On Sunday, April 19, Bright Way Zen held a Zaike Tokudo, or lay ordination, ceremony to honor four dedicated members. It comes less than a year after the Sangha’s previous Zaike Tokudo ceremony.
This year’s ordainees were Coral West, Mick Stukes, Greg Kulik, and James Gregg.
People who take the step of Zaike Tokudo have come to identify deeply with our lineage of Soto Zen, our Dharma Cloud lineage in particular, and the Bright Way Zen Sangha. Collectively, they are referred to as “Sangha Holders.”
During the ceremony, ordainees received a Dharma name, by which they will be known within the Sangha. All BWZ Sangha Holders have the same “family name” (which goes first), Dakyo (pronounced DA-kyo). Da means “arrive,” and kyo means “native place.” Then they have a personal Dharma Name, which was chosen by Domyo to reflect something unique she sees in each person that they can aspire to cultivate further with their ordination:
Coral: Soki, meaning Straightforward Function
Mick: Kyosen, meaning Respect River
Greg: Hokaku, meaning Letting-Go Crane
James: Guzan, meaning Foolish Mountain
In preparation, ordainees were required to sew their own rakasu, a bib-like garment worn around the neck during meditation and ceremony. It is a miniature version of the Buddha’s patchwork robe. Each ring sewn into the four ordainee’s rakasu was provided by James. The rings are made of cedar from the trees surrounding Eiheiji, the monastery in Echizen that Dogen Zenji founded in 1244. James was able to pick them up on a visit to Japan last year.
It was wonderful to have Mick and Greg, who are normally Cloud Zendo members, travel to the Dirt Zendo for the ceremony. The ordainees were feted by many family, friends, and other Sangha members in both the Dirt and Cloud Zendos.
Congrats to all of you on this step!
Click the photos to enlarge!
