BWZ SANGHAS

Benevolent Street Zen
Sangha
Providence, RI

Boundless Way Temple/Worcester Zen Center
 Worcester, MA

Greater Boston Zen Center
in Cambridge
in Somerville
in Boston

OUR LITURGY
Our Jukai (Refuge) Ceremony

(After the Teacher(s), initiates and visiting clergy enter)

 [Ino: inkin accelerando]

 All: (Three full bows)

Ino: strikes inkin twice,

 All (sit with palms together in gassho)

Ino: Hua-Yen Purification  <chanted 3 times>

 All: All evil karma ever committed by me since of old,
On account of my beginingless greed, anger, and ignorance
Born of my body, speech, and thought
Now I atone for it all.

 All: (bow and return to kneeling position and gassho)

Ino: The Three Refuges

<chanted with tonal inflection>

 All: Buddham saranam gacchami;
Dhammam saranam gacchami;
Sangham saranam gacchami.

I take refuge in Buddha;
I take refuge in Dharma;
I take refuge in Sangha.

 
All: (bow and sit in zazen position with palms together in gassho)

 
Teacher: Being one with the Buddhas in the ten directions
Being one with the Dharma in the ten directions
Being one with the Sangha in the ten directions
Being one with the great teacher Shakyamuni Buddha
Being one with the first great woman teacher Mahapajapati
And all her sisters whose names have been left unsung
Being one with the successive buddhas and ancestors
Being one with the great teachers in China, Bodhidharma and Huineng
Being one with the great teachers in Japan,
particularly Dogen and Hakuin
Being one with the first teachers in the West,
coming from China and Japan and Korea and Vietnam
and particularly those who gave our school its shape, 
Robert Aitken, Jiyu Kennett, Taizan Maezumi, Seung Sahn, Joshu Sasaki and Shunryu Suzuki
Being one with all bodhisattvas and arhats in the ten directions

 Teacher: May they all be present here as witnesses

All: May they all be present here as witnesses. May they all be present here as witnesses.

Teacher: Let us remember with gratitude all those who have supported us and have led us to this moment. Let us remember our extended families, our spouses and partners, our children, and particularly our parents.

 (Any initiates who have family present should bow to them now.)

 Teacher: Wisdom water is the flow of all things without hindrance, blessing all the ten directions.

 (Teacher blesses the gathering with the wisdom water)

 Teacher: Let us now confirm the wisdom of the Buddhas, your original face, realized through wholehearted practice.

 Ino: In the midst of the three treasures together with all beings let us recite the names of Buddhas

 [Ino strikes clapper once]

 All: Vairochana Buddha, pure Dharmakaya;
Lochana Buddha, complete Sambhogakaya;
Shakyamuni Buddha, myriad Nirmanakaya;
Maitreya Buddha, of future birth;
all buddhas throughout space and time;
Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma, Mahayana sutra.
Manjushri Bodhisattva, great wisdom;
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, great activity;
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, great compassion;
all honored ones, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas;
wisdom beyond wisdom, maha prajna paramita

Ino: We will now recite the Three Refuges

Teacher: Oneness, the awakened nature of all beings

 All: I take refuge in the Buddha

(Initiates read individual vows)

Teacher: Diversity, the ocean of wisdom and compassion

All: I take refuge in the Dharma

(Initiates read individual vows)

Teacher: Harmony, the interdependence of all

All: I take refuge in the Sangha

(Initiates read individual vows)

Ino: (strikes clappers twice)

All: The great precepts of all the Buddhas have been maintained and protected by all the Buddhas. Buddhas hand them down to Buddhas, and ancestral teachers hand them down to ancestral teachers. Acceptance and observance of the precepts transcends past, present and future, and form perfect accord within realization between teacher and student, continuing through all ages. Our great teacher Shakyamuni Buddha imparted them to Mahakashyapa, and Mahakashyapa transmitted them to Ananda. Already the precepts have passed through many generations in direct succession, reaching down to the present teachers of this community. Now, receiving the great precepts, I vow to requite my deep obligation to the Buddhas and ancestral teachers. I pledge to establish these precepts within my life as the possibility of liberation for all beings.

Ino:  We will now recite the Three Pure Precepts

Teacher: Not knowing, thereby giving up fixed ideas about myself and the universe.

All: I vow to avoid evil

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: This is the cave where all Dharmas of all Buddhas arise.

Teacher: Bearing witness to the joy and suffering of the world

All: I vow to practice good

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: This is the root-origin where all Buddhas and Dharmas arise

Teacher Healing myself and others

 All: I vow to save all beings.

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: The Dharma of the supreme way is to do and have done.

