Friends Without Benefits
ACZC happenings, 6/10 - 6/16
“It's brave of them to let people just step in and screw up. But it's not about how well you do, or whether you want to do it - we have a task and each person embodies it. If we’re getting anything here, it’s that authenticity.” - Gyokei Yokoyama
Hello Sangha!
Why yes, tomorrow (Saturday, 6/9) is the Second Saturday of the month which means you can join us in the zendo or online zoomdo for Yoga, Sit & Discussion with Nina Snow at 10am. There will be one hour of her trademark slow flow yoga to wake us up, settle us down, and open up our limbs for one half hour of zazen, all followed by talk and tea with Nina. (Rumor has it Robert Holliday may be joining for a brief sound bath as well, but don’t quote us on that.)
And speaking of practicing in community, this week on the podcast we are pleased to present Friends Without Benefits (Sangha) w/ Gyokei Yokoyama.
They say you don’t choose your family, and in Zen we don’t pick our sanghas. Gyokei discusses what it means to practice with a sangha, why it can be the trickiest and most rewarding of the big three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, & Sangha), and the kind of authentic bonding that only happens when we don’t get to choose who we sit next to in the zendo. In a culture of transactional communities, what are we getting out of this one? How can we tell the difference between being taken advantage of in a community, versus doing our part to a greater whole? And how do we run a successful operation when the operating plan is to let people screw it up? Find out here.
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms!
Your koan for the week!
Guishan asked Yangshan, “If someone asked you, ‘Is it true that the karmic consciousness of all sentient beings is ultimately boundless with no reliable basis?’ How would you prove it to them?”
Yangshan said, “I have a test.” Just then a monk passed by and Yangshan called out to him, “Hey you!”
The monk turned his head.
Yangshan said, “You see? This is just karmic consciousness, ultimately boundless with no reliable basis.
Guishan said, “It’s like a drop of lion’s milk gushing forth to displace two full barrels of donkey milk.”
This Week in Zen! All times are in Pacific time zone and all sessions are hosted in person and on Zoom unless otherwise marked (email us for quick and easy Zoom access info):
Saturday - 6/10 at 10am
Sit, Yoga, & Discussion w/ Nina Snow - Nina is here to kick off our weekend with one full hour of beginner-friendly Slow Flow Zen Yoga(™) perfectly designed to open up the body in all the right ways to help make the zazen that much easier, followed of course by one half hour of zazen. Join us!
Monday - 6/12 at 7:30pm
Sit & Talk w/ Sara Campbell - One half hour of zazen and then our very own ACZC resident returns to the hot seat with a talk about the process of moving on from being an ACZC resident! Something tells us impermanence will be coming up in this one. Join us and let’s find out!
Wednesday - 6/14 at 7:30pm (Zoom Only)
Sit & Koan Discussion w/ Corey Warner - Do our conceptions of ourselves and the world have any reliable basis, and if so, can we prove it?? Let’s find out.
Thursday - 6/15 at 7pm (Zoom Only)
Yoga & Zazen w/ Nina Snow - And Nina is back for one hour of easy flow yoga to wind down our week followed by one half hour of the sweetest and easiest zazen you will sit all week. We’ll see y’all there.
Friday - 6/16 at 8am
Heart Sutra Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra in English followed by the poem with the loveliest mention of the front and back of the foot in all of Zen literature, the Harmony of Difference and Equality. Come on out and lend us your voice, it does a body good.
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