Sara Campbell closes out our first official training ango with a flash fiction final - a brief loving study of our favorite Buddha and Bodhisattva archetypes.

Dave tackles the big Buddhist question of the hour - are we really learning traditional Buddhism over here or are we making up our own thing and covering it up with a set of appropriated robes? Is it actually a problem if we are (and would it be possible not to)? Are lay people even supposed to be meditating? Is the East/West cultural divide too wide to bridge, or too fascinating not to try?? Find out here!!

Poet in residence and long time ACZC collaborator, Matt, generously boils down 14 billion years of carefully cultivated circumstances into one lucid and spiritually eclectic tale of what he’s doing and why he’s here - from the Zen prone slowness of the South, to the urban chaos of LA, to the sacred solitude of getting lost in foreign lands. Is restlessness a hindrance or a catalyst to personal progress? Can we go off recipe and create our own  practice from whatever ingredients intrigue us? What creative fruits lie waiting for us in the gaps between what we think and what we see?? Find out here!

Dave unpacks the Ryogone, that monster of a magical incantation we’ve recently incorporated into our laid back secular practice here, and along the way explains how to work with magical traditions in the modern age, the use of chanting and daranis in Zen practice, and a whole a host of legends and lore complete with a battle of five armies. Can the secular among us pray so that it works and what does that actually mean?? What keeps us coming back to our Zen Centers after the honeymoon glow wears off? If we don’t believe in ghosts, can we still ask them for help?? Find out here!

Sara hits a roadblock in love and zazen and takes the opportunity to teach us how to turn the worms that turn us sideways into features not bugs. How can insecurity be a source of confidence? What do we do when the “you” who is actually the ultimate “it” is also what’s getting in the way of us getting it? Can the teachers who shut us down be the perfect tool for opening ourselves up? And can Mark Zuckerberg handle the depths of our Metta?? Find out here!

In his eagerly anticipated ‘What Am I Doing Here??’ talk, morning stalwart and life of the party, Tip, takes us to the pivotal personal moments that turn life around and upside down and led him to become a fixture here at ACZC. What hope does a better tomorrow offer us for today? Is volunteering at your local Zen center selfish if it helps keep you from falling apart? And is paying 15 bucks to stare at a wall way too much or not nearly enough?? Find out here!

Dave takes a critical look at modern Zen’s emphasis on daily zazen, going deep on what “practice” means and what’s it really for. Is skipping zazen self-care or self-delusion? If we’re really meditating all the time, do we still need to sit down and meditate? Do the sun, moon, and stars really depend on our zazen to shine?? Find out here!

Very special guest Kiyo Tezuka joins us all the way from Hikone, Japan to share an epic tale of wayward youth spent as a globe wandering hippie looking for truth before accidentally settling down to the responsible(?) life of a temple monk. What do we become when we’re all grown up and still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up? Does Western Zen have something unique to teach Japanese Zen in return? Is parallel parking one of those secret magical powers Buddha hinted we might one day attain?? Find out here! 

Dave’s History of Zen series returns to visit a war-torn China and the calamities that led to Zen’s initial explosion on to the scene. Is Zen uncannily tailor made for upheaval and uncertain times? Were some dubious PR and a sketchy teacher exactly what a plucky young upstart tradition needed? Is jumping on a stage and claiming to be a 10th level Bodhisattva the height of delusion or something we wish we’d thought of first??? Find out here!

After going many rounds mano y mano with the relentless critical voice in his head, Chris reports back on how Zen teachings on false suffering and conceptual thought offer us help with the wars we wage with ourselves. Is it possible to stop having an adversarial relationship with yourself or is it just something we have to live with? Is facing the wall in zazen doing anything to dispel our fantasies? And is it possible to mute yourself both on Zoom AND in your brain?? Find out here! 

In part 2 of our “2 Truths” series, Sara puts both of those truths into practice to find out if there’s a middle way between selfishness and martyrdom. How do we work on behalf of all living beings without burning ourselves out? Can we really write off our private little luxuries as somehow good for everyone? Who ultimately deserves the best cut of fish, the babies in the nest or the mom up there keeping them alive?? Find out here!

In this behind the scenes special from our first ever training ango, Dave puts on his sensei hat to give a lecture on the fundamental Buddhist teaching of the Two Truths. Part 1 of a two part series! Next week Sara will show and tell her homework as she puts the philosophy into practice with a personal talk on where the rubber of theory meets the road of reality. If the world really is empty why are other people always getting in our way? Why should we care about theory when the ultimate truth is unknowable? And what are we supposed to do when our Zen teachers just stare at us instead of giving us a straight answer?? Find out here!

Dave dives into the Zen of zero sum thinking and the truth of an "us vs. them" mindset through scenes from his wayward youth. Is there such a thing as being a good guy? How do we practice discernment in a world where no one is separate from anyone else? And can or should we really wish happiness for people when their joy is making the rest of us miserable?? Find out here!

Sara takes a trip down the memory lane of dating and old anxieties around marriage to explore the 12 fold chain of dependent origination - the cycle that creates and perpetuates all our suffering (nbd). How often are we chasing after happiness based on societal expectations rather than personal truth? Why is breaking free from our desires so challenging, even when we're aware of them? And why is LA so disaster prone even (and especially) when it comes to dating?? Find out here!

Pedro wrestles with the wasting of time and how to know whether we’re on the right path. Is the way in front of us a confusing multitude of branching streams we need to choose, a bright freedom of present possibility, or a blank void of ‘why bother’? Are we trying to repress our inclinations to conform to a prescribed practice, or finding our own freestyle? Is goofing off a waste of time, or is working hard not appreciating it?? Find out here!

Dave gives us an intro to Zen talk for beginners of all experience levels, including instruction on how to not meditate while meditating, some light (uncannily relevant) history, and advice and encouragements for whole heartedly engaging in the modern day. How do we learn what no one can teach us? Is Zen the avoidant lover of spiritual practices? And does Dave’s attachment to it make him the worst kind of ambassador? Find out here!

Gyokei takes an honest historical look at the tough love of monastic training, and the rebels and reformers who tried to improve it along the way. What kind of people are we trying to cultivate, and what kind of monks are we actually making? What does it take for a monk to be so bad even Dogen won’t sit with them? And does meeting the great matter of life and death actually require risking your life? Find out here!

Dave looks into Zen’s famous wariness towards teachers and teaching, while delving into his own hang ups around the role as he prepares to formally play it. Are we all doomed to unwittingly adopt our teachers hang ups and issues? Is obedience just a matter of finding someone to tell you to do what you want? Is liberation just telling ourselves that whatever we’re doing is what we really want?? Find out here!

Dave tries to find some harmony between the power of rigid forms and the chaos of personal liberation, with mixed results, and offers up a practical guide to finding fundamental self worth along the way. Is conforming to tradition a process of maturity, or a great way to stamp out the precious life and humanity from the things we love? Can Zen be an antidote to our corporate consumer culture? Can Dave properly use the word “noumenon” in a sentence without sounding pretentious? Find out here!

Henry eloquently confronts an all too relatable existential crisis of accomplishment as he graduates college and tries to figure out who he is when the stress he knew himself by suddenly falls away. Who are we when our burdens of purpose have run their course? Is setting aside 30 minutes a day to feel panicked the remedy we really need? Are a humble plate rice and beans the best recipe for a hot Buddha Body?? Find out here!