Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

Nina Snow - Love and Kindness

Nina and the sangha wade into the messy grey areas of being nice. Reading from “The Thousand Eyes and Hands of Compassion” in Brad’s latest book, they explores the nuanced ways compassion is as much about the way we treat ourselves as it is being kind to others.

Emma Roy - Dogen and the Eternal Age of Collapse

Emma discusses the life of Dogen with readings from Hee-Jin Kim’s “Dogen - Mystical Realist.” She explores parallels between Dogen’s time and ours including the the recurring feeling that we’re living on the verge of collapse. The sangha dives in and debates why every generation seems to feel that way even as the world shambles along without ending.

Dave Cuomo - Hopeless

Dave tries to shock the sangha with a talk on the delusion of hope and the liberation of being hopeless, letting go of our ideals in favor of being open to what is. It’s a talk about goallessness and the freedom and kindness that come from giving in to reality. The conversation is lively and not without disagreement as the sangha discusses expectations, whether there is a basic goodness in staring at the wall, whether we can live without desire, dealing with death, and how pretty a leaf can look in the sunlight.

Erik Andersen - Seeing True Nature

Erik continues his inquiry into beliefs and how they can hinder us. He looks at what was meant by the classic Zen promise of "seeing true nature," beliefs as attachment, and how this is all worked with in psychology, while the sangha turns the discussion to mental health and whether it's possible to be happy about being sad.

Dave Cuomo - History of Zen pt 2

Dave continues his series tracing the philosophical and social history of Zen. In part 2 we come to Buddha himself, what was the social context he was teaching in, who were his teachers and what did they teach him? What was the problem he was trying to solve and how did he solve it?? The sangha discusses our connection to history and whether history is even knowable, what if anything, Buddha was doing differently, and of course, what is the meaning of life?

Dave Cuomo - Intro To Zen

If you’ve ever been curious what exactly we do here and why, this is your chance to find out! We cover all the basics from extended Zazen instructions to what exactly we do here in Zen and why. What does it all mean? How do I be the greatest meditator of all time and will that help? Is life just one continuous mistake? Find all these questions and more here!

Emma Roy - How to Be a Decent Person

Emma explores the questions of how to be a decent person. It’s a beautiful talk and a very well constructed question, which the sangha does their best to help answer. A highly recommended episode!

Nina Snow - The Neurotic Emotional Veil

Nina leads us in a a reading from Charlotte Joko Beck - Experiencing and Experiencing. It's a conversation about how we objectify our world by seeking out experiences instead of resting in the act of experiencing. Why are we so reluctant to let go of the things that we know hold us back? Why do we cling to an illusion of safety when freedom lies in giving in?

Jared Wynn - Not This, Not This, and Not This

Jared Wynn talks about attachment, with readings from Zen Mind Beginners Mind and Pema Choedron. The sangha discusses getting caught, whether we’re allowed to still be attached to our partners, sleeping while sitting and more!

Erik Andersen - Beliefs

In a freewheeling talk, Erik talks about beliefs. Do we need them? No, well sometimes, but not like we think we do. What happens when you let go of even the most fundamental beliefs? What happens when the beliefs you've most relied on fall apart? Can anything be known for certain?! Find out here!