Dave Cuomo - Buddha's Baggage (Yogacara pt 1)

“We don't know what the universe is made of at the root. All we know for certain is that the only thing we have to work with is our own experience.

Ultimately I can't blame anybody else for what I go through because I take it all in through my own filter. I only see what I am willing to see, and only do what I want to do on some level. So when they say the world is “mind only” or “experience only,” to me it's about taking responsibility for my own experience in the only place I’m able to turn to.” - Dave Cuomo  

By popular demand, Dave brings us a new series on Yogacara Buddhism, that simpler-then-it-sounds wealth of Buddhist theory that just might have underlined all of the elegant simplicity of Zen. In pt 1 we look into the background and context of the two purported founders of the movement, Asanga & Vasubandhu, and the high stakes (literally life & death!) world of philosophy & debate that shaped the school they created. Is the world really all in your mind? And what do you mean by mind? And can we ever escape our baggage?? Find out here!

Emily Eslami - Triple Treasure, Triple Treat! (The Three Refuges)

“Everything reflects triple treasure. You reflect triple treasure, and questioning triple treasure reflects triple treasure. Not understanding what the heck I'm talking about is triple treasure. We're talking about coming home to ourselves, trusting ourselves, relying on ourselves.

And there's that tricky word. Self. What is self? Is it my memories? No. Is it my thoughts? Is it what I'm saying right now? No. Is it the clothes I'm wearing, this body that I’m in? No, not quite. Then what is it? What's left? That's not self, that's what we truly are. “ - Emily Eslami

Emily brings us a precept, a promise, and gift in her latest installment of her ever timely precept series with an in depth look at the three refuges. What are they (everything!), and what are they a refuge from (everything else??)? And what does it mean to take refuge in them? Find out here!

Dave Cuomo - What Do You Want? (Love & Self Care)

“If there's a distinction in our minds between self care and doing good for other people, then we're missing the point of everything that we're doing on this planet.

It sounds mystical and woo to say, 'I eat this soup on behalf of all living beings.' It sounds ridiculous. But if you're paying attention, it's obviously true because I know all too well what happens if I eat a bunch of sugar instead. I'm going to be stressed out, and then I'm gonna put that on all of you. And that's just how it works. And I don't know why I forget that…” - Dave Cuomo

Dave brings us a Zen look at love and self care through encounters with the Bodhisattva of Compassion his(or)herself, Avalokiteshvara. Can this magical being really save us from danger and death? Is it compassionate to give people what they want? Does prayer actually work? And does smoking count as self care? Find out here!

Emily Eslami - The Cheat Sheet of (un)Reality (10th Precept - No Disparaging the Buddha, Dharma, & Sangha)

”To not kill the Buddha when you meet them on the road is abusing the triple treasures. How not to abuse the triple treasures is to accept everything as Buddha, Dharma, & Sangha, and accept yourself as Buddha Dharma and Sangha.” - Emily Eslami

Emily takes on the 10th major precept, no disparaging the Buddha, Dharma, & Sangha. Sounds simple right? But of course this is Zen so nothing is ever so simple (or maybe way simpler than our brains are equipped for…) Why are we told by the old masters that the only way not to abuse the Buddha is by killing him? Why does this dharma talk tell us that dharma isn’t something that can be learned in teachings? And what does sangha even mean if it means everything and everyone? Find out here!

Dave Cuomo - The Great Mistake (Ignorance - part deux!)

“To remember that ignorance is enlightenment is to not separate myself from what's right in front of me, to not think that I can be better than the people in front of me, to not think that I'm going to be a better person by trying to be a better person. It’s to love and accept what's in front of me.

To embrace ignorance is a loving act. And that's why I like Zen. It sounds weird and ironic, but I always think they mean love.” - Dave Cuomo

By popular demand Dave takes a deep dive into delusion and follows up to his talk on the 12 Fold Chain with an in depth look at ignorance in Buddhism. What is this great mistake we can't help make that causes the whole world to come into being? And what does Zen mean when they tell us that ignorance is already enlightenment and does Dave have any tips for what to do with that personally?? (Stories yes, no promises on helpful tips...) And bonus round! One deep dark koan, two contemporary Zen masters duking it out in the commentaries. Who will win the great dunce crown of ignorance supreme?? Find out here!

Dave Cuomo - Ignorance is Bliss (pt 1 - The 12 Fold Chain)

PDF Handout Download Here! - The 12 Fold Chain

"In classical Buddhism, the fundamental mistake is that getting what you think you want will make you happy. In Zen they seem to say the fundamental delusion is that you exist at all.

