Takkesa Ge

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Takkesa ge (Our Robe Verse, recited before we put on our robes).





“How great, the robe of liberation. a formless field of merit. Wrapping ourselves in the Buddha’s teaching, we free all living beings.”





When we unfold the robe we manifest morality. The o’kesa, as well as the smaller rakusu, is a patchwork robe made up of strips of fabric that are sewn together in a particular pattern. The robe represents the actualized dharma, transmitted from teacher to student through the millennia.



We do not take these robes lightly. The practice of sewing a robe has come to us generation by generation all the way back to Shakyamuni. It is our heart and soul. We wear our robes and exist in them. Our robes are nothing but an outward manifestation of inward vows.



Some might see the robes as a form of costume or a uniform of sorts. Others may understand them to be a curtain to hide behind. This would seriously diminish both the wearer and the robe. Every stitch is the heart and soul of a bodhisattva. Every stitch a vow to free others, knowing it is impossible to free anything.



Katagiri said “Zen is action.” We cannot just think our way through the barriers, we must actualize ourselves and we accomplish this through our forms. With proper reverence, may we each enfold ourselves in the Buddha’s teaching today.



Be well.