The Likes of You
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 5/10 - 5/16⚡️
“ What I want Zen to do is to affirm me and be like, ‘you're good, you got it.’ And it just really doesn't do that. It keeps pointing past that.” - Sara Campbell
Hello Sangha!
First, a huge shout out and thank you to all who came out for Saturday night’s Same Difference Rent Party! Even though there was no zazen (boooo), we had a blast hanging out and eating popcorn and drinking kvass with you (yaaaay). And since some of you have asked, no the performers/performances aren’t necessarily Zen-specific (though some may be so inspired! we’re not here to judge), just talented folks in our orbit who put on a good show. Because it turns out not everything worth saying/singing/poeticizing is always and only about zazen. Who knew? We’ll be doing it again first Saturday in July (7/5), so keep your eyes out for more info closer to then! And lack of zazen aside, it is really nice to hang out with y’all without a Zen agenda (Zenda?) every now again. Plus! We raised some cash to help keep all of the things going and thank you so much (so much) for that.
In the meantime, we’ve got our monthly Full Moon Ceremony this Sunday night at 7 pm, and we’d love to see you there. There’s just something about ceremonies and zazen that hits a little different at night, so come on out and help us howl at the moon Buddha style.
Also! Our annual Spring Retreat is just around the corner, and we’re down to just a few spots left! We’re gathering Fri, June 6 - Mon, June 9 at nearby Sozenji temple in Montebello (aka Gyokei’s home temple) for our trademark mix of zazen, yoga, dharma talks, and good friends in great community. Details and registration are here. And, as always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.
And speaking of hanging out with the types we do, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to present “The Likes of You (Loving Kindness)” w/ Sara Campbell. Sara hits a roadblock in love and zazen and takes the opportunity to teach us how to turn the worms that turn us sideways into features not bugs. How can insecurity be a source of confidence? What do we do when the “you” (who is ultimately “it”) is what’s getting in the way of getting it? Can the teachers who shut us down be the perfect tool for opening ourselves up? Can Mark Zuckerberg handle the depths of our Metta?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, here’s your weekly dose of fresh—ahem, we mean freshly translated—ZenLit(™)!
When a person riding on a boat turns to look at the shore, they mistakenly think the shore is moving. But if they look closely at the boat, they realize it’s the boat that’s moving. In the same way, when a person with a confused idea of body and mind tries to make sense of everything, they mistakenly think of the self as something permanent and unchanging. But if we closely observe ourselves, over time it’s clear that all things do not possess a self.
Firewood becomes ash, and it can’t go back to being firewood again. However, it’s not correct to think of ash as its future and firewood as its past. Firewood exists as firewood for a time, and there is a before and an after. So even though it has a past and a future, they are separate from each other. Ash exists as ash for a time, and there is a before and after that, too. Just as firewood does not become firewood again after it has turned to ash, a person who has died does not live again. For this reason, the custom of Buddha dharma is not to say that life becomes death. This is why we say “no birth.” To say that death becomes life is also not the dharma. This is why we say “no death.” Life is one moment in time, as is death. It’s like winter and spring. We don’t say that winter becomes spring, or that spring becomes summer.
A person’s awakening is like the moon being reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, and the water is not disturbed. Though the moon’s light is vast, its reflection appears in even the smallest pool. The entire sky and all of the heavens are reflected in the dew on a blade of grass and even a single drop of water. Awakening does not disturb the person just like the moon does not disturb the water. And the person does not obscure the awakening just like the dewdrop does not obscure the heavens or the moon in the sky. The depth of realization is the measure of its height. The length or brevity of a moment is revealed in the vastness of great waters and the narrowness of small ones, and in the wide or narrow light of the moon in the sky.
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 - 5/10, 7am - 12:30pm
Sit & Talk w/ Matthew Sherling (What am I Doing Here??) - Our biggest day of the week! Two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then ACZC poet in resident, longtime sangha member, and dear dharma friend Matthew takes the hotseat for his much anticipated What Am I Doing Here? talk. Come on out and show some sangha love! (Also! All Saturdays during our ango period now include a full half day of activities, including extra zazen at 7am and chanting of the Ryogon Shu (see below)!)
Sunday - 5/11, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Full Moon Ceremony - One half hour of zazen followed by the oldest, and some say loveliest, ceremony in Buddhism - the Ryaku Fusatsu, where we chant the precepts and remember why they’ve stuck around for millennia. All are welcome (no prior precept commitment required)!
Monday - 5/12, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave heard a rumor that some clever monks and friends got together in the late 1900’s, and decided to codify an official tl;dr of all Dogen’s writing, aka a tl;dr of everything one needs to know to know Soto Zen. Also, they made it lyrical and singable because they’re heroes like that. Aka, let’s get our Shushogi on. See y’all there!
Wednesday - 5/14, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit Night - Part 2 of our three parter on Dogen’s Genjo Koan - The greatest hit of Zen’s greatest lit hits (no need to have attended part 1, each night is self contained). Sara commentates, Dave facilitates, and ultimate reality manifests through each of us as we puzzle out what Dogen might have meant with all that business about boating, the moon, firewood, birds, and fish. If we didn’t know better we might think Dogen was asking us on a moonlit date… (swoon) Let’s discuss!
Thursday - 5/15, 7:30pm - 8:40pm
Evening Zazen - ACZC’s latest addition to the schedule! Join us for two 30 minute rounds of serene evening sitting to wind down your day and week. Join us!
Friday - 5/16, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - Big dharani week this week! Our epic Friday mornings continue as we chant the Ryogon Shu along with the Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo and Daihishin Dharani. 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.
7:00 - 8:00am………………Zazen
8:05 - 8:40am………………Chanting
8:40 - 9:10am…………..…Zen Breakfast
9:10 - 9:50am………………Work Practice
See y’all soon!
Love,
ACZC