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Commitment
Practicing ethical action in Zen begins with an unexpected instruction: Relax. We often associate morality with the anguished yet reasoned decision or fraught competition between opposing needs. But Buddhism asks us to focus first on the separation enacted in the body as tension - the habits of resistance that create a subject in a sea of objects in need of constant management. Relaxing is hard work! Relaxing softens the boundaries between me/not me. Relaxing exposes fixed ideas as flimsy fences. Relaxing invites the world to show up on your doorstep in all its paradoxical and inconvenient fullness. Relaxing allows for a wholehearted response rooted in a mind at ease. ~Seido
Although it is not necessary to take vows to practice with us, many participants find they strongly resonate with the path of Zen and wish to make a formal commitment. Receiving the 16 Bodhisattva Precepts from an authorized teacher marks a formal entry onto the path. Having one's intention publicly witnessed deepens practice and brings a surprising source of support when things are difficult. The Bodhistattva Precepts are guidelines that inform our intention to live in an awakened way and realize our true nature. They call attention to places where we struggle and offer dharma gates to liberated action in the context of daily life.
Requirements
Receiving Buddhist precepts requires active membership, a sincere wish to practice the precepts, and participation in the winter class series. Vows are taken in a ceremony called Jukai which includes acknowledging past harm and taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Through the precepts, we commit to ceasing harmful action, doing good for others, and noticing particular domains of life like intoxication, blaming, or lying, among other unskillful actions.
It is not possible to keep these precepts perfectly. We recognize and account for our limitations and vow to do our best. Precepts offer a liberating dharma gate right in the midst of complicated life. They help us reflect in a useful way on to how we live moment to moment.
During Jukai, students receive a "wagesa" (a strip of cloth representing the buddha's robes) and a "ketchimyaku" or lineage document tracing the teachings through the lineage back to Shakyamuni Buddha. If you are interested in receiving precepts, please speak with the teacher about your interest and questions that arise.