This is why Zen is so weird. We're trying to look at what comes before awareness, and that's hard. It’s really hard to be aware of something that precedes awareness. But not impossible....” - Dave Cuomo

Dave takes us for a freewheeling ride on that big beautiful ferris wheel of life we call samsara, aka The 12 Fold Chain of Dependent Origination. It’s the great pie chart of all reality that Buddha warned us we can either wake up to, or be doomed to repeat over and over again. But do we really want it to end, or can we find a way to make the ride a little less bumpy? How does anything happen and do we actually have any control over it? Is reality just a mistake and would knowing that make any difference?? Does the ACZC sangha want to get down on some seriously nerdy Buddhist theory??? Find out (and let us know) here…

Emily Eslami - Love Potion ((#)9th Precept - No Giving Way to Anger)

"When you get mad at yourself, that means you’re mad at another self. Maybe you turn your face and see yourself. Or you see yourself as other. This is very hard...

If you become angry, you don’t stop being Buddha. Anger appears, that’s all." - Kobun Chino

In the latest installment of her ever timely precept series, Emily takes on that molten hot lava of an emotion, anger. What do we experience when we feel it? How can we feel it and not be consumed by it? How can we use it skillfully when we need to? In this inspiring talk she shows how what exists at the bottom of anger is pain. And how sitting with it is to experience the path of the Boddhisatva – and of Zen meditation itself.

Dave Cuomo - Fringe Benefit

"If you want to make peace with yourself and not hate Zazen, it's going to help to like yourself, or at least just accept yourself the way you are. I promise, you're great and you're worth it. And it'll help.

And fringe benefit, you might find yourself a little happier and nicer, your whole life might improve in every way you ever wanted it to. But that's not why we're here, that's not the point of zazen.” - Dave Cuomo

In a wide ranging talk full of surprises and conundrums, Dave delves into Dogen’s Fukanzazengi (Instructions for Zazen) and the older Chinese text that preceded it to answer the question of whether Zen is something that can be taught, or whether it’s something we can only experience. And bonus! In the latter half Dave treats us to his own "What Am I Doing Here" talk as he shares his experience of how he came to Zen and why he's so stuck on it, along with a sincere inquiry into whether it's a practice we can learn or something that has to come and find us when it's ready.

Emily Eslami - My Missing Piece (8th Precept - No Coveting)

"When you go to the mountain, and see a flower blooming, pick it, break it, and make it yours - this is attachment. If you let it be there for everything and everyone - this is 'no attachment.'

Even your self does not belong to you. You are everything." - Kobun Chino

In the latest installment of Emily’s ever timely precept series, she takes on the eighth precept, "no coveting," ie craving – what it looks like, why we do it, whether we can stop ourselves, and how it turns out that coveting and stinginess are two sides of the same coin after all. What exactly are clinging to when we grasp after those desires, states, and people? And (maybe more concerning) if there is no self, what is there even to cling in the first place?

Dave Cuomo - A Functional Fantasy Land

"To love the mountains is not to know about mountains, but to climb mountains and to live and die continuously with them.

The best way to realize the true beauty of Mount Fuji is to actually go climb it. If you do that, the beauty of Mount Fuji as you have known it will disappear. But this does not mean that the true beauty of Mount Fuji has disappeared. The beauty of Mount Fuji is eternal and unchanging.

When we live with Mount Fuji and breathe with Mount Fuji, we can experience the deep taste of being at one with Mount Fuji. We are already beyond the realm of 'trying to understand.'” - Dainin Katagiri

Dave celebrates the return of in person discussions with reading and commentary on a beautiful piece from Dainin Katagiri on Dogen's "Instructions to the Cook," where Katagiri gives us his unvarnished impressions on his adopted American homeland and why our nation of problems and possibility is such fertile ground for practice.

Dave Cuomo - Karma Happens

"Sometimes I walk by a pile of poo and think "What jerk did that? I hate that guy. This is why we can't have nice things." And then I go around telling everyone about this jerk, and we all get upset and probably sound like a bunch of jerks.

And sometimes I walk by and think, "Huh, look at that poo." Maybe I have to scrape some poo off my shoe, and then I walk on, smelling it for a minute, and then smelling flowers on the next block. I'm guessing things go better for everyone when that happens, but I wouldn't really know because I'm not dwelling on it." - Dave Cuomo

In a podcast exclusive, Dave takes a deep dive into the steaming pile of confusion that is karma. Is the universe a fair place? Is there such a thing as cosmic justice?? And if not should we even bother trying to be good people??? And if someone does poop in the road and no one is there to smell it, who will those flies get to greet on their return??? Find out here!

Emily Eslami - The Great Human Disaster (7th precept - No Praising Self or Berating Others)

"There's a saying, do you want to be right or do you want to be married? I would extend that to, do you want to be right or do you want to be human? Do you want to be right or do you want to be in a relationship with anyone at all?" - Emily Eslami

In her ever timely precept series, Emily takes on number seven, no praise or blame! Aka, our consistent habit of comparing to others. Who are we trying to build up when we put down? What are we comparing against? And is it possible to have confidence without falling into pride? A great talk for anyone with superiority or inferiority complexes and everywhere in between (which is to say, pretty much all of us).

