PODCAST

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

Angel City Zen Center

Weekly public talks recorded live at the Angel City Zen Center

religion & spirituality buddhism

All Episodes

34:10

Little Awakenings (Stuckness) w/ Jitsujo Gauthier

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/09/06

“Just living my life has a very big effect on the planet, there's a cost to me living my life. And, I still belong here. I have just as much right to belong here as the crickets, and greedy politicians, or righteous beautiful people.” - Jitsujo GauthierJitsujo helps us find a way through the stuckness of the internalized hierarchies that can both hold us back from actual freedom, and propel us forward into the little awakenings that we can only ever come to on our own. How do we inspire ourselves

31:23

Resting Bodhi Face (No Pressure) w/ Sara Campbell

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/08/30

“We're not here to be martyrs, we’re not here to take care of others at our own expense. The more I respect myself, the more I can support and give to others.” - Sara CampbellSara tries to find out what it takes to find contentment in any weather. Do we owe it to the world to be pleasant people, and if not can our bs be at least entertaining? Are we obligated to not inflict our negativity on others? Which coast has the better weather for aimless wandering? Is it the heat or is it the humidity?

41:16

A Magnanimous Mess (Conflict & Zen) w/ Dave Cuomo

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/08/23

“Shitsticks become dirty to clean us. If these are not Buddhas, what is?“ - Shundo AoyamaAfter a messy month of his own, Dave gives us a Zen (and personal) look at conflict in practice, how it happens, whether it’s a problem, and how to work with it in meditation and maybe even with other people. Can we meditate arguments away? Is there a healthy way to incorporate difficult relationships into our lives? For the sake of cleaning up all of our messes effortlessly, should ACZC invest in one of

39:02

Reverently Rogue w/ Gyokei Yokoyama

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/08/16

“The dissidents, the ones who disagree, the most eccentric figures… in the world where Soto Zen teaching is alive, these figures become the leadership.” - Gyokei Yokoyama Gyokei has an unfortunate incident at his temple and takes the opportunity to contemplate his life choices, question entanglements, questions the tradition, and give us a little deep dive into everyone’s favorite poet monk, Ryokan, the patron saint of going reverently rogue. Are all rogues and rebels doomed to being respected? Do

48:43

The Angry Cloud Diaries (Monastery Report pt 2) w/...

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/08/02

“Roshi said, go outside and look at the moon and I promise you, you will be enlightened. but I looked tonight and there was no moon. What’s so wrong with us the way we are, Roshi? an angry cloud wants to know” - Angry Cloud Dave gives us a raw and honest report on his personal experience at the monastery over the Spring. Does Zen inherently breed cruelty and can we find a healthy place for the sociopaths in our lives? Does imagination and creativity have a place in a tradition of, well, strict

43:27

The Corpse of Wisdom (Monastery Report pt 1) w/ Dave...

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/07/26

“If we want to be true to the tradition of Zen, what were the ancients doing? They were throwing away tradition and recreating it for their time and place. And it worked gangbusters.” - Dave CuomoDave returns home from his final round of monastery training with a few thoughts on this whole Zen thing (and a two parter of a talk). This week! The historical context of monks and how and why we train them (next week - personal stories…). Is what we call classical Zen practice actually just obedience

39:16

The Easy Way w/ Muhō Nölke

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/07/19

"There's an very easy way to become a Buddha. Stop doing things wrong.” - DogenMuhō, Former longtime abbot of Antaiji Monastery (home temple of Kodo Sawaki), treats us to a talk about best practices for farming students and the self, and why zazen alone might not be the answer to Zen. Do each of us really create the whole universe, and if so, how is our practice not about ourselves? Is just sitting enough? Can we teach a cucumber to grow itself? Why can’t pumpkins just get along?? Find out here

34:08

A Shorter Conversation (Arguments & Conflict) w/...

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/07/12

“One of the hardest things about being human is that you have to be with other human beings.” - Emily EslamiIn a particularly divided year, in a particularly divisive culture, Emily tackles the uncomfortableness of living with other human beings, and how to manage argument and conflict as a practice all their own. When should we speak up and when should we just listen? Is hell other people, or is being truly alone? Has anyone ever convinced anyone of anything? Find out here!

29:43

Don’t Worry, It Gets Worse w/ Corey Warner

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/07/05

“Illness vanishes. Stress vanishes. Depression vanishes. So where do they go? Don't worry. If you want, you can pull them back at any moment.“ - Gary Shinshin WickCorey gets a bad diagnosis and gets inspired to give us some Zen teachings on sickness - how to deal with it, how to view it, and how to work with it as practice. Can we meditate the pain away? Do we take care of the sick, or do the sick take care of us? Does it only get worse? Find out here!

