Lights Out
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 4/5 - 4/11⚡️
“There are very few things in the world that can hurt me more than I can hurt myself.” - Chris Arnett
Hello Sangha!
Imagine this: a long weekend full of wholesome meals prepared with love and intention, quiet space for reflection and reconnection with yourself, quality time with new and old friends, and — hear us out — three days off from the relentless spiral of news and social media! Idyllic, right?
If this sounds as good to you as it does to us, boy do we have great news! Registration is now open for our annual Spring Retreat!
From noon Friday, 6/6 to noon Monday, 6/9, we’ll gather at Sozenji, Gyokei’s home temple in nearby Montebello. If you haven’t been, it’s a perfect location — plenty of room to stretch out and settle in for three nights, far enough away to feel like a break from the norm, but close enough to make commuting doable if you need to. (It’s about a 20-minute drive from ACZC HQ without traffic.)
Best of all, we’re offering this retreat on a sliding scale to keep it accessible. (And trust us when we say you won’t find a better deal in this life. (Though in the next one, who knows??))
Details and registration here!
And, as always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.
Also! Tomorrow (Saturday 4/5 - 7am) is the first Saturday of the month. Which means it’s Half Day Sit day! (Schedule posted here.) Join us at starting at 7am (or whenever you like) for a full half day of Zen, followed by our regularly scheduled Sit & Talk at 10am.
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.
But speaking of sweet relief from the nonstop hassles nipping at your feet, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to present “Lights Out (Negative Self Talk)” w/ Chris Arnett. After going many rounds mano y mano with the relentless critical voice in his head, Chris reports back on how Zen teachings on false suffering and conceptual thought offer us help with the wars we wage with ourselves. Is it possible to stop having an adversarial relationship with yourself or is it just something we have to live with? Is facing the wall in zazen doing anything to dispel our fantasies? And is it possible to mute yourself both on Zoom AND in your brain?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, we heard you were jonesin’ for your weekly dose of ZenLit(™). Here you go!
A monk came to Caoshan and said, “A monk once asked Xiangyan, ‘What is truth?’ and Xiangyan said, ‘Dragons singing in the hollow trees.’ The monk told him, ‘I don’t understand.’ Xiangyan said, ‘The skull has eyes.’ This monk then went to Shishuang and asked, ‘What does ‘Dragons singing in the hollow trees’ mean?’ Shishuang said, ‘They still know joy.’ The monk asked ‘What does ‘The skull has eyes’ mean?’ Shishuang said, ‘It still has a mind.’”
Caoshan then recited a poem:
The dragons singing in the hollow trees see the truth so clearly
A skull loses its mind and opens its eyes
When mind and joy die, they’re still not dead
Who of us is ready to find clarity in the muddy depths?
The monk then asked Caoshan his question again, “What does ‘Dragons singing in the hollow trees’ mean?”
Caoshan said, “The bloodline isn’t broken.”
The monk asked, “What does ‘The skull has eyes’ mean?”
Caoshan said, “It hasn’t quite dried out.”
The monk said, “I wonder if anyone can hear them singing.”
Caoshan said, “In the whole world, there’s no one who doesn’t hear them.”
The monk asked, “I wonder what they’re singing.”
Caoshan said, “No one knows the words. But everyone grieves who hears them.”
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 - 4/5, 7am - 12:15pm
Half Day Sit w/ Sara Campbell - Our biggest day of the month! Join us bright and early (or any time in the schedule you’d like) for morning zazen, some light chanting, a little Zen breakfast, some quick cleanup, and then we’re back in for two more rounds of zazen, all culminating in a talk with from our favorite lay-teacher-in-training! What’s it like doing a monastic period in the middle of one of America’s rowdiest cities? Is there a dropping off of body and mind happening what with all that zazen? Does chanting ancient gibberish start to make sense after a while?? Come on out and let’s find out the answers to these questions and more! (Schedule posted here.)
Monday - 4/7, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Tanya Orlov - One half hour of zazen and then our friend and ACZC resident emeritus Tanya returns to look at Shobogenzo’s chapters on leaving home life behind and what that means within the context of a lay practice. See y’all there!
Wednesday - 4/9, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit Night - Sara and Dave are back to take us through one of the most haunting koans in the Zen canon. Who are these dragons, what are they singing, who were the skulls, what is the truth, and why do we grieve when we hear it?? Let’s discuss.
Thursday - 4/10, 7:30pm - 8:40pm
Evening Zazen - The latest addition to the ACZC lineup! Join us for two 30 minute rounds of evening sitting to wind down your day and week serenely. We’ll see y’all there.
Friday - 4/11, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra and The Declaration of Unity (aka Sandokai aka the poem formerly known as the Harmony of Difference & Equality) by our great ancestor Shitou. 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.
Tuesday - Saturday - Morning Ango Schedule
As always feel free to join for as much or as little of the schedule as you’re able.
6:30 - 7:00am………………Silent Coffee
7:00 - 8:10am………………Zazen & Kinhin
8:10 - 8:40am………………Chanting
8:40 - 9:10am…………..…Zen Breakfast
9:10 - 9:50am………………Work Practice
See y’all soon!
Love,
ACZC