This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning. Thank you for coming. For those of you who traveled to get here, thank you for coming on this podcast. rainy day, and I want to welcome everyone, including those who are viewing from afar, and a special welcome to anyone who's here for the first time today. My name is Tova Green. I'm a resident here, and I also want to tell you my dharma name today, because I'll be talking a little bit about dharma names in this talk. My Dharma name was given to me by my teacher, Agent Linda Cutts.

[01:01]

And I received one name at my lay ordination and a second name at my priest ordination. My priest ordination name is Jisan Myocho. And Jisan means mountain of compassion. Myocho is wondrous listening. And there's a lot of meaning there. for me, in that name. And I will talk more about Dharma names later on. So I wanted to thank David Zimmerman, our former tanto, for inviting me to give this talk today. And I also want to dedicate this talk, particularly since it's a cold, rainy day, to all those who are without a home today. either on the streets of our city or those who lost their homes in the fires recently or in other disasters, natural disasters around the world, and also to those on our southern borders who are without homes and those in refugee camps around the world.

[02:15]

So I feel very fortunate to have a home here and also fortunate to be giving... this talk today, partly because it's the first Saturday talk of the new year, and I think we all think about the new year as possibly bringing hope, and we may also have some fears about the new year, and sometimes looking, you know, setting intentions for ourselves for the coming year. So I ask you, to reflect for a moment on what brought you here this morning. Perhaps it may be your first time and perhaps you're looking for community or looking for a way of finding some meaning in your life or in practice.

[03:24]

where it may be that you come every Saturday and this is one of your Dharma homes. But just to take a moment to think about what brought you here. And then because we're creating this talk together, it wouldn't be a talk if you weren't here. I would be talking to myself, which is... Not so rewarding. So I would like to invite you to take a look around the room and see who is here with you today. And if you would, just invite you to make eye contact with someone and to non-verbally greet them. Thank you very much. Yeah, I think this is a way of acknowledging that we are here together, creating this space and forming a momentary community for the duration of this talk.

[04:31]

And I also want to say that in addition to this being the beginning of the new year, for me it's a very special day today, and I think for some other people who are here, because there will be a ceremony this afternoon. I think of it as a bodhisattva initiation ceremony. It's usually called a jukai. Jukai means receiving the precepts. And it's a ceremony, it's kind of a rite of passage for a student who will be receiving the precepts and taking the bodhisattva vow. to save all beings, or at least to attempt to. It's impossible to save all beings, but we all try our best to take care of others, including ourselves. We're not excluded from the all beings. So that will be happening this afternoon at 3, and you're all welcome to attend.

[05:36]

Because of that ceremony, I thought I would talk today about ceremonies. We participate in many ceremonies at Zen Center, but I think all of us participate in ceremonies in our lives, no matter where we live. And this morning I'll explore the meaning of ceremonies, how they may help us with life passages, and how they may help us in our daily lives. Ceremonies are... We may think of them as special occasions, but there are many ceremonies we participate in throughout the day we may not think of as ceremonies. But sometimes if we do, it can help us be more fully aware and awake and engaged in what we're doing. And I also think ceremonies help us build community. And I'll talk as well about the ceremony we'll be having this afternoon and...

[06:42]

its meaning for the person receiving the precepts, and also for those who attend the ceremony. I want to acknowledge that for many people, ceremonies may feel foreign and uncomfortable, and for others, they may be engaging and comforting. And I think of this talk itself as a ceremony, and as you... probably noticed, especially if you're here for the first or second time, there's a lot of formality to the way we offer talks here. Usually people come in and you're silent and then there's a little procession of the person giving the talk followed by the person who's carrying fragrance and the offering of fragrance and the three boughs and that frames the beginning of the ceremony as well as the chant that we do. And then at the end, it's repeated with a chant and three bows.

[07:43]

So that kind of formality creates a space, I think, in which for some people it may be off-putting, but for others it may be a way of settling in and really being present for whatever... arises in yourself as you're listening to the talk. So what is a ceremony? There's a Japanese pictograph or kanji for ceremony and it has the radicals, the roots that mean person and meaning embedded within it. And Tension Reb Anderson has that pictograph on the cover of his book, Being Upright.

