Anshi Zachary Smith: We’ll explore the boundaries and nether regions of everyday experience and how the creatures we meet there can be our allies and teachers.

Michael McCord: How the practices of the Zen temple support and address the needs of everyday life.

Following on Mei's talk on Form & Emptiness, the topic will be Preparing the Mind to Realize Emptiness. As an ancient Zen adept put it, "The clear circle of brightness is what exists from the very beginning". Put another way, there is an aspect of our experience here and now that is unhindered and luminous. But how do we come to see this? And how do we live it? We will talk about some of the ways the Zen ancestors encourage us to prepare the mind to realize emptiness.

Mei Elliott: Form & Emptiness are a foundational teachings in Soto Zen, and yet many find the subject perplexing and mysterious. My hope is to present the topic in a way that is both accessible and useful in your own practice. During the talk I'll include teachings on not-self, Nagarjuna's "two-truths," and the relationship between emptiness and freedom from suffering.

Michael McCord: Do you have thoughts that plague you? Do you get emotionally sidetracked by situations in the past or the future that seem to give you no peace?

Tonight, we will explore the principal causes of these disturbing thoughts and body sensations and how the context of Zen practice addresses these directly. We'll look at practical steps as well as an overall context of how to hold our bother, where to put our mind, and what acceptance has to do with this.

Zachary Smith: We’ll discuss our impulse to know or understand and how that desire may not always serve us.

Michael McCord: We’ll contrast the pop culture phenomenon of mindfulness with the tradition of Zen.

Michael McCord: What is our relationship with the scary, ugly, mean, petty, undeveloped, seemingly unworthy parts or ourselves? And what about these parts of others?

Hiro Ikushima: We will reflect on the idea that spiritual breakthroughs often arise from our mistakes and failures. How can Zen practitioners cultivate a mindset that welcomes mistakes as valuable opportunities for growth and awakening?

Kodo Conlin: Founder Dōgen put it, "The path of all buddhas and ancestors arises before the first forms emerge; it cannot be spoken of using conventional views.” Our topic for tonight is getting under the words, invitations to broaden our spectrum of experience, abiding in the vastness beyond words and stories.