The Sardine Sutra
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 7/4 - 7/10⚡️
“ I love to read books, I love to listen to music, I love to write, I love movies. But there’s a restlessness behind all that - constantly looking for the next new thing, a perpetual itch.
I love the things I love, and engage with the things I engage with, and still hold them loosely.
Reality, despite its suffering and difficulties, is holy. Not holy because some God made it that way, just holy by itself.” - Matthew Sherling
Hello Sangha!
Happy liberation day y’all, whatever that means to you! And however you choose to celebrate. Sara is away, (oh hi, Dave here) and I am happy to celebrate by getting to say hello to you all and have time and space to doodle for us again to celebrate a fantastic podcast by our resident poet Matthew (see below!). As advertised, the man has a way with words, and I highly recommend his hot takes on restlessness and pro tips on how to steal the moon.
But speaking of stealing the spotlight, this coming weekend! We are having a party Saturday 7/11 with our July edition of Same Difference, 7pm here at the center featuring poetry, music, and other indescribable performances by your center friends. There will be a raffle, and I’ve heard rumors of a mojito kvass? So spare yourself the KVMO and come on out. We’d be delighted to see you there.
Also! Next weekend, Sunday 7/12 1pm - 7pm is our favorite supporting teacher Gyokei’s home temple of Sozenji’s annual Obon Festival, aka, Traditional Japanese Zen Day of the Dead. There will be a rousing service with all the cymbals, bells and whistles, followed by dancing, music, (by myself and Robert Holliday!), raffles, booths, spam sushi (don’t knock it til you rock it), and more!
But not to be outdone, this week (Friday morning 7/10, 8am), we are just a little excited to introduce our new improved morning chanting service format. Featuring! Our brand new in house rendition of the Heart Sutra which we are very excited to chant with you. Also! After extensive study we have improved our structure and dedications to better align with tradition, aka, there’s a formula for the spiritual math to all this (which we were only slightly bungling… (i’m assured no harm was done)), maybe even some power, maybe something once called magic that we are still wrapping our heads around to understand and pass along here. And! If you don’t know what I’m talking about with the math of ancient magic and what exactly that’s supposed to mean to us, hey, come on out to my talk on Monday and I’ll tell you what we’ve learned.
But speaking of letting the moon say and do what we could only dream of, this week on the podcast we are pleased to present 🎙️ “The Sardine Sutra (Robbery & Restlessness) w/ Matthew Sherling” 🎙️
Matthew plays thief to his own empty room as he wrestles with restlessness and whether trying to scratch that perpetual itch is a futile attempt to take empty space, or reaching out and grabbing the loot that makes life worth living. Also! Fresh haiku snapshots of our recent trip to Japan. Can the photographs that steal our souls also make us more present? Is Zen a zoo of ideas trapped in a cage of avoiding its true nature? How do we know our personal Zen craze isn’t just another phase?? Find out here!
Up now at https://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
Huike said to Bodhidharma, “My heart and mind can find no peace! Please, can you calm them?”
Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your heart and mind and I’ll calm them.”
Huike said, “I’ve searched and searched but still can’t grasp them.
Bodhidharma said, “There, I’ve calmed them.”
Later, Sengcan said to Huike, “I’m very sick, can you absolve me of the wrongs that must have caused it?”
Huike said, “Bring me your wrongs and I’ll absolve them.”
After a long pause, Sengcan said, “I looked for my wrongs and cannot find them.”
Huike said, “There, I absolved you.”
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 7/4, 10am - 12:05pm
Sit & Talk w/ Chris Arnett - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Chris joins us all the way from the northern wilds of Toronto to talk about the panic of feeling calm and how to maintain the pure land of no drama going on. Join us!
Monday - 7/6, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Talk w/ Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave is back to talk about magic. What it meant, what it means, the formulas to how it works practically and functionally in our secular little chants, and the transformational alchemy we dabble in every time we sit down (believe it or not). See y’all there!
Wednesday - 7/8, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - Feet in the air, head on the ground, and a mind nowhere to be found… We start a mini series on our favorite bug eyed, reed surfing founder, Bodhidharma. This week! We get our hearts, minds, and guilty consciences all pacified. Next week we’ll dig into Bodhidharma’s classic two page treatise on everything you need to start a Zen tradition in your very own country. Let’s discuss!
Friday - 7/9, 8am - 8:40am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We break in our new, improved, 100% more authentic ceremony format, along with! The grand unveiling of our brand new version of the Heart Sutra. 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