[08:46]

And he says, the ceremony brings meaning to the person, and the person embodies the meaning of the ceremony. And then he says, the ceremony is a dance between person and meaning. one of the students I meet with pointed that out to me. It's a line that had a special meaning for her, and really that led me to think, I'd like to talk about ceremonies today. How is a ceremony a dance between a person and meaning? And Reb also says that that character can be translated as right conduct, loyal, faithful, public-spirited, or duty to one's neighbor. So it has many meanings. And I think ceremonies do provide a way to unite all these wonderful qualities with our personhood.

[09:54]

So in English, the word ceremony comes from the late 14th century ceremony, a religious observance, a solemn rite. And some of the definitions include holiness, sacredness, awe, a reverent rite, a sacred ceremony. So there is something that marks a different kind of experience and perhaps taking us out of our usual... way of doing things. And part of every ceremony is creating a ceremonial space. And that can be both an internal ceremonial space and an external ceremonial space. And there are many different kinds of ceremonies.

[11:02]

Often they have a connection with a rite of passage, for example, baby naming, or in the Jewish tradition, a bar or bat mitzvah, when you come of age around 13. Weddings, funerals, and memorial services, those are all ceremonies that mark significant moments in a person's life, and they also bring people together. I think one of the powers of ceremony is to create that connectedness of sharing either something very joyful or it can be something very sad. I know when I have lost friends, to come together in a memorial service where we can share memories of that person has tremendous meaning, as do more joyful events like weddings or...

[12:06]

baby namings. There are so many different kinds of ceremonies. So I just invite you to think of a ceremony in your own life that was or is meaningful to you. I'll give you a moment to think about that, a ceremony that was meaningful to you. And I'm going to talk about some of the elements of ceremonies. And as I name them and talk about them, I invite you to reflect on how that resonates with your own experience of a ceremony that was meaningful to you. So as I said, the first part of it may be creating ceremonial space. And for example, if you meditate at home, you may find... there's a particular place where you like to sit and perhaps you light a candle or you have some flowers there or something that makes that space a little special.

[13:15]

We create ceremonial space here in the Buddha Hall in many ways. We have the altar with the statue of Buddha. We have these guardians at both sides here and other images of Buddha and... Tara, and in the back, Prajnaparamita. Some of the elements of this sacred space are derived from our Japanese heritage through Suzuki Roshi, our founding teacher. So some of the plaques on the altar, the tatami mats. But I think when you walk into this room, you may feel that this is a space that's not an ordinary space. Originally, when this building was built, as a women's residence, this was a parlor, and the altar was a fireplace. And I think it probably had a special warm feeling then, but it has a different kind of warm feeling now.

[14:19]

And the same with our zendo. If you go downstairs and sit in the zendo, I often feel that many people have sat there before me, and I... I feel supported by that and by the simplicity and the quiet of the zendo. So, you know, these are devoted ceremonial spaces, but if you walk around the building, you'll see altars everywhere. We have altars in the kitchen, an altar in the dining room, altars outside every bathroom, an altar in the shop. And I think that is a way of saying that each of these spaces can be a ceremonial space. So when we enter the bathroom, we may bow to the altar, and there's also a chant that we may do just to recognize that we're purifying our bodies when we shower, wash our face, that everything that we do during the day can have that ceremonial aspect to it.

[15:22]

So you may find in your own home that whether you have an altar or not, there are nooks or crannies in your home that feel special. You may have a photograph of a parent who's died, or a loved one, or you may find bringing fresh flowers into the home is really meaningful to you. So... Another aspect of ceremony, it's not always part of it, but often there's someone who officiates at a ceremony, such as a wedding or a memorial service, and that person can help to hold the ceremonial space for others. That's one of the things I value, actually, about my priest training. I've learned how to hold a space that can contain grief. or joy, or a range of feelings. And to be able to be with people in that kind of ceremonial space, I think is one of the most meaningful parts of my experience as a priest.

[16:38]

Whether it's a wedding or a funeral, it's a gift to be able to offer that. And for many ceremonies, witnesses are important. having a group of people who come together to share the experience of a ceremony or to witness somebody's rite of passage. And in the ceremony we're doing this afternoon, we all support the person receiving the precepts and are there to help in this case it's a hymn, to help him continue to observe them after the ceremony. So often people who come to a ceremony like a wedding are part of a network of people that will help that couple when they have difficulties. So the ceremony creates a sense of connectedness that can be extremely helpful.

