July 22

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Today will be a busy day. We have Peace Camp at 8:30 AM, Zazen at 9:30 AM, Dokusan throughout the afternoon, and our Wagessa Sewing Event at 7:00 PM. Our Air Card is supposed to arrive today which will give us 5 gigs of data transfer for Internet services per month. This past billing cycle we used almost 3. So, I will be doing dokusan via Skype today at the Temple while also waiting for the card to arrive via Fed Ex.



The sewing of a Wagessa is a first step in entering the Buddha way. It is offered to those who take the Three Refuges and the Three Pure Precepts. You must have studied for three months with a Teacher in our lineage, completed one Zazenkai or sesshin, and have sewn the Wagessa in order to complete the ceremony. A Wagessa is a single strap that is worn around the neck. It is a miniature Buddha Robe. Compared to a Rakusu, they are easy to sew.



Those who were in attendance at the Rakusu class decided they wanted to sew a Wagessa as well, so Soku Shin organized this event which will happen at 7:00 PM this evening. If you are interested in sewing a Wagessa, please come to this meeting. We have all the materials.



There seems to be some confusion about this process. Let me clarify. In the Order we have several steps students are welcome to take. Each step must be in training with a Teacher. These are Sanbo, Jukai, Unsui, and Shukke. Students continuing after Jukai take either the Dharma Teacher Path or the Priesthood Path. While it is recommended that a student do these in this order (Sanbo followed by Jukai), a Student may, with the Teacher’s permission, enter the path at Jukai and “skip” Sanbo. This is because Jukai includes the Three Refuges and the Three Pure Precepts. If a student has studied with a Teacher for a year, done the required sesshin and Zazenkai, and sews a Rakusu, there is no reason to first do Sanbo, then do Jukai. They may be done as one ceremony. Several members of our Order are in various stages of this process. Please confer with me if you are confused about it and whether or not it is appropriate for you to do one versus the other or both.



As a reminder, August Zazenkai will be from 9:00 AM through 4:00 PM on Saturday August 6th. Please make your reservation soon.

Lastly, we will no longer host a Women in Zen Group due to a lack of attendance. For those whose only weekly contact with the Temple was through this group, please consider joining us for Sunday Services or any of our weekday practice periods.



Be well.