You Are the Problem
⚡️ ACZC Happenings, 5/18 - 5/25 ⚡️
“Vowing to do this impossible thing, sitting to become Buddha, is not what’s wrong here. Stopping when you don’t become a jewel, when you don't attain enlightenment, or become a Buddha, that's the problem“
- Emily Eslami
Hello Sangha!
Sources tell us it’s been a bit of a May Gray in LA this year, all overcast and sluggish of sky. Kind of a bummer prelude to the inevitable June Gloom, so good thing we practice being awake and grateful during all kinds of weather here at ACZC!
We did get a sad piece of news this week, however, that our friends over at Sozenji, our supporting teacher Gyokei Yokoyama’s home temple, were the victims of vandalism by a local gang this week. Gyokei and the sangha have been busy cleaning up the aftermath, but it’s been a time-consuming and costly endeavor. So if you can spare some cash, please do send a donation their way; it would be nice to show them some support after all the support they’ve given us. Their Paypal account is associated with sozenjibuddhisttemple@gmail.com.
And speaking of unfortunate occurrences, this week on the podcast, we are pleased to present You Are the Problem w/ Emily Eslami. Emily brings us a meditation on problems, problem solving, and all the machinations, rationalizations, and somersaults we do to try to prove that our problems are somewhere outside of ourselves, and then what happens when we start to point that finger right back where it came from. When is the problem actually other people? Have we earned that sense of superiority we get from meditating while our partners are sleeping in? Are our thoughts pulling us away from ourselves, and is that even possible?? Find out here!
Up now at http://aczc.org/aczcpodcast or on all your favorite podcast platforms.
Your koan-like thought for the week, courtesy of Kodo Sawaki:
“Today’s educational system is wrong and causes trouble. Schools examine and grade students, classifying human beings and assigning them numbers. There’s nothing more ridiculous. Who on earth is superior? Who’s inferior? Is it superior to have a good memory and inferior to have a poor one? Aren’t there many foolish people with good memories?”
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 - 5/18, 10am - 12:30pm
Sit & Discussion w/Leon Sandler - Our biggest day of the week! Two half hour rounds of zazen, one walking meditation in the middle, and then Leon returns with a talk on the structure of the self, from Shohaku Okumura's book of the same name. Bring yo’self out and join us!
Monday - 5/20, 7:30pm - 9pm
Sit & Discussion w/ Gyokei Yokoyama - We’ll sit zazen for 30 minutes and then Gyokei takes the hotseat with reflections from his recent adventures, including his visit with Dave at Toshoji and the aforementioned vandalism at Sozenji. We’re curious as can be, come on out!
Wednesday - 5/22, 7:30pm - 9pm (Zoom Only)
Sit & Koan Discussion w/ Heather Ross - Heather takes the Zoom reigns to lead us in a discussion of Chapter 10 of The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo. Join us!
Friday - 5/24 at 8am
Morning Chanting Service - This week we’ll chant the Daihishin darani and the names of the male ancestors in our lineage. Come chant with us, it does a body good!
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