Meditation, Mid-day Service and Dharma Discussion

Meditation, walking meditation and meditation.

Meditation and practicing the Buddhist Precepts are the foundation of Zen Buddhist Practice. The lay ordination ceremony is a way to formally commit to keeping the precepts; to take the precepts, in this way, is to formally become a Buddhist. At today’s ceremony five people will be taking the precepts and you are welcome to join us in supporting them in taking this step. The ceremony is full of teaching about the precepts and will be followed by a festive tea.

30 minutes of meditation followed by vespers, the last ceremonial of the day. Vespers is the Chanting of The Litany of the Great Compassionate One followed by other short verses.

The Dharma discussion will be on various topics of training in the Soto Zen Tradition.

Meditation, Mid-day Service and Dharma Discussion

Meditation, walking meditation and meditation.

With the Festival of Wesak, we commemorate the birth, life, Enlightenment and teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. In the Buddhist world, Wesak marks the beginning of the New Year and is the most significant and joyous event of the Buddhist calendar. Wesak reminds us of the Buddha’s historical origins in the person of Shakyamuni, the Wise One of the Shakya Clan, and celebrates, with this joyful festival, the profound gratitude we feel for His timeless teachings. The Ceremony will be followed by a brief Dharma talk and tea.

We will also be broadcasting this event via Zoom using our usual Sunday link. If you will be joining us via zoom, bring along a treat and something to drink; in lieu of ladling water over the Baby Buddha, we’ll give ourselves a drink!

If you would like to join us and haven’t been to a Zoom meeting, please contact the temple for more information or to get the zoom link.