Sunday, February 24, 2013

Celebrating the Dharma


Yesterday, 2/23/13, the Original Mind Zen Sangha performed its first ever Precepts ceremony! It was a small, intimate celebration as two students took Precepts (see photo below), thus formally declaring their commitment to practicing the Dharma, and taking the first steps towards formal ordination in the Five Mountain Zen Order, of which OMZS is a member.

It was an honor to perform the rites, to walk in the footsteps and utter the words of our Dharma ancestors. During the ceremony, there was a moment when I was chanting "The Mantra Welcoming the Triple Gem" that I was truck by the complete timelessness of the ceremony. The declarations that we make to maintain the Buddhist Precepts transcend time; they--like all of our actions, words, and deeds--are pure expressions of our Buddha Nature.

I was filled with a solemn sense of gratitude and honor to be able to participate in such a sacred ceremony.

Thanks to my wife Jackie for all of her support as I walk this marvelous Dharma path; I couldn't do this without you.

And countless bows to all of our Dharma ancestors for delivering these teachings to us, especially to my teacher Zen Master Wonji Dharma. None of this would be possible without them.


 Hyonjeong, Doshim Dharma (me), and Chokyi Drayang.



3 comments:

  1. How wonderful!! Congratulations to you and your two students!

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  2. These ceremonies never get old! I'm always pleasantly surprised at my delight of hearing about them, witnessing them, and so on. What do your new bodhisattva's names mean?

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