Category: Ceremonies

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23 January double feature!

Please join us for two events this upcoming Saturday:

Koso gotan-e  –  observed – Jan 23rd. January 26th is the birthday of Dogen (the Founder of Soto Zen). Dogen was born in Kyoto on January 2nd (January 26th in the solar calendar). On January 26th, in Japan Soto Temples two ceremonies are held in celebration of his birth.

The monthly Full Moon DogenZenji copyCeremony for  the “full wolf moon” This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February

The Full Moon Ceremony  is our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows and will occur  this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am for < 60minutes, followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us!

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21 November @11am – Full Moon Ceremony!

Untitledthe “frosty” or “beaver” moon – november 21 @ 11am– this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

This is thus our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies.  Please join us!

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7 November @11am – Daruma Memorial (Darumaki)

Please join us on November 7th for – Daruma Memorial.

Daruma is a Japanese name for the famous Indian monk daruma shiba kokanBodhidharma who lived during the 5th/6th century A.D. The accounts of his life are largely legendary (see Comics “Bodhidharma” 1-12 at Sotozen-net International website) but according to Denkoroku (The Record of Transmitting the Light) written by Keizan Zenji, he was born as the third son of the king of Koshi in southern India. He became a monk and practiced under the guidance of Venerable Hannyatara (Prajnatara). He is considered to be the 28th Indian Buddhist teacher in a direct line from Gautama Buddha, and also regarded as the first master in Chinese Zen tradition.

Following the instruction of his Master to transmit Dharma to China, Bodhidharma traveled east to Southern China in 526 A.D.

Please join us for a memorial recognizing our first ancestor in China! 

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31 October – Sejiki Ceremony!

Following the Dharma talk we’ll celebrate the ancient ceremony known in Japanese as Sejiki, or “Feeding the Jiki (wandering spirits)”.
Capture6666This ceremony addresses our connection to the “unseen world”, typically overlooked in the West. All aspects of our life that have been disowned, disrespected and denied are invited to come forth from exile and be nourished, a gesture that may have particular significance for members of the LGBTiQQ community, whose own place in the social order has been undermined by fear, prejudice and violence. Costumes and sundry noisemaking devices are encouraged, and everyone is invited to participate. (Time approximate after the Dharma talk, at about 11 a.m.)

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by a ceremony if applicable, then tea and cookies.

Please join us Saturdays and we hope to see you often!

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24 October – Full Moon Ceremony, 11am

full moon ceremony – Saturday, October 24 @11am: Hunter’s Moon 2015– 
Hunters-MoonThis is thus our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us!

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26 September Full Moon Ceremony

full moon ceremony – saturday, Sept 26 @11am: Harvest Moon 2015 –  is a big event! It brings the nearest Supermoon of the year and a total lunar eclipse that will be visible across North America!harvest_moon

This year, the Full Moon is a “perigee” Moon—which means that the day the Full Moon rises happens to also coincide with the day when the Moon is nearest to Earth in its orbit.

A recent popular tern for a “perigee” full Moon is a “Supermoon.”  A bit catchier, perhaps?September’s Supermoon is ALSO the nearest Supermoon of the entire year. It will appear as the largest and brightest Moon of the year.When this happens, there are some physical effects, such as elevated tides.

Further, the year’s BEST lunar eclipse for North America unfolds on the 27th! Totality begins at 10:11 P.M. (ET) and ends at 11:24 P.M. (ET). See this Eclipse page for more information. This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.

This is thus our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us!

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29 August @11am, full moon ceremony

saturday, Aug 29 @11am –  full harvest or corn moon. the fishing tribes are harvest-moongiven credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. a few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. it was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon

This is our renewal of our Bodhisattva vows this upcoming Saturday morning after the Saturday Morning Dharma talk.

The ceremony takes about a half-hour and involves some thirty full prostrations, but simple standing bows are also all right if prostrations are too strenuous. All are welcome to join in this ceremony/celebration.

Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), morning service, a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15am followed by ceremony when applicable and then right to social time, tea and cookies. Please join us as this only will occur once in a blue moon!