Wet Rat
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 3/7 - 3/13⚡️
“For all the times we couldn’t see the moon and felt pain and felt split, whenever you’re ready you can merge with this goodwill, jumping out of the riverboat and popping up out of bed, entering into the new hotel of your life where you are as loved as the adorable wet rat at the frontier of your existence.” - Samm
Hello Sangha!
This week’s (delightful) artwork is a collaboration between two ACZC classics: our favorite head teacher Dave and that adorable wet rat Samm, whose talk on the podcast this week is truly a can’t miss. Thanks, you two!
March winds are blowing 🌬️ and stirring things up around here. Next week we start our second annual spring ango, that 90 day period of concentrated practice where we offer an expanded schedule Tuesday - Saturday and welcome our second ACZC lay teacher trainee, Mota. Fun fact: ‘ango’ translates roughly as ‘peaceful dwelling,’ and it dates back to the time of the Buddha, when the sangha would gather to ride out the rainy season. We’re resting and cleaning up the center in preparation, and can’t wait to welcome everyone for more sitting, chanting, and work practice.
While still going about our merry way, of course. If you’re free on Sunday, Sara and Robert are hosting a Zen-inspired sound bath at the nearby community space, Groundfloor. RSVP here for some refreshing whole body listening!
And on that note, ⚡️ save the date for our next Same Difference variety show: Saturday, April 4. ⚡️
And speaking of duos and dualities, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to present 🎙️“Wet Rat (Split Selves & Souls) w/ Samm”🎙️
Samm spins us an ancient Zen love tragedy (that might even have a happy ending?), and helps us heal the one breakup we urgently need to mend, the splits in our selves and souls. What parts of our realities are we unable or unwilling to see? Have we ever been truly awake, or been safe enough to get an honest night’s sleep? When is or is it not time to go off to the mountains and never come back, jump off a moonlit cliff? Find out here!
Up now at https://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
📖 This Week in ZenLit(™): 📖
Four Expansive Vows (aka The Bodhisattva Vows)
Beings are infinite, I vow to serve them
Troubles are endless, I vow to stop them
Teachings are limitless, I vow to learn them
The Buddhist path is the ultimate, I vow to complete it
⚡️This Week in Zen! ⚡️
All times Pacific. All sessions are in-person + on Zoom unless otherwise noted (email us for Zoom info).
Saturday - 3/7, 10am - 12:05pm
Sit & Talk w/Sara Campbell - Our biggest day of the week! We’ll do two half-hour rounds of zazen, and then Sara returns to the hotseat (and good health) to finally give her talk on putting yourself out there. Come for a hot take on modern dating, and how one woman is learning to navigate in those murky waters. See you there!
Monday - 3/9, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Talk w/Dave Cuomo - One half hour of zazen and then Dave is back to regale us with a talk about fate and karma. He’ll explore how in the eastern sense karma is a super simple rational/secular idea, but by the time you play it all the way out to its logical conclusion, it’s indistinguishable from western ideas of fate and cosmic justice, aka g-o-d. Join us!
Wednesday - 3/11, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & ZenLit(™) Night - This week! We have a new translation of some very old vows. The bodhisattva vows, to be specific. What are we committing to when we make these famously impossible promises? Join us and let’s discuss!
Friday - 3/13, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we’ll chant the Heart Sutra and the Trusting the Mind Inscription, followed by our lineage ancestors. Returning to the root you find the meaning / chasing the light you end up confused. 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