[17:49]

and in all of life's celebrations and mornings. So when we talk about the precepts, there are 16, what we call 16 bodhisattva precepts, First three are taking refuge in Buddha, the ability of awakening in our lives, taking refuge in Dharma, the teachings in whatever form they come to us, and Sangha, the community of people. And then there are three precepts called the three pure precepts. And the first one is often thought of as not doing any harm, Tenchman, Rev. Anderson, talks about that precept as embracing and sustaining forms and ceremonies.

[18:57]

So I was always curious about that interpretation of it, and I really appreciate it. In Being Upright, he talks about many forms and ceremonies that we can observe that make us more aware of who we're interacting with or what we're actually engaged in moment to moment throughout the day. So one of them, which you've seen this morning, is ga sho, where we put our palms together and bow. And this can be a greeting, a form of greeting. It can be a form of appreciation or recognition. And during times when we are having silent retreats here, we greet each other as we pass with this silent greeting, and it has just a sense of respect and gratitude for one another.

[20:11]

There's also a way in which We start our workday at Sun Center with a ceremony. We have a work circle, and we all gather in the dining room. The work leader comes in and offers fragrance. We bow to the altar, and then we bow to each other, and we have announcements. And it's a beautiful way of starting a workday with a sense of community. And I know many of you don't work... at Zen Center or live at Zen Center, and perhaps there's some other way you start your workday that gives it a feeling of... What kind of feeling? That helps you arrive, fully arrive at your work and be present as you begin your day.

[21:11]

We also have in the kitchen frequently a mindfulness bell, a bell that's rung and everybody stops what they're doing, takes a few breaths, centers in their body, notices how they're feeling, and then they go back to work. And I know some people who work at computers have a built-in mindfulness bell that will help them remember to pause, breathe. and then go back to work. It can be very refreshing. So those are some simple ceremonies that we may participate in during the course of our day. And Reb comments on these ceremonies. It's not the intention that these forms and ceremonies be used as ways of controlling ourselves or others. But instead, they provide support like a trellis upon which the many forms of the Buddha way can bloom and proliferate.

[22:24]

And they're meant as offerings of clear and gentle guidance and support, not as shackles to bind us. I mean, sometimes we may feel that these ceremonies may seem... can feel rigid or confining, but I think it's also what we bring to the ceremonies. We have... Reb talks about coming on time as a ceremony, and there is a fair amount of emphasis here on coming on time, so that when we're going to the zendo, there's an instrument called the Han that starts 15 minutes before, and you... When you hear it, you want to start moving towards the zendo, and you actually want to get there three minutes before the time zazen actually starts, because in those last three minutes, a priest will be entering, followed by an attendant with fragrance, and they'll be going to the altar and bowing.

[23:30]

So you get there a little early if you want to be on time. It's kind of paradoxical. But I think for me, you know, it's always a lesson when I hear the Han stopping whatever I'm doing and making my way to the Zendo. So these ceremonies also can be expressions of our interdependence. We tend to... I'm thinking about our opportunities. Sometimes we have a formal meal in the zendo. It's called oryoki. And we wait till everybody is served before we start eating. And there's an awareness that that brings to everybody who's in the room.

[24:33]

And that brings Many people do that at home as well. You may all sit down at the table and then whether you do grace or just acknowledge that everyone's there and then start eating. It's a way of recognizing there's a sense of community with the people you're sharing that meal with. So... I'll talk a little bit about this afternoon's ceremony. This is a very old ceremony, the Bodhisattva Initiation, or Jukai. Eihei Dogen, who was the person who brought our kind of Soto Zen from China to Japan, he was Japanese and he went to China for several years and visited monasteries and

[25:38]

came back and wrote about many of the practices that he observed. And one of his essays is on this ceremony, Jukai, receiving the precepts. And he lived 800 years ago, so we know the ceremony is at least that old. And there are some key elements to the ceremony. First is preparation, which can take a long time, It involves working with a teacher, studying, particularly studying the precepts, and sewing. So here we sew our own Buddha's robes. We have a sewing room, and when sewing a robe for the Bodhisattva initiation, or Jukai ceremony, you sew a rakasu. If you look around, many people here are wearing them. The blue ones are the ones that are sewn for a jukai or lay ordination.

