CANDICE Welcome and Introduction

(Scott) Ringdown – 3 full bows for all bell – prior to bows

EMILY 

bell - Chant of Compassion”

⊕ Let us surround all forms of life with infinite love and compassion. Especially, may we send out compassionate thoughts to those in suffering and sorrow, to those in doubt and ignorance, to all who are striving to attain truth, and to those whose feet stand close to the great change called death, we wish them all wisdom, mercy and love.

⊕ May the infinite light of wisdom and compassion so shine within us that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled. So shall we understand the changing nature of existence and awaken into spiritual peace.

CEREMONY - Taking Refuge   

CANDICE   (repeat 3 times)

Join with us now in the Gatha of Atonement

⊕ All my ancient twisted karma

⊕ From beginningless greed, hate, and delusion

⊕ Born through my body, speech, and mind

⊕ I now fully avow

CANDICE , “Join with us now in the Ti Sarana” 

bell - Buddham saranam gacchami

bell -Dhammam saranam gacchami

bell -Sangham saranam gacchami

CANDICE , “Join with us now in the Refuge, Repeat after me

(English – repeat 3 times)

bell - I take refuge in Buddha

bell - I take refuge in Dharma

bell - I take refuge in Sangha

SCOTT 

bell - Being one with the Buddhas in the ten directions

bell - Being one with the Dharma in the ten directions

bell - Being one with the Sangha in the ten directions

SCOTT, “May they all be present here as witnesses”

SCOTT “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 head of this community.

EMILY “We will now do the Water Blessing”

sprinkles water on initiates then on all others

then asperges towards the camera

CANDICE says to Initiates:  

Repeat after me

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.

CANDICE says to Initiates:  

Repeat after me

We will now say the Three Pure Precepts

I vow to keep all the precepts

I vow to practice all good Dharma

I vow to save the many beings.

EMILY

According to Buddhism, for a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally: compassion (karuna) on one side, and wisdom (panna) on the other. Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness, tolerance, and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart, while wisdom would stand for the intellectual side or the qualities of the mind.

We will now commit to the Noble 8 Fold Path

Right Speech (1)

means abstention (1) from telling lies, (2) from backbiting and slander and talk that may bring about hatred, enmity, disunity, and disharmony among individuals or groups of people, (3) from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, and abusive language, and (4) from idle, useless, and foolish babble and gossip.

Right Action (2)

Right action aims at promoting moral, honorable, and peaceful conduct. It admonishes us that we should abstain from destroying life, from stealing, from dishonest dealings, from illegitimate sexual intercourse, and that we should also help others to lead a peaceful and honorable life in the right way.

Right Livelihood (3)

Right livelihood means that one should abstain from making one’s living through a profession that brings harm to others, such as trading in arms and lethal weapons, intoxicating drinks or poisons, killing animals, cheating, etc., and should live by a profession which is honorable, blameless, and innocent of harm to others.

Right Effort (4)

Right effort is the energetic will (1) to prevent evil and unwholesome states of mind from arising, and (2) to get rid of such evil and unwholesome states that have already arisen within a man, and also (3) to produce, to cause to arise, good, and wholesome states of mind not yet arisen, and (4) to develop and bring to perfection the good and wholesome states of mind already present in a man.

Right Mindfulness

SCOTT

Right mindfulness (5) 

is to be diligently aware, mindful, and attentive with regard to (1) the activities of the body (kaya), (2) sensations or feelings (vedana), (3) the activities of the mind (citta) and (4) ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things (dhamma).

Right Concentration (6)

The third and last factor of mental discipline is right concentration, leading to the four stages of Dhyana or meditation.

Right Thought (7)

Right thought denotes the thoughts of selfless renunciation or detachment, thoughts of love and thoughts of non-violence, which are extended to all beings.

Right Understanding

Right understanding (8)

is the understanding of things as they are, and it is the four noble truths that explain things as they really are.

EMILY

There are 10 cardinal precepts that students from our temple are asked to commit to.

Repeat after me

ONE

I will recognize that I am not separate from all that is.

This is the practice of Non-killing.

I will not lead a harmful life, nor encourage others to do so.

I will live in harmony with all life and the environment that sustains it.

TWO

I will be satisfied with what I have.

This is the practice of Non-stealing.

I will not take anything not given and not encourage others to steal.

I will freely give, ask for, and accept what is needed.

THREE

I will meet the diversity of life with respect and dignity.

This is the practice of Chaste Conduct.

I will not create conditions for others to be unchaste.

I will give and accept love and friendship without clinging.

FOUR

I will listen and speak from the heart.

This is the practice of Non-lying. 

I will not create conditions for others to lie.

I will see and act in accordance with what is.

FIVE

I will cultivate a mind that sees clearly.

This is the practice of Not Being Deluded.

I will not encourage others to be deluded.

I will embrace all experience directly.

CANDICE

Repeat after me

SIX

I will bear witness to the offering of each moment.

This is the practice of Not Talking About Others Errors and Faults.

I will not encourage others to talk about others errors and faults.

I will acknowledge responsibility for everything in my life.

SEVEN

I will speak what I perceive to be the truth. This is the practice of Not Elevating Myself and Blaming Others.

I will not encourage others to elevate themselves and blame others.

I will give my best effort and accept the results.

EIGHT

I will use all the ingredients of my life.

This is the practice of Not Being Stingy.

I will not foster a mind of poverty in myself or others.

NINE

I will bear witness to emotions that arise.  

This is the practice of Not Holding On To Anger.

I will not create conditions for others to be angry.

I will not harbor resentment, rage, or revenge. I will practice with emotions.

TEN

I will not create conditions for others to disparage The Three Treasures.

The Four Great Bodhisattva Vows

SCOTT

In Zen, Nichiren, Tendai, and other Mahayana schools of Buddhism, there are four Bodhisattva vows.

In his book "Taking the Path of Zen," Robert Aitken Roshi wrote,  "I have heard people say, 'I cannot recite these vows because I cannot hope to fulfill them.' Actually Avalokiteśvara, the incarnation of mercy and compassion, weeps because she cannot save all beings. Nobody fulfills these 'Great Vows for All,' but we vow to fulfill them as best we can. They are our practice."

A bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood.  In this ceremony now, all of the vow takers are entering the path of the bodhisattva.

Repeat after me

Beings are numberless, I vow to save them

Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them

Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them

Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.

Comments

CANDICE

DHARMA TALK