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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