Off the Hook
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 6/21 - 6/27⚡️
“ Do you ever think about what a monster you would be if you’d gotten everything you wanted?” - Sara Campbell
✍️ Note from Dave re: this week’s cartoon: “I came up with this one to use for retreat, and then it ended up feeling just a little too cute for all that. But! As I’m away this week, it’s also just the right kind of cute to say thank you for everything and I miss you all dearly. See y’all soon!”
Hello Sangha!
Our caretaker is off on vacation and we’re still coming down from retreat and ango, so it’s been kind of a slow-moving week for us here at the little blue house. The summer heat is here and we are ready for a siesta, you know?
Not that there’s much time for faffing about. We’ve got our monthly Zen Writing Workshop tomorrow afternoon at 1pm, and we’re looking forward to tapping into the collective unconscious with a cleverly designed session full of prompts, zazen, and surprising discoveries. Come see what wants to be written through you. We hope you’ll join!
Then on Monday night at 7:30pm, our favorite new lay teacher Sara is giving an Intro to Zen talk! Have your friends, family, or even you been wondering what this whole zazen-and-community-practice thing is about? Come on out and let’s explore it together. There’ll be a discussion afterward, too, so bring your most burning questions. 🔥
And speaking of big questions that might even have some answers, 🎙️ This week on the podcast we are very excited to present “Off the Hook (Impermanence & Ambition) w/ Sara Campbell” 🎙️
Sara goes looking for healthy ambitions in certain impermanence as she rests her case on training with a deeply personal breakdown and exegesis of her story/koan of the season - Dasui’s Kalpa Fire. How do we live a life worth living when society, and our own standards, aren’t aligned with our values? Does Zen offer alternative ambitions to aspire to? Is it possible to diagnose our own distress while sitting smack dab in the middle of it?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 Here’s your ZenLit for the week! (™) 📖
When Dongshan was leaving Yunyan’s, he asked him, “Yunyan, after you’re gone if someone were to ask me what you were like, what should I say?”
Yunyan said, “Just tell them I was like this.”
Dongshan paused.
Yunyan said, “Promise me you’ll handle this with care.”
Dongshan still had his doubts.
Later, when he was crossing a river, he saw his reflection and completely understood what Yunyan had meant. He wrote a poem:
Don’t look for it in others,
or it will only fly further away.
I walk alone now
and meet it everywhere.
It is just me,
I am not it.
It has to be understood like this,
this is the way to find harmony with suchness.
Some time later, Dongshan was making offerings to a likeness of Yunyan when a monk asked, “When your teacher said, ‘It’s only this,’ is it really just this?”
Dongshan said, “Yes.”
The monk asked, “What does that mean?”
Dongshan said, “At the time I almost misunderstood his words.”
The monk said, “I don’t get it, did he even understand it?”
Dongshan said, “If he didn’t understand it, how could he have said it like that? If he did understand it, how could he have let himself?”
🪩 Mark Your Calendars! 🪩
Every other month, ACZC’s poet-in-residence Matthew Sherling curates a live evening of poetry, music, comedy, and storytelling. The next one is coming up on Saturday, July 5th at 7pm, and all are welcome!
In a town full of talent, Matthew has a knack for finding performers who truly surprise and delight us. Each time, we also raffle off some strange and wondrous things to raise money for the center. What will we come up with this time?? Join us and find out!
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 6/21, 10am - 12:15pm
Sit & Talk w/ Samm Becker - Our biggest day of the week! Two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Samm returns to the hotseat to tell us about how she’s finding her way back home by following the moon, possibly through the fog. What does that have to do with Zen?? Come on out and let’s find out together!
Saturday - 6/21, 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Zen Writing Workshop - Join us for ACZC’s signature mashup of zazen, freewriting, deep listening, and creative practice! All are welcome, no previous writing experience required. Just bring a pen and a notebook and your imagination.
Monday - 6/23, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Sara Campbell - One half hour of zazen and then our brand new lay teacher Sara will give an Intro to Zen talk! We love to say ACZC is for “beginners only,” so whether you’re brand new or have been sitting for years, come on out and let’s see if we can put our finger on what this whole Zen thing is about!
Wednesday - 6/25, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Zen Lit Night - Dave is back from the beach to facilitate and Sara is ready to provide commentary on the story of Dongshan’s fated riverside realization. What did he see, and how do you tell people about a teacher you love?? Let’s get into it!
Thursday - 6/26, 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 - 6/27, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we chant the Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo and the Daihishin Dharani, followed by our lineage ancestors. 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
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