Treeleaf Sangha’s Eighteenth “JUKAI”
According to the “Buddhist Dictionary”, Jukai literally means “to receive” or “to undertake the Precepts”. It is the ceremony both of one’s formally committing to the Buddhist Sangha and to the Practice of Zen Buddhism, and of one’s undertaking the “Sixteen Mahayana Bodhisattva Precepts” as guidelines for life. Traditionally for Jukai, one receives from a teacher the “Rakusu”, which represents the robe of the Buddha, the “Kechimyaku”, a written lineage chart connecting the recipient to the Buddhas and Ancestors of the past, and a “Dharma Name” selected by the teacher and representing qualities or aspirations for the recipient’s personality and practice (unless one already has a Dharma Name from a previous Jukai that one wishes to keep).
So, of what will our Jukai consist?
We will have a class study covering, one by one, the meaning of each of the Precepts, as well as the meaning of “Jukai” and of the ceremony itself, and other related matters. We strongly encourage all members of Treeleaf to participate without regard to whether they will be taking Jukai this time or have taken it before. In those discussions, we hope to stimulate an active conversation ongoing among all the participants. Our priests facilