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Bright Way Zen held its annual Sejiki ceremony, also known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, this past Sunday, October 27th, 2024. Sejiki, which is heavily rooted in mythology, is a ceremony in which offerings are made to Gakis- being stuck in the “hungry ghost” realm due to past harmful karma, such as grasping, selfishness, and stinginess. “Ghosts” may symbolize emotions such as pain and fear, or represent real people. Traditionally, Sejiki is also a time to remember those who have recently passed, so a merit list is read aloud during the ceremony in remembrance.

For the ceremony, an altar is constructed and adorned with offerings such as sweets, flowers, and other snacks brought in by Sangha members, and Cloud participants are also invited to set up an altar of their own in a similar fashion. Buddha and Bodhisattva statues and images are covered so as not to scare off the ghosts, who are not ready to receive the teachings of the Dharma. The ceremony begins with music played by a trio of Sangha members and consists of a chanting program, the recitation of the merit list, and a procession towards and around the altar, in which each participant has a chance to bow and make an offering of crushed lavender. The ceremony concludes with music as a farewell to the ghosts.

This ceremony holds space for us to reflect on unresolved karma in our lives. Through Sejiki and the support of the Sangha, we can offer our attention and patience to the aspects of ourselves we may tend to ignore or reject. The ceremony is an opportunity to acknowledge and embrace our feelings of loss, grief, anger, and sadness with compassion and understanding, if only for a few moments.

Article by Ashlea Vedder. Learn more about the Sejiki Ceremony here. 

Jukai Ceremony 2024

Last weekend, the Sangha celebrated Wesak which commemorates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. 

To begin the ceremony, we set up a special altar and place a small baby Buddha statue on it. The statue depicts a baby Buddha standing on a lotus. One of his hands points to the sky while the other hand points toward the earth. We put the statue in a bowl and fill the bowl with sweet tea, then we ladle the tea over the Buddha statue. Next, we created a bower, which is a structure that we decorate with all kinds of flowers until the underlying structure is no longer visible—it becomes just one big canopy of flowers. During the procession, when you approach the Baby Buddha altar, you make a bow. Then, you take a ladle full of the sweet tea and pour it over the top of the Buddha’s head to mimic the rain of sweet tea from the myth that flowed down from the sky upon his birth. 

Ceremonies exist to help us access our emotions. In our Wesak ceremony, we reenact the mythological scene of the baby Buddha, who, immediately upon birth, stands up, takes seven steps, and then makes a proclamation about how this is his last birth. He states that he is a Buddha and will attain enlightenment. The phrase for this that we tend to use in our lineage is, “I alone am the world-honored one.” Then, we say that sweet tea rained from the sky, and there were many flowers. Learn more about Wesak by listening to or reading Domyo’s podcast.

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This past Sunday, March 17, a good half (!) of our Sangha gathered together in the Dirt and Cloud Zendos to celebrate our beloved Jinryu Janna Allgood, who completed her term of service as shuso, Bright Way Zen’s “chief student.” In this role, Jinryu assisted Domyo in making sure the Sangha was able to practice fruitfully and peacefully over the past year. From sending weekly  reminders to staff volunteers, to managing many aspects of our sesshin retreats, Jinryu’s service was as seamless as it was crucial.

The shuso hossen ceremony was led by our sacristan, Coral West, who also did a wonderful job gracing the Dirt Zendo with flowers, decorations, and sweet treats in the break room. The service involved ceremonial participation from Domyo, our former shuso Shoketsu Carlin, our visiting teacher Shinati Dungay, and Mark Williams, the shuso’s assistant. Then Jinryu presented a dharma verse of personal significance to her and took questions from all present in the style of Mondo, formal question and answer. After that, Domyo pronounced, “You have done well,” marking the end of Jinryu’s term. At the end, each person was able to give a brief statement of congratulations and gratitude to Jinryu.

Thank you, Jinryu, for your year of service as shuso, and for your continued dedication to our Sangha!

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