Wonderfully Useless
⚡️ACZC Happenings, 11/30 - 12/6⚡️
“You say you'd like to try to do zazen in order to become a better person. How ridiculous. How could a person ever become something better?” - Kodo Sawaki
Hello Sangha!
Y’all, the results are in… we have a new T Shirt! A big beautiful ox unsure of where we’re going, but gamely along for the adventure (when it’s done with its lunch break of course). That sounds like the kind of attitude we can ride over any terrain. Thanks for being along for the ride, and a big thank you to everyone who took part in the poll. It was all the fun of watching an election with none of the stress of actual stakes. I believe our monk and ox friends up there would approve.
But yes, our 2024 Fall Fundraiser is up and posted for you! Including the new T shirts, full color 2025 calendars, icons of various bodhisattvas and celestial beings to put around your home for some woo and whimsy, new and improved ringtones and exclusive audio recordings from the monastery, and one full size calligraphy of the heart sutra with a big old enzo made for us by Seido Suzuki Roshi, abbot of Toshoji Monastery. Check it out and please donate what you can. We sincerely do need the help this year.
As most of you know, we’ve had a big year. Along with the usual daily events and weekly podcasts, as a sangha we managed to complete teacher training for your friendly caretaker, which is incredible and means we now get to offer so much more next year. We’re going to have an expanded schedule (more info soon…), jukai for the sangha in the spring, and the most exciting part is we will be taking on Sara Campbell as a full time resident and official student to become ACZC’s first endorsed Lay Zen teacher!
But the truth is this last year almost broke us financially, and we need all the help we can get to keep going into next year. All the info is up at aczc.org/fundraiser. Please check it out and pitch in what you can if you can. And most importantly, thank you for everything you do.
But speaking of selling water by the river, this week on the podcast we are very pleased to bring you Wonderfully Useless (Profitless Pursuit) w/ Patrick Carroll. Patrick gives a passionate exhortation for Kodo Sawaki’s classic encouragement “Zazen is good for nothing.” What do we lose trying to shape our time to fit a purpose? What is the point of a profitless pursuit? Why don’t these zennies want to admit how good zazen really is for us?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
And hey, here’s a koan for the week:
Case in point:
Shishuang died while Jiufeng was serving as his attendant. The sangha wanted to invite the head monk to become the next abbot, but Jiufeng wasn’t convinced. He said, “Let me test him. If he truly understands our old master’s teachings, I’ll approve.”
He then asked the head monk, “‘Cease & desist. Spend eternity in a single thought. Be cold ashes, a dead tree, incense burning in an ancient shrine. Be a strip of pure white silk.’ What does this symbolize?”
The head monk said, “It symbolizes unity.”
Jiufeng said, “You still don’t understand our old master’s teachings.”
The head monk said, “You think I’m wrong? Get me some incense.” The head monk lit the incense and said, “If I really understand our old master’s teachings, I could make myself die before this incense burns out.” Saying this, he sat down and died.
Jiufeng patted him on the back and said, “You are very good at dying. But as for old master’s teachings, you haven’t even seen them in a dream.”
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 - 11/30, 10am - 12:30pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Dave Cuomo - Our biggest day of the week! Two half hour rounds of sweet sweet zazen, and then Dave is back in the hot seat for a relaxed morning of casual conundrums and boundless small talk. See y’all there!
Monday - 12/2, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Leon Sandler - One half hour of zazen and then our good friend Leon joins us with the scene report from Denver and encouraging words about the kind of walls that only know how to bring us together. Join us!
Wednesday - 12/4, 7:30pm - 9pm (Zoom Only)
Sit & Koan Discussion w/ Dave - Shishuang leaves some big shoes to fill, but Jiufeng’s not ready to just hand over the bill. Can the head monk show us what he’s made of before his time is up? Let’s discuss.
Friday - 12/6, 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week! We chant the Heart Sutra and Shitou’s full throated dedication of indivisibility, The Declaration of Unity. 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