Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

Dave takes a secular look at the the literal magic embedded in the ceremonies and rituals of Zen to see if we can still wholeheartedly relate to them in our modern rational age, and if we’re going to try, what it would take to get the math of that magic right. Have we completely misunderstood what magic was supposed to mean and how it works? Can we draw on the power of a history we don’t always agree with? Do we need to believe in the mechanics of our rituals for their magic to work? Find out here!

Sara questions a dubiously lucrative job she’s been working and what the dubiously perfect Zen teacher in her head might have to say about it. What if our work doesn’t seem to align with our ideal aspirations, but what if paying the bills and having a little pocket money helps us to be our best self? What if we’ve already made our choices, but just don’t to admit them? What would Buddha do, and what if what he does is judge us?? Find out here!

Samm walks through a dark night of the soul on retreat and paints us vivid portraits of her grief embracing liberatory epiphanies. Can depression be a blessing and a curse? Can we trust a world of guaranteed impermanence? Is a mid life crisis really just an opportunity to have an older, wiser, second adolescence? Find out here!

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!

Dave takes the opportunity of a scenic coastal camping retreat to reconcile all the regrets and ruminations that naturally arise given a little space, and maybe hold us back from fully sinking into such a beautiful place. Are we afraid of peaceful space? Can Zen be kind and still be effective? Is leave-no-trace good advice to live our lives by or can we maybe leave them a little better than we found them? Find out here!

Sara takes an unflinching look at learning to trust our selves despite or maybe because of whatever messes we may have made in our lives along the way. What’s the difference between the mind that aspires to our best intentions and the one that actually tries to put them into practice? What sort of wonderful demons can we look forward to making friends with along the way? Can we actually do Zen practice, or does it do us?? Find out here!

In the year 794 a populist, liberating, and some might say threatening brand of Buddhism spreads like wildfire in the countryside forcing a Tibetan king to convene a great debate with enormous consequences that will shape the spiritual fate of nations, end in exile, death, or centuries of power and prestige for the participants, and shape our questions and understanding of what we’re practicing here down to the present day. Is enlightenment something that can be trained? Or is it something innate that no one can take away? Can Buddhism give us happier, healthier brains, or does trying to improve our thinking just get in the way? Can drugs help us see what Buddha saw? Find out here!

Dave gives a full report on the processes, practices, and spiritual journeys involved in our recent sangha trip to Japan for Zuise, the final ceremonies in a years long quest to complete his teacher training. Do we actually know Buddhism is? Do we know how to take ourselves seriously? Is bringing the whole sangha to Japan a humble way to show respect or an inconvenient logistic for already overworked monks? Find out here!

Heather takes a serene unflinching look at the indomitable waves of change, that universal constant that refuses all our attempts to corral it into something knowable or predictable. Is embracing change just a recipe for getting taken under? Is denying it just a recipe for getting pummeled? Is practice about stridently surfing our way to shore, or is it a surrender to forces beyond all attempts to control? How many Zen surf metaphors can a beach town Zen center fit into one dharma talk?? Find out here!

Dave regales us with stories and poetry from everyone’s favorite Soto renegade poet monk hero, Ryokan, while trying to figure out if he’s the scrappy unpretentious rebel we all want him to be, or is he the patron saint of strict fundamentalist austerity and tradition as others seem to think. Can he maybe be both and can Dave make peace with that? Can we judge people for their pretensions and worldly ambitions, or is that a responsible response to the world as it is? How can we trust ourselves when no one agrees, and what makes a renegade respect worthy?? Find out here!