32:21

Goodness Shattered w/ Dave Cuomo

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/06/28

“It freaks me out to even think about ordaining someone whose goodness hasn't been shattered.” - Gyokei Yokoyama First, we learn to be good. Then we have that goodness shattered. And then, when we stop trying to do anything, the true goodness can shine through. Dave walks us through Baizhang’s three teachings to try to find out if we are inherently good or bad by nature and whether thinking like that does us any good. Did we really learn everything we need to know in kindergarten or have we just

40:31

Gnarly Fields of Chill (Twisted Karma) w/ Jordan Mylet

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/06/21

“Be nice to yourself, include yourself in that ancient twisted karma, allow for the inevitability of people just being people and how irritating that is, but then also how beautiful it is too.“ - Jordan Mylet Jordan takes us on a guided tour of our ancient twisted karma - what it is, where it comes from, and what the hell we’re supposed to do with it. Are we better people when we’re not being good? Can we blame our parents for being our parents? Can we blame ourselves for being ourselves? Do we

25:18

Barefoot & Drinking (Poetry Corner) w/ Henry Zander

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/06/14

“Westerners like to conquer mountains. Easterners like to contemplate them. As for me, I like to taste them” - Santoka TanedaHenry brings us a highly entertaining poetry hour as we follow the the lives and words of two Buddhist poets; Miyazawa Kenji trying to help the masses one annoyed farmer at a time, and Santoka Kenji picking himself up from a life of tragedy to drink himself into a sutra steeped stupor. What does it take to live a free life, an honest life, and/or a helpful life? Does the

47:13

The Lighter Side of Darkness (Story Time) w/ Dave Cuomo

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/05/31

“We are the lonely all together. All together, we’re all alone.” - John PrineDave indulges us in a little story time while also indulging in some explananing of how koans work with a classic tale of dharma drama, jealous rivalries, and onomatopoetic poetry. What should we ask in practice discussion when we don’t know what to say? Can we find a safe place for our passions instead of practicing them away? Does every living creature really die alone, and wait… isn’t that something we all share?

32:42

The Shadow of Happiness (The 5 Powers) w/ Sara Campbell

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/05/24

“I've seen too much, man. I know what's out there. And it's not all bad. And it's also not all good.” - Sara CampbellSara revels in the nightmare of a beautiful spring evening, the fragility of the daffodils, the darkness of the rain, and the five powers that can turn that nightmare into a perfectly present dream. How do we remember to notice the cool breeze of a deep blue twilight when all we feel is dark? Can we include fear and pessimism in our all inclusiveness, or are they the absence of all

39:11

You Are the Problem w/ Emily Eslami

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/05/17

“When the problem is a part of you, there is no problem, because you are the problem itself.” - Shunryu Suzuki Emily brings us a meditation on problems, problem solving, and all the machinations, rationalizations, and somersaults we do to try to prove that our problems are somewhere outside of ourselves, and then what happens when we start to point that finger right back where it came from. When is the problem actually other people? Have we earned that sense of superiority we get from meditating

41:41

Lost & Found (Meaning & Purpose) w/ Dave Cuomo

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/05/10

“It’s not an attainment, it’s a lament.” - Dave Cuomo Dave tries to figure out his purpose and articulate what meaning in Zen is while trying to give a talk in a park with threatening geese and impending rain on a retreat not going entirely to plan. What are the stages of meaning making and how do we rate? Is Dave’s level as off the charts as he claims? And what are the secret criteria for trustworthy lay leaders and Zen teachers?? Find out here!

40:18

An Awesome Group of Weirdos (The Fruits of Zazen) w/...

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/05/03

“The biggest change for me is to stop feeling like I should have it all figured out. And stop believing that anyone else does; and finding it a deep red flag if they claim to.” - Sara CampbellSara marks her five year anniversary with ACZC by taking stock and admitting how maybe all this goalless practice has changed her for the better, while the sangha takes the opportunity to get personal and share what’s working, what’s not, and how those kind of assessments may or may not be working out for

34:25

Yeah, No (The ❤️ Sutra) w/ Dave Cuomo

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/04/26

“If somebody is an a-hole, they must be going through something tough. And they’re making it as bad or worse for themselves as they are for anyone they're hurting. So they deserve just as much care as anybody else suffering from the what they're dealing out. That's a hard truth I want to wrestle with. Because I believe it, but I'm not always instinctively there yet.” - Dave Cuomo Dave takes us on a historical, literary, and autobiographical tour of the Heart Sutra to see what exactly it has to

30:15

The Winning Ticket (Spiritual Bypassing) w/ Tanya Orlov

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/04/19

“The winning ticket, the unfortunate truth, is that you have to take a good look at your bullsh*t before you can get to the good stuff.” - Tanya OrlovTanya brings us some wise warnings about our purported wisdoms with an in depth look at spiritual bypassing; what it is, how to know when we’re doing it, and how it might be holding us back from the real peace we’re trying to claim. Is our practice making us the cool, calm, collected people we always whished to be, or is that just another delusion

34:56

Mutual Conspiracy (Sonic Meditations) w/ Robert Holliday

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast ·

2024/04/12

“There's no reason sound can't be appreciated wherever you're at. It's always there. We think something has to be dramatic or highly structured, but there's always structures to find in our minds. We have that freedom in our own being to be able to see with what's there, with what's here, with what's happening.” - Robert HollidayRobert explores the intersection of experimental music and zazen from Buddha to John Cage, in a fascinating real time experiment in music, mind, and sound. What’s the

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Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

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