Go Be Clever
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 7/26 - 8/1⚡️
“Everything we do gets forgotten and nothing is in vain.” - Dave Cuomo
Hello Sangha!
We so rarely get topical around here, it kinda goes against our whole deal, and yet this week we did just that with Dave giving a talk on Monday night about AI & Zen. (Check out the podcast if you missed it!) So this seems like as good a time as any to assure you that this newsletter is a pure human creation each and every time. Which means whoever’s writing it has to come up with something to put in these here opening paragraphs that makes you want to, well, keep reading! (No pressure!!) This week’s writer happens to feel at a bit of a loss about it at the moment. It’s a summer Friday, after all. And what’s more human than feeling a bit lackadaisical about the old to do list when the days are long, the weather is warm, and the blue skies beckon? (Do the robots ever feel lackadaisical?? 🤔) Anyway, while this intro may not pass the Turing test for ingenuity, it is warm-blooded and well-intentioned. So in the interest of keeping things moving, let’s get to the part where we tell you what’s going on around here this week. ⚡️
And speaking of tests, Turing and otherwise, 🎙️ This week on the podcast we are excited to present “Go Be Clever (AI & Zen) w/ Dave Cuomo”🎙️
Dave gets topical with a talk on AI from the Zen perspective to see if we can shed any light on what it is, what we should do with it, and whether or not we’re getting that right. Do the robots have any more or less of a self than we do? Is Zen a moral (or amoral…) philosophy? Are we all out of a job, and if so, are we really going to miss it?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 How about some fresh ZenLit(™) to keep you company this week? 📖
Some [More] Points to Keep in Mind for Zazen by Keizan Jokin
…by whatever skillful means you need, don’t fall asleep. Existence is a grand and fleeting thing, our image of the way is not yet complete — how can you fall asleep? If you feel sleepy often, make a vow and say, ‘My karma weighs heavy and now I’m tired, when will I wake from this haze? May the buddhas and ancestors lend me their kindness and free me from this dark bitter weight.’
…If your mind is not settled, for one breath cut off your eyes, shut them permanently, firmly, and completely. Or practice zazen in the empty womb before your embryo was born, before a single thought has risen — walk and work there; a double emptiness will suddenly arise and your scattered mind will surely rest.
…After you get up from meditation, when your dignity appears without thinking and your ideas form themselves easily, when practice and realization are not a back and forth relationship — this is the koan already complete.
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 7/26, 10am - 12:15pm
Sit & Talk w/ Matthew Sherling - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, then ACZC’s own poet-in-residence, Matthew, takes the hot seat to facilitate an open, off-the-record roundtable inspired by the famous line from Okumura’s Living by Vow about “zazen as atonement for the act of living.” See y’all there!
Monday - 7/28, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Tanya Orlov - One half hour of zazen and then dear friend and former ACZC resident Tanya is back with a talk stemming from her recent deep dive into Dogen’s classic Instructions for the Cook. What delicious and delightful dharma treats 🤤 is she whipping up for us (sorry)?? Join us and let’s find out.
Wednesday - 7/30, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit Night - This week! Our ongoing investigation of Great Ancestor Keizan Jokin’s Some Points to Keep in Mind for Zazen concludes on quite a strange and metaphorical note. Whomst among us hasn’t done zazen from the empty womb, what is this “double emptiness” he speaks of, and how great is it when our dignity appears?? Let’s discuss!
Thursday - 7/31, 7:30pm - 8:40pm
Evening Zazen - Join us for two simple 30 minute rounds of serene evening sitting to wind down your day and week. See y’all there!
Friday - 8/1, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we chant the Heart Sutra ❤️ followed by Sengcan’s epic Zen hype speech, Trusting the Mind Inscription. It’s smaller than small and bigger than big, and any way you look at it it’s an awfully lovely thing to chant of a Friday. 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
I thought it said, "Go Be Beaver". But "clever" is also profound.