[26:44]

And as you sew with each stitch, you're taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. So the stitch is sometimes called the namu kyei butsu stitch. I take refuge in Buddha stitch. That's... Namokyei Butsu is the Japanese for I take refuge in, or I'm plunging into Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha with each stitch. And that takes a certain amount of time. It's different for each person. But the ceremony, my teacher says the ceremony actually begins when you start sewing, but I think it begins before that, when you start studying the precepts. And there's also a request from the student to receive the precepts. It has to be something that they feel is important to their lives, because it's not something you would do lightly.

[27:55]

I think when you receive the precepts, you're also... really making a commitment to live your life according to the precepts and to live your life with an awareness of others, not just yourself. And it's a lifelong commitment. So it's one that can also help you in your life to... live in an ethical way and to live with that sense of connection to people around you. And one of the elements is receiving a Buddhist name. And usually the name has two parts to it. The first part is in some way descriptive of where your teacher lives

[29:00]

thinks you are at that point in your practice. And then the second part may be more aspirational, where you may be heading with your practice. And often a lot of thought goes into choosing the name. The heart of the ceremony, though, is receiving the precepts. And... I talked about, so the 16 precepts are the three refuges, the three pure precepts, which I vow to avoid all harm, I vow to do all good, I vow to live and be lived for the benefit of all beings. So these are very broad. How do you do those things? What is your intention in going about your life?

[30:04]

What does it mean to do all good? So these precepts invite exploration. What does each precept mean to the person receiving it? And then there are ten, what are called the grave precepts, which are really... a guidepost. They're not rules. If you take them as rules, you may find that they're too tight. Also, there's a compassionate way of observing each precept. So for example, the first precept is, the first grave precept, I vow not to kill, but to cherish life. So they're prohibitory, but they can also be seen in an affirmative way so vowing to cherish life um there are moments i mean there are times when it's it may be impossible not to kill not to kill an insect that is found its way that found its way into some lettuce that you're washing or not step on some small insect that you might not see those are small ways

[31:28]

But sometimes it's making a difficult choice about... There's a traditional story about a person who's standing in a field and a hunter comes by and asks the person, have you seen a rabbit? just went by. And the person in the field may have seen the rabbit, but will say, no, I haven't seen it, because that person doesn't want the rabbit to be killed. But then you may find out that the hunter was trying to get some food for their family. So would it have been compassionate to tell the hunter where the rabbit went? I mean, it's not a simple answer. And I think when we begin to study the precepts, looking at what is a compassionate response, sometimes lying may be compassionate to protect a being or a person.

[32:39]

Sometimes there is a precept of to tell the truth, not to lie. It's very complex when you begin to look at any of these precepts and unpack them. They lead to many questions about speech, about how we interact with one another, and how we deal with our anger, how we deal with our generosity or our wanting to hold on to things. So they are really... precepts that we work with for our entire life. I'll just mention two other parts of this ceremony, the Jukai ceremony. One aspect of it that I found very powerful when I first received the precepts was that you also receive a lineage paper that

[33:49]

It's called the blood vein of the ancestors, and it goes from the Buddha through all of the Indian ancestors, Chinese ancestors, Japanese ancestors, to your teacher, and then to you, and then there's literally a red line, and it goes back to the Buddha. So you become part of this community that goes back 2,500 years, community of ancestors. It's very supportive to know that you, at least it was for me, supportive in a way of feeling that this lineage, this history is now part of my life, and I could also give... In a way, you become aware that you're a Buddha.

[34:51]

We all have that... capacity to be awake and alive and fully alive. We all have that Buddha nature. And this lineage paper helps remind us of that. And another final aspect of the ceremony is taking these vows in the presence of teachers and Dharma friends, helps you become more accountable in your life. And you know that if you are having difficulty deciding is what I'm going to do or say, could that be harmful? There's people you can talk to. There are people who will support you in living your life in an upright way. And there's a lot of joy in in the ceremony.

[35:52]

So many ceremonies, including this Dharma talk, end with a dedication of merit so that whatever you've experienced in the ceremony is shared with others, whatever's beneficial. The ceremony is not just for oneself or for ourselves. but it's intended to benefit all beings. So at the end of the Dharma talk today, we'll do a closing chant. May our intention equally extend to every being and place with the true merit of Buddha's way. So I think that's, I didn't bring my watch. I don't have any idea what time it is, but I think that's really what I wanted to say this morning. And I invite you to take with you something that was useful today and to share it with others.

[36:59]

So thank you all for coming. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[37:28]

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