Welcome to my Precepts Page
This page is an introduction to the Buddhist precepts and the ceremony of jukai, or lay ordination. I will be receiving the precepts in November, and have prepared this page to explain to my friends and family what the ceremony is about and what it means.
The precepts are a series of guidelines, and receiving them is a ritual and a commitment. A large part of it is the public vow and acknowledgment of one's commitment to practice. There is a series of rituals and chanting, and the receipt of a Buddhist name, the rakusu, and papers showing the direct lineage back to the historical Buddha.
The precepts and the ritual also mean nothing special. They do not reflect a sudden crashing enlightenment, nor do they confer any special powers or privileges. In this sense, it is much like the passage in martial arts from white belt to black belt. The day after you receive your shodan (first degree black belt), you should be on the mat ready to take the next fall - nothing special. The Zen saying that reflects this is, "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."
Practice has not given me supernatural powers, magic understanding, enlightenment, or given me the ability cloud men's minds or walk on water. It has helped me to be a better, more sensitive, and aware human being and given me a glimpse of the magic and profound peace within all of us. I feel it on those days when I don't sit, and find myself a little more irritable, a little less tolerant, and a little less aware of that inner dialog we all carry on to keep our scripts running. It has given me some understanding of life and the universe, and made me better able to cope with the ups and downs we all have to deal with in our day to day life. No big drama, no crashing enlightenment, just a glimpse of that joy and stillness in each of us.
I welcome you to my pages and journey in progress, and look forward to sharing a bit of my experience with you.
When and where is the ceremony?
The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, November 23, from 2:00 to 3:30.
The ceremony will be held at Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, which is in the hills between Rohnert Park and Glen Ellen. It takes me 20-25 minutes to get there from my place. For directions, click here.
What is progress in practice?
After you've practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little. If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, "Oh, this pace is terrible!" But actually it is not. When you get we in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. So there is no need to worry about progress. It is like studying a foreign language; you cannot do it all of a sudden, but by repeating it over and over you will master it…We can say either that we make progress little by little, or that we do not even expect to make progress. Just to be sincere and make our full effort in such moment is enough.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind By Shunryu Suzuki-
What is jukai?
Jukai is the Zen Buddhist ceremony in which a practitioner makes certain vows and agrees to follow the Buddhist precepts. The practitioner receives a Buddhist or Dharma name and may begin to wear a rakusu, a small bib-like article representative of the robes of the Buddha.
What are the Precepts?
The precepts are a group of guiding principles, similar in language to the ten Commandments, but different in spirit and intention.
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Send me an email at maestrosid@hotmail.com.