Shukke

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Shukke (home leaving) is, according to Master Dogen, exactly the same as being a buddha and taking the precepts. He says, “In sum, the supreme state of bodhi is perfectly satisfied at the time of leaving home and receiving the precepts.” It is the day we “abide in the ocean of infinite kalpas,” it is beyond the three times, and in it, we turn the wheel of dharma.



So, what is this home leaving? Can it be as simple as leaving wife and family, shaving one’s head and joining a bunch of other baldies? No. These are the most gross and superficial of understandings.



Home-leaving is as much a posture as it is an act. Like Zazen, it is the Way of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Our attitude is key. Right understanding opens the door.



To be sure we need to actually leave family life in order to be monks, but this means dropping away body and mind, our attachments; our investments more than anything else. To one living deeply in impermanence, what is anything, but flow?



Recently, I went through this. Am still doing so, actually. I have left home, I am dropping away body and mind, I am letting go of my “memory me.” It is a period of mourning for sure, as it is a period of change, loss, and yet, great joy also.



In the process, as with any loss process, we go back and forth, up and down. Readers may have seen this in my writing. Do not be concerned. This duck will continue to float. We must trust the process.





Residing in ocean, we learn the meaning of water.



Be well.