Dave Cuomo - An Unknowable Hope (Inmo)

"If everything you know isn't working, what do you have left? What you don't know. When you stop and allow space for what you don't know to happen, something else can happen." - Dave Cuomo

Dave delves into Dogen's famous "It" (Inmo) to see if it can offer us a way to pick ourselves up when the world knocks us down. But what is "it??" Some say the universe, some say enlightenment, some say God, while Dogen just says (helpfully as always) that "it" is a "what." Let's find out what that is...

Emily Eslami - Stuck in the Mud With You (6th Precept - No Speaking of Past Mistakes)

“…other people’s mistakes, the mistakes you can’t stop talking about, your mistakes, the mistakes you think are worse than everyone else’s, look around you, we’re all in the mud making those same mistakes. But at least we’re not alone. At least we’re all stuck in the mud together.” - Emily Eslami

Emily takes us on a journey through everyone's least favorite precept (/favorite precept to break) - no speaking of past mistakes! You make mistakes, we all make mistakes, so why does Buddhism not want us to talk about them and is there a danger in not doing so? What's really at stake, and if it's so wrong, why does it feel so good to dish a little gossip now and then?? And wait a minute, what does it even mean to make a "mistake" and who really ends up taking the blame when we point the finger??? Let's find out...

Dave Cuomo - Bursting Buckets of Buddha

“With this and that I tried to keep the bucket together
Then the bottom fell out.
Where water does not collect,
The moon does not dwell”
- Mugai Nyodai

In an ever timely topic, Dave brings us a Zen look at patience. What is patience and is that what we're actually learning here? Where are do we find ourselves when whatever we're so urgently waiting for never arrives in the moment we're in? Find our here.

Emily Eslami - Cloudy Days in the Great Brightness (5th Precept - No Intoxicants)

“It’s the emptiness we’re afraid of. Our life is not made up of magic, it’s made up of these empty moments, full moments, thats all we have; the pain we’re experiencing, the boredom, the fleeting happiness, that’s the moment.

But we owe it to this great brightness not to run away, to see these moments as they really are. Because if nothing is special that means everything is special.” - Emily Eslami

In her ever timely precept series, Emily takes a deep dive into refraining from intoxicants, from a nice glass of wine over pasta, to blowing your mind over a pile of mushrooms, who do we harm when we try to escape, how much is too much, how strictly do these rules want to be taken exactly, and what even is this bright mind we're so afraid of clouding?? Find out here…

A Celebration of Silliness (History of Zen - Tozan & Rinzai!)

"Understanding the true specialness of everything is a rare and wonderful thing. Apparently it takes a lot of practice to realize "just this" for what it really is.

And for all of us who aren't there yet, we have words and teachers there to join us in our delusions long enough to help us figure it out, even while they know there's nothing they can do to help us.

And that's very kind of them." - Dave Cuomo

In an epic clash of conflicted compassion, Dave introduces us to the founders of our two main surviving branches of Zen, Rinzai & Tozan (of Soto fame), as these two teachers teach the exact same nothing, in exactly opposite ways. Madcap koans, shocking speeches, & beautiful poetry ensue!

Dave Cuomo - Sacred Unhinged

"In our ordinary world, we learn to play by the rules, to follow the recipe, to get it right, while in sacred space, cooking (and life) can be more than just following recipes.

Beyond rote and chore - doing what you've been told - is the freedom to realize the way to cook, letting the ingredients come forward to awaken and nourish, letting yourself come alive to cook, to do something that you've never done before!" - Edward Espe Brown

In a light and fun little talk Dave reads us choice selections from Edward Espe Brown's "No Recipe" and discusses kitchen work and the art of creating sacred spaces as a safe space for screwing up perfectly.

Emily Eslami - About the Lies I Haven't Told You (The Precepts pt 5 - No Lying)

“Language will always fail us… We believe we’re speaking the same language but we’re using different English to English dictionaries.

The only way to tell the truth is to acknowledge that our truth is not completely true.” - Emily Eslami

Emily brings us a full exploration of the fourth precept, No Lying. Sounds simple, but it turns out before we can not lie, we have to know what truth is in the first place! Who are we really lying to when lie, and who do we actually hurt? Who are we ever really speaking to? And speaking of which, what even is language & communication?? Let's discuss...

Erik Andersen - Angel of Doubt

It’s like a guardian angel of doubt. Where by the grace of god, I would have this spark, this wonderful beautiful doubt of, maybe im wrong. Maybe im not right about this after all…" - Erik Andersen

In a delightfully madcap affair, Erik challenges all those who say that Zen is difficult or enigmatic with a talk on the big question, “How hard is zen??” only to come up with the very Zen answer, “not easy, just the easiest thing you could ever do.” From there we get a whirlwind adventure starting with a two line koan (which he swears his talk will not answer (although we're pretty sure it did)), and then running off into the definitive definition of nirvana, snake oil & delusions, whether it's ok to hate the things we love to hate, and of course those angels of doubt we can have always put our faith in.