Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

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!

Sara delves into the thorny weeds of spiritual crises, starting with a raw one of her own, and how to work with listening practice in zazen. What is that black tangled knot in our chests and how might we untie it? What is spiritual crisis and can we be better off for having had it? How can we trust ourselves once we’ve noticed that we can’t entirely be trusted?? Find out here!

In our ongoing series where brave sangha members tell us the story what they’re doing and why they’re here (while we just maybe learn something about those things for ourselves), LA local Cole, born just a few blocks down the road tells us a wonderfully insightful story about doing his damndest to runaway from home and faith and, luckily for us, finding himself right here but maybe in a totally new and deeper way? Do Catholics just like doing things the hard way? What does it mean to not take life seriously? Is there such a thing as a breakup rakusu?? Find out here!

What would make someone not a Buddhist?? Life is fleeting, unsatisfying, & essentially empty, and are we into, and ready to reckon with that? Or so the argument goes. Is the road to joy beyond our wildest beliefs paved with cynical expressions? Why can’t Buddhism say something nice? Is this the answer to every question anyone has about Buddhism and every issue we have in life?? Find out here!

In a starkly honest and personal talk, Gyokei reflects on renunciation and picking & choosing through his experience growing up as a rural temple kid and living as a modern professional monk among sincere Western lay practitioners. Can letting go of wants still mean getting what we need? How does renunciation work for a monk with a salary and a family to feed? What lessons about choice can sincere lay practitioners learn from their example, and which ones should they definitely not?? Find out here!