Ino: We will now recite the Ten Grave Precepts

Teacher: Recognizing that I am not separate from all that is

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Killing

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of everlasting Dharma, not giving rise to the idea of killing is called the Precept of Not Killing. The Buddha's seed grows in accordance with not taking life. Transmit the life of Buddha's wisdom and do not kill.

Teacher: Being satisfied with what I have

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Stealing

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the unattainable Dharma, not having thoughts of gaining is called the Precept of Not Stealing. The self and the things of the world are just as they are. The gate of emancipation is open.

Teacher: Treating all beings with respect and dignity

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Misusing Sex

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the ungilded Dharma, not creating a veneer of attachment is called the Precept of Not Misusing Sex.

The Three Wheels are pure and clear. When you have nothing to desire, you follow the way of all Buddhas.

Teacher: Listening and speaking from the heart

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Speaking Falsely

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the inexplicable Dharma, not preaching a single word is called the Precept of Not Speaking Falsely.

The Dharma Wheel turns and turns. There is neither surplus nor lack. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

Teacher: Cultivating a mind that sees clearly

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Giving or Taking Drugs

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the intrinsically pure Dharma, not giving rise to delusions is called the Precept of Not Giving or Taking Drugs.

Drugs are not brought in yet. Don't let them invade. That is the great light.

Teacher: Unconditionally accepting what each moment has to offer

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Discussing the Faults of Others

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the flawless Dharma, not expounding upon error is called the Precept of Not Discussing the Faults of Others.

In the Buddha Dharma, there is one path, one Dharma, one realization, one practice. Don't permit fault-finding. Don't permit haphazard talk.

Teacher: Speaking what I perceive to be the truth without guilt or blame

 All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Praising Myself while Abusing Others

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of equitable Dharma, not dwelling upon I and you is called the Precept of Not Praising Yourself While Abusing Others. Buddhas and Ancestral Teachers realize the empty sky and the great earth. When they manifest the noble body, there is neither inside nor outside in emptiness. When they manifest the Dharma body, there is not even a bit of earth on the ground.

Teacher: Being grateful for the gifts of this life

 All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Sparing The Dharma Assets

 (Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the genuine all- pervading Dharma, not being stingy about a single thing is called the Precept of Not Sparing the Dharma Assets. One phrase, one verse: that is the ten thousand things and one hundred grasses. One Dharma, one realization: that is all Buddhas and Ancestral Teachers. Therefore, from the beginning, there has been no stinginess at all.

Teacher: Transforming suffering into wisdom

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Indulging in Anger

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the selfless Dharma, not contriving reality for the self is called the Precept of Not Indulging in Anger.

Not advancing, not retreating, not real, not empty. There is an ocean of bright clouds. There is an ocean of solemn clouds.

Teacher: Honoring my life as an instrument of the Great Way

All: I vow to take up the Way of Not Defaming the Three Treasures

(Initiates read individual vows)

All: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the One, not holding dualistic concepts of ordinary beings and sages is called the Precept of Not Defaming the Three Treasures.

Ino: We will now recite the Four Commitments

Teacher: The wheel of the Dharma turns and turns. Each generation manifests the great way. Today we commit ourselves to the way of awakening manifesting as peacemakers in a world torn by strife.

All: I commit myself to a culture of nonviolence and reverence for life;

I commit myself to a culture of solidarity and a just economic order;

I commit myself to a culture of tolerance and a life based on truthfulness;

and I commit myself to a culture of equal rights and partnership between men and women.

Ino: strikes clappers twice,

All: do seated bow (initiates do one full bow and kneel)

(Teachers present each initiate with a rakusu.)

Initiates place rakusus on their heads,

(All put hands together in gassho)

Ino: We will now recite the Verse of the Kesa   <3 times >

All: I wear the robe of liberation, 

the formless field of benefaction, 

the teachings of the Tathagata, 

saving all the many beings.

Ino: (strikes clappers twice)

Initiates hang their rakusus over their shoulders, move to a sitting position, still holding their hands in gassho.

Teacher: The Three Refuges, the Three Pure Precepts and the Ten Grave Precepts have been practiced by buddhas and ancestors, passed to me and now I pass them to you. The precepts, daily life and meditation are one – practicing, manifesting, realizing and attaining awakening. Remember, from the beginning you were already daughters and sons of the buddhas of the ten directions.

(Teachers give a lineage document to each initiate)

Tanto: During the chanting of the Heart Sutra, all are invited to offer incense, beginning with the teachers and initiates.  We will repeat the last line of the sutra until everyone who wants to has offered incense.

Ino:  (strikes gong 2 open, 1 closed, 1 open)