“If you want to become a spacey person, you can absolutely train yourself in meditation to be a spacey person. If you want to be an anal uptight person, you can train yourself to do that too. And if you want to be a person of liberation and ease, you can absolutely do that too. It’s all one technique, listen and pay attention to what’s happening and what you’re becoming. That’s what you become, what you get, and what you give to everybody else.”
- Dave Cuomo
Hello Sangha!
It’s not often that we make conflicting demands on your time. We like to keep things simple around here, you know? That whole Zen thing.
But this weekend we are giving you two stark choices for your Sunday evening.
Door 1: The Full Moon Ceremony. We only do it once a month, and we missed it in August because we were closed for the break. Sunday at 7pm, right here in the zendo (and on Zoom). Known as Buddhism’s oldest ceremony, a tried and true sangha favorite.
Door 2: Sara’s Standup Debut. Possible once-in-a-lifetime event. Sunday at 5pm at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. Real crapshoot: could be funny, could be tragic. (Tickets available here).
What is your appetite for chaos? Which will you choose??
***
On the topic of unwitting disasters, it’s been a while since I had a digital snafu. Many years ago I published a short personal essay about an experience in my 20s involving an incredibly unfortunately mis-titled email, but that was a simpler time when autocorrect was among our biggest tech nemeses.
In 2026 you can sign into your platform of choice with the simple intention of scheduling an event, and then RUDELY discover you have sent a vague notice about it to your ENTIRE EMAIL LIST without warning. Not cool, Substack! Anyway sorry about that!!
That said, yes, Dave and I will be doing a Substack Live next Thurs, 10/1 at 11am PT to talk about Open Secrets, our new weekly email offering. You know, the whole who/what/when/where/why of the thing. It’s been said that ACZC can be a bit illegible and we are working on ways to make our story a little clearer. Like yes, we know we can be obscure but there are reasons, OK?
So join us and let’s talk about it. Bring your questions! And yes, we’ll share the recording later for those who can’t make that time work.
🍁🧎🏽♀️☸️ FALL RETREAT REGISTRATION IS OPEN! 🍁🧎♂️☸️
We’ll be gathering for our annual fall retreat from the evening of Friday, November 6th through Sunday, November 8th. A restorative mix of zazen, chanting services, yoga, dharma talks, and homemade meals in community, it’s great for practitioners of all levels.
This retreat is designed as a commuter retreat, beginning with Friday night dinner and orientation at ACZC, followed by two full days of practice at Sozenji Temple (Gyokei’s home temple in Montebello). Available both in person and/or online, with a sliding scale as usual to ensure maximum accessibility.
And speaking of things worth doing, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to present 🎙️ “The One Technique (Roadmap to Meditation) w/ Dave Cuomo” 🎙️
Dave gives a roadmap to meditation and what you might expect to find in doing it for a half hour, an hour, a decade, or a lifetime or two. What is the one technique that unlocks all benefits instantly while carrying us down the stream unendingly? Can meditation done wrong actually do harm? And why does Zen think death is so funny?? Find out here!
Up now at https://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
One day at Nanquan’s, the monks of the Eastern and Western halls were fighting over a kitten.
Nanquan went to them, picked it up and said, “Say something true or I’ll cut it in two.”
The monks had no answer. Nanquan immediately cut it in two.
Later, Zhaozhou returned to the temple and Nanquan told him what happened. Zhaozhou took off his shoe, placed it on his head, and left.
Nanquan said, “If you’d been here, we could’ve saved the kitten!”
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 9/26, 10am - 12:05pm
Sit & Talk with Sara Campbell - We'll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Sara is back for a talk about being competitive, riffing off the Goddess passages from the Vimalakirti Sutra. What are we doing when we’re trying to win? Let’s discuss!
Sunday - 9/27, 7pm - 8pm
Full Moon Ceremony - Join us for a short and sweet half hour of zazen before we do the lyrical and melodious Ryaku Fusatsu, where we chant the precepts in the oldest ceremony in Buddhism. All are welcome, no prior precept commitment required.
Monday - 9/28, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Talk w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave takes the hotseat for a talk about the E word, ENLIGHTENMENT. Drawing upon both theory and personal experience, he’ll throw us a bone or two on what it is, how we might recognize it, and why Zen is so dang cagey about it. Come on out!
Wednesday - 9/30, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - This week! We tackle one of the most infamous koans in the canon, Nanquan’s cat. Was Nanquan out of line? Are the consequences always this dire when we can’t find the right words? Why did that poor kitten have to suffer and might it have been averted?? Let’s discuss!
Friday - 10/2, 8am - 8:40am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Maka Hannya Haramitta Shingyo and our fresh new translation of the Heart Sutra, our lineage ancestors, and the Daihishin Darani, and the Trusting Heart and Mind Inscription. 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