Silly, Sincere, Savvy
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 6/6 - 6/12⚡️
“How do I express that it’s not okay to treat people like that, but also how privileged I was to get to do that, but also how much none of this is about me? And how can I encourage you to go find your own version - fully meet your wildest aspirations and all the mixed feelings you might find there and not need to reconcile them.
Don’t fight your karma. Go find the heart of your karma. Find what shaped you and look it in the eye. It’s like family. It’s like your community. You can’t escape it. You’re gonna have to meet it.”
- Dave Cuomo
Hello Sangha!
We’re back! We packed so much in on our trip to Japan that we suspect it’ll take the rest of the summer to unpack it. Which is great news for our upcoming talks — Dave already gave a great one on Monday that’s on the podcast this week, but there will be more to come.
It's a rare thing to bring a group of American lay people to the halls of Japan's most sacred temples, where monastics have been doing this same practice for a thousand years. We were incredibly grateful to be welcomed in.
Japanese culture is much more attuned to the subtleties of everyday life, and while you can say many good things about Westerners, that's not exactly our strong suit. The monks seemed to be a mixture of excited and confused about how best to handle us — one example is that Americans, it turns out, are baffling when it comes to taking off and putting on our shoes. There is a proper way to do that in Japan, and, as anyone who's been to a sit at ACZC can attest, ours is a little more chaotic. There were many little culture clashes like that, which added to the fun and intrigue of the trip.
We made a nice post congratulating Dave on Instagram that you can check out, but suffice it to say it was a wild mix of adventure, hilarity, disorientation, exhaustion, mystery, frustration, elation, and curiosity, and, perhaps most notably, deep, deep reverence for the homeland of our beloved Soto Zen tradition. It’s no small thing to walk in the actual footsteps of your spiritual ancestors.
We’ll leave the deeper unpacking for the talks, but here are some pics and memes that give you a taste.
📣 Last Call for Retreat Registration 📣
Deadline is tomorrow! We’ll gather next weekend from Fri, 6/12 to Mon, 6/15 at a beautiful site at Point Mugu, just north of Malibu, for three days of zazen, chanting, dharma talks, good friends, and good practice.
And speaking of alternating gravity and goofiness, this week on the podcast we are pleased to present 🎙️ Silly, Sincere, Savvy (Zuise) w/ Dave Cuomo🎙️
Dave gives a full report on the processes, practices, and spiritual journeys involved in our recent sangha trip to Japan for Zuise, the final ceremonies in a years long quest to complete his teacher training. Do we actually know what Buddhism is? Do we know how to take ourselves seriously? Is bringing the whole sangha to Japan a humble way to show respect or an inconvenient logistic for our already overworked hosts? Find out here!
Up now at https://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
Shilou was giving a talk when a monk came forward and said, “I still don’t know my original nature. Can you please point to it for me?”
Shilou said, “You’ve lost me.”
The monk said, “I see my mistake.”
Shilou said, “Do I still have faults?”
The monk said, “What faults could you have?”
Shilou said, “My fault is in your ‘mistake’.”
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 6/6, 10am - 12:05pm
Sit & Talk with Henry Zander - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Henry takes the hotseat live and in person for a talk inspired by a question that’s been tossed around a lot here lately: “What do we think Buddhism is?” See you there!
Monday - 6/8, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Talk w/Sara Campbell - One half hour of zazen and then Sara is back for a talk about way-seeking mind. Why are we here and others are not? Join us and let’s see if we can find out!
Wednesday - 6/11, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - This week! Whose fault is it? Let’s discuss!
Friday - 6/12, 8am - 8:40am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we’ll do it in Sino-sanskrit, chanting the Maka Hannya Haramitta Shingyo and the Daihishin Darani. 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
Hello!! Btw there is no link to the podcast