With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night we drove to El Paso to provide Zen Services to the Both Sides/No Sides Sangha. Student Rose traveled with Soku Shin and I. Soku Shin acted as the Ino and I did what I do. My Dharma talk was on Jukai.
I find it wonderful that the Jukai ceremony and vows we use today are the same (or very similar) to those used by Master Dogen of the 13th century. We are nearly word for word in the 10 Grave Precepts, although certain slight modifications have been made.
Jukai is nothing more than a certification that one has become the precepts themselves. One has become, or vowed to become, buddha, dharma, and sangha. One has become ahimsa (a vow to cease doing evil), good itself, and is busy creating conditions for good to arise. And lastly, the student has found an authentic way to be a manifestation of the ten grave precepts: No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no clouding the mind, no gossip, no elevating self at the expense of others, no giving way to anger, no greediness, and no speaking ill of the three treasures. The teacher recognizes the student in a ceremony, offers a rakusu, and that is that. The student is now in a place to practice even more deeply. Perhaps one day, she or he will become a “patriarch.”
These precepts speak to the dimensions of Zen practice. As such, they do not come about on their own, nor are they imposed from on-high. Zen has no God telling us what to do. Zen Buddhism, properly understood, has no Church. We are each flowers in a bouquet called sangha. The precepts are the flower’s petals as the stamen sits in serene reflection.
Be well
Please Note: Due to our previously scheduled Ambercare Hospice Training Program Soku Shin and I are attending, we will not be at Temple for Zazen this evening.
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night we drove to El Paso to provide Zen Services to the Both Sides/No Sides Sangha. Student Rose traveled with Soku Shin and I. Soku Shin acted as the Ino and I did what I do. My Dharma talk was on Jukai.
I find it wonderful that the Jukai ceremony and vows we use today are the same (or very similar) to those used by Master Dogen of the 13th century. We are nearly word for word in the 10 Grave Precepts, although certain slight modifications have been made.
Jukai is nothing more than a certification that one has become the precepts themselves. One has become, or vowed to become, buddha, dharma, and sangha. One has become ahimsa (a vow to cease doing evil), good itself, and is busy creating conditions for good to arise. And lastly, the student has found an authentic way to be a manifestation of the ten grave precepts: No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no clouding the mind, no gossip, no elevating self at the expense of others, no giving way to anger, no greediness, and no speaking ill of the three treasures. The teacher recognizes the student in a ceremony, offers a rakusu, and that is that. The student is now in a place to practice even more deeply. Perhaps one day, she or he will become a “patriarch.”
These precepts speak to the dimensions of Zen practice. As such, they do not come about on their own, nor are they imposed from on-high. Zen has no God telling us what to do. Zen Buddhism, properly understood, has no Church. We are each flowers in a bouquet called sangha. The precepts are the flower’s petals as the stamen sits in serene reflection.
Be well
Please Note: Due to our previously scheduled Ambercare Hospice Training Program Soku Shin and I are attending, we will not be at Temple for Zazen this evening.
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