons of walking, sightseeing, train-riding, people-watching, shopping for cat-related souvenirs, sitting zazen on a fourth-floor balcony, eating onigiri from the konbini, and shocking Gyokei with our unruly American-ness (he told us to treat the city like a zendo and we’re trying our best, but it’s hard!!).
It’s been a blast and we can’t wait to tell you more when we’re back next week.
🧘🌊⛺️⛰️ Have You Registered for Our Spring Camping Zazen Retreat? 🧘🌊⛺️⛰️
There’s still time! From Fri, 6/12 to Mon, 6/15 we’ll gather at a beautiful site at Pt. Mugu, just north of Malibu, for three days of zazen, chanting, dharma talks, good friends, and good practice. Join us!
🚫🎙️No podcast this week!🎙️🚫
We’ve been busy gathering experiences to fuel future talks and will return to our regularly scheduled programming next week. 😎
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
Just before Siddhartha became enlightened, Māra, the evil one, saw his power and was jealous. He called out, “Get up, Prince! On what grounds could you ever become enlightened?”
Buddha said, “Evil one! I gave everything I have and more to liberate everyone.”
Māra said, “No one witnessed a single one of your acts, so why even mention them?”
Buddha said, “The earth is my witness.”
Then he embraced Māra like a lion, without fear, anxiety, or goose bumps. He let his right hand slide over his entire body, gracefully tapped the earth and said,
“The earth supports everyone without bias. She is my witness.”
When he touched the earth it shook in six different ways, quivered, trembled, quaked, boomed, thundered, and roared. Then the earth goddess, Sthāvarā, shook the entire earth, broke through its surface and said, “It’s all true, everything you said, but you alone are the ultimate witness.”
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 5/30, 10am - 12:05pm
Sit & Talk with Pedro Peres - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Pedro takes the hotseat. He’ll be talking about struggling to stay consistent with Zazen when life gets busy and/or tough with some help from Kosho Uchiyama Roshi’s book, “Opening the Hand of Thought.” See you there!
Monday - 6/1, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Talk w/Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave is back from Japan to give a report on his Zuise ceremonies at Zen’s two head temples. The man has come quite a long way on many levels, and we can’t wait to hear what he has to say about it. Come on out!
Wednesday - 6/3, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - This week! A mysterious encounter between Buddha, Mara, and an earth-shaking goddess. Join us and let’s discuss!
Friday - 6/5, 8am - 8:40am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we’ll chant the Heart Sutra and great ancestor Sengcan’s Trusting Heart and Mind Inscription, aka the Xin Xin Ming. 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
wow you went to japan- thoughts?