Episodes

4 days ago
4 days ago
Sara goes looking for healthy ambitions in certain impermanence as she rests her case on training with a deeply personal breakdown and exegesis of her story/koan of the season - Dasui’s Kalpa Fire. How do we live a life worth living when society, and our own standards, aren’t aligned with our values? Does Zen offer alternative ambitions to aspire to? Is it possible to diagnose our own distress while sitting smack dab in the middle of it?? Find out here!

Friday Jun 13, 2025
This. Is a Good Idea (Buddhist Creation Story) w/ Dave Cuomo
Friday Jun 13, 2025
Friday Jun 13, 2025
Dave tells us the full creation myth of how Buddhism says this world came to be, how it’s going to end, and all the mishaps and miracles in between. Has all of this happened before? Is everything we love just a lament for what we lost? Was this whole existence thing really a good idea and is there even such a thing as a true story?? Find out here!!

Friday Jun 06, 2025
Waiting for Vairocana (Flash Fiction!)
Friday Jun 06, 2025
Friday Jun 06, 2025
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.

Friday May 30, 2025
Holy Hypocrisy (Buddhist Modernism) w/ Dave Cuomo
Friday May 30, 2025
Friday May 30, 2025
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!!

Friday May 23, 2025
Blind Spots & Breakthroughs (What Am I Doing Here) w/ Matthew Sherling
Friday May 23, 2025
Friday May 23, 2025
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!

Friday May 16, 2025
The Real Point (Magic and Daranis) w/ Dave Cuomo
Friday May 16, 2025
Friday May 16, 2025
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!

Friday May 09, 2025
The Likes of You (Loving Kindness) w/ Sara Campbell
Friday May 09, 2025
Friday May 09, 2025
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!

Friday May 02, 2025
Boiled Over (What Am I Doing Here??) w/ Tip Dunn
Friday May 02, 2025
Friday May 02, 2025
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!

Friday Apr 25, 2025
A Little Special (Daily Practice) with/ Dave Cuomo
Friday Apr 25, 2025
Friday Apr 25, 2025
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!

Friday Apr 18, 2025
Take it Easy w/ Kiyo Tezuka
Friday Apr 18, 2025
Friday Apr 18, 2025
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!