Cloud Formations

by Greg Kulik, Bright Way Zen Member, 2025

Introduction

Here, Sariputra, / form is emptiness, emptiness is form; / emptiness is not separate from form, / form is not separate from emptiness; / whatever is form is emptiness, / whatever is emptiness is form.  – “The Heart Sutra,” trans. Red Pine

What follows can be thought of as a user’s manual for the Cloud Zendo (note: all terms in bold are further described in the Glossary).  We will also spend some time discussing ways for any member of the Bright Way Zen sangha to deepen their practice while in their home.  As you know, Bright Way Zen is one sangha that consists of two zendos—the Cloud Zendo and the Dirt Zendo.  While the Dirt and Cloud Zendos each have their own advantages and disadvantages, it must be remembered that Buddhism and Zen were developed as embodied practices that took place amongst a group of people in a physical space.  We now live in a world where a sangha can extend beyond the walls of a zendo, the gates of a monastery, even the borders of cities and nations.  The Bright Way Zen sangha is one such entity.  As such, accommodations must be made in both the virtual and the physical space in order for these two zendos to complement one another as the singular entity that they truly are. The Dirt Zendo has had to make changes to the physical space in Beaverton, OR, to the technological setup that connects that physical space to those of us Zooming in from the Cloud, to the roles that they play in the sangha to make sure all of this technology is accessible and running smoothly and to their very privacy—opening themselves up to scrutiny by anyone who acquires the Zoom password.  This is a great sacrifice they have made to include those of us who cannot be physically present in their midst and it’s something many of us Cloud Zendo practitioners have gratitude for every day.  

One area where many of the Dirt Zendo practitioners benefit is in the ability to easily see other practitioners both in person and in the virtual space.  This allows them to closely observe the forms that typically take place during a Zen meeting and to emulate these practices, as appropriate.  Put simply, Zen forms are the established ways Zen Buddhists physically enact their practice through the manner that they move, sit, stand, walk, eat, chant, bow and interact with others.  They include the rituals, ceremonies, titles, names, rules, procedures, conduct, traditions and equipment that make up the culture of this tradition. Ideally, a Soto Zen Buddhist who is familiar with the forms could walk into any Soto temple or monastery and seamlessly follow along with a service alongside long-term members of that temple or monastery without standing out.  Knowledge of these forms keeps services and ceremonies moving smoothly and cohesively.  More importantly, though, familiarity with the forms allows a sangha to operate interdependently while taking the guesswork out of practice.  By practicing in a physical space, new Dirt Zendo members have a slight advantage, in that they can more easily observe many other people-including our teacher-engaging in these various forms.  

When it comes to practicing the forms, those of us in the Cloud often find ourselves squinting at the screen trying to see who’s doing what and when.  In doing so, we often become checked out of actually performing any of these practices as we try to study the physical movements of tiny figures on a screen.  We don’t even get a chance to make mistakes and be corrected by the person standing next to us.  As a result, we lose out on an opportunity to bond with another sangha member while also learning the forms that help us to deepen our practice.  Although it is not common to be corrected even in the Dirt Zendo, it is even less of a possibility in the Cloud.   

The Dirt Zendo is a physical space occupied by living beings with different levels of experience moving in unison and following the ancient traditions that this practice is built upon.  This can easily be taken for granted.  Many of us in the Cloud don’t even know what we’re missing by not taking part in such a profound example of interdependence as that. The goal of this booklet is to help us approximate that interdependence from a distance.  To adapt these practices to fit into our virtual space.  To show ourselves that we are one Sangha, not just in name, but in practice.  To bow at home when our Sangha is bowing in their homes and in the Dirt Zendo.  To chant together, out loud, in unison as a singular voice. To take part in the same ceremonies at the same times by following the same traditions. 

