The Golden Tone
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 11/22 - 11/28⚡️
“You can go home again, so long as you understand that home is a place where you have never been.” - Ursula Le Guin
Hello Sangha!
One of the debates we’ve been having around the zendo lately is about whether a Zen retreat can reasonably be classified as “fun.” For those of us who are real lunatics enthusiasts, the answer is: of course! A bunch of friends get together to meditate, chant, and ponder the dharma for a few days, and what could be better than that? Others look at the situation and think: 4-5 hours of meditation a day + early morning wake up call + no creature comforts = “fun”??? 🤔
Our friend Jonathan pointed out that there’s a popular framework in the outdoors world called The Fun Scale that might be applicable here:
So if ACZC retreats count as “fun,” the argument goes, they’re firmly Type 2—the same category as marathons, mountain summits, and, uh… ice climbing. 🥶 What say you?
If you’d like to find out where an ACZC retreat ranks on your fun scale, we’ve got one coming up! We are gathering Friday, 12/5 - Sunday, 12/7 for a commuter Rohatsu retreat at ACZC and Sozenji in Montebello. Schedule, details, and registration here. Last call to register (or let us know you’re coming) is Sunday, 11/30.
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And in other “fun” news, next week is Thanksgiving here in the United States of America, which means we’ll be launching our annual fundraiser! You already know we’ll be offering ACZC’s 2025 limited edition t-shirt, but what other beautiful and useful Zen objects and artifacts will be available this year? Stay tuned next week to find out. It’s been a big year for us, and we are so incredibly grateful for all of your support — and excited to share what we’ve been working on.
And speaking of stories that are perhaps more enjoyable in hindsight than when they’re going down, this week on the podcast we are delighted to present 🎙️ “The Golden Tone (Nostalgia) w/ Sara Campbell” 🎙️
Sara kicks off the holiday season with a Zen look at nostalgia, going home, and living the past right here in the present moment. How do we honor where we’ve been without missing where we are? Does trying to live in the present mean we’re avoiding the past? Is the past a place never to be met again, or does it always exist everywhere?? Find out here!!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
She who hears the cries of the world,
Avalokiteshvara,
the bodhisattva of love and listening
sitting in perfect intuition
clearly saw that she was made of space
and so ended every pain.
Shapes are not different from space,
space is not different from shape.
A shape is nothing but a space.
Space is nothing but a shape…
✍️ Editor’s note: At this week’s ZenLit night, we’ll be unveiling our new in-house translation of The Heart Sutra (!), and inviting feedback. So if that sounds like something you’d like to weigh in on, we hope you will join us!
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 11/22, 10am - 12:15pm
Sit & Talk w/Pedro Peres - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, then our good buddy Pedro is back for a talk about what to do during zazen. Our general instructions are pretty brief, and Pedro is peeling back some layers to see if there’s anything more we should know as we settle in. Join us and see what he’s uncovered!!
Monday - 11/24, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Sara Campbell - One half hour of zazen and then Sara takes the hotseat for a look at habit formation. Can we ever force ourselves into healthy habits, and are there any hope for those of us with a penchant for rebelling against ourselves?? Join us and let’s find out!
Wednesday - 11/26, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - This week! Our in-house translator and head teacher Dave has been hard at work on a new translation of the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra, arguably the Zen canon’s greatest hit. Join us as we workshop this new version of a timeless classic. See you there!
Friday - 11/28, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We’ll chant the Heart Sutra and The Zazenshin, followed by our lineage ancestors. The sky is wide, open, and boundless, the birds fly far, far away. 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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