You may ask yourself, “why bother? I sit zazen with these folks, I listen to the talks with them, I volunteer.  Hey! I even ask questions and make comments! I do all the things!  Do I really need to turn my camera on for the whole meeting? Do I really need to stop paying attention to this eBay negotiation for almost 3 whole hours while I practice? Do I really need to turn my camera to face me as we transition from chanting to sitting to the dharma talk/class? Do I really need to chant out loud?  Isn’t whispering or silently reading along enough? My family’s just in the next room over, won’t they think I’m nuts if they hear me?  Why should I take my shoes off to go into a certain room in my own house?  Won’t my friends think I’m weird if I set up an altar in my home? Do I truly need any of these forms to be a part of this Sangha? ”  

The answer to this last question is “no.” You don’t need to practice these forms.  Every one of us is a welcome and valued member of this Sangha and no one will ever be asked to leave because they are not following the forms or they are performing them incorrectly. Some of us were initially attracted to this Sangha because of the Cloud Zendo.  Sure, it’s convenient or we live in a town that doesn’t have a Soto Zen sangha to practice with.  But others of us have health, psychological, emotional or, frankly, personal reasons that are no one else’s business (thank you very much!) for taking advantage of this truly beautiful and fruitful community made up of both a physical and a virtual space. For these reasons and more, it must be remembered that this booklet is a guide.  It’s a user’s manual, not an instruction manual or rule book. These recommendations, like the forms themselves, are meant to benefit you as well as those practicing with you. Take them with a grain of salt and adapt them to your own personal needs, as necessary. Please do, though, keep in mind that the forms were developed centuries ago to enhance and deepen your practice.  And they’re still in use in every Zen space all these years later.  That means something.  

If you’re not in the habit of turning your camera on for zazen, just try it one time. If you normally just read along to the chants, try saying them out loud with the group some time.  If you like the freedom of doing whatever you want while zooming into a Tuesday or Sunday meeting, pretend you are in the Dirt Zendo one time and act accordingly—as if everyone is looking at you.  Pay attention to the differences.  How does this affect your practice? How does your relationship to other Dirt and Cloud Zendo members feel different or the same? How has your experience with interdependence changed?  How has your sense of a fixed self diminished? These very questions are what the forms are meant to answer in their elegant, sardonic, non-verbal and illuminating way.  You only have to practice them to get a sense of the answers or the next set of questions they elicit. 

Once practitioners are familiar enough with the forms to enact them almost automatically, they then find themselves in a position where they are moving in harmony with others while simultaneously tuning precisely into the present moment. Padmasabhava-the Indian Buddhist mystic who introduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet-said, “my mind is as vast as the boundless sky, my actions are as fine as rice flour.”  Ironically, by working precisely within the forms, we find ourselves liberated from the chains of the self.  In a sense, the self is a form we have been acting out our entire lives. It is a form that was shaped by the causes and conditions of our existence-causes and conditions we have little control over and that often are not meant to serve us. It is made up of habits that have developed through desire, grasping and mindless attachment to easy distractions and cheap shortcuts.  All and all, the self is very interested in distracting itself from the present moment.  Zen forms, on the other hand, have evolved to do just the opposite.  As Domyo says in episode 18 of the Zen Studio Podcast, “all of the forms serve one purpose and that’s merely to call attention to the wonder of our existence.”  When we bow to our home altars as part of a well rehearsed dance with Dirt Zendo practitioners bowing to the Bright Way Zen altar, we find ourselves actually smelling the incense that is burning on it.  We actually hear the birds chirping outside the window.  We actually feel the bead of sweat drip from our forehead and hear it hit the floor as we bend at the waist in the exact same manner that Buddhists have been bowing to altars for centuries.    

Think of a haiku.  A haiku has a very rigid form, yet the entire universe can exist within that simple, basic structure of 3 lines of verse consisting of 5, 7 and then 5 syllables.  It’s up to us to decide if we want our lives to be shaped by our mindless surroundings as in the following haiku:

Oh, Kardashians,

How long ’til the next season?

Must keep up with you.

Or we can choose to allow our Zen practice to shape the haikus or our lives as in Kobayashi Issa’s:

A world of dew,

And within every dewdrop

A world of struggle.

While the forms may seem rigid at first, it’s helpful to remember that we are already acting out our own personal forms from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep.  And like the haiku, these seemingly simple forms can trap us in or release us from suffering. By practicing with the Zen forms we are given an opportunity to examine all the forms of our lives and, when appropriate, let go of all of them, including those described in this booklet.  Only then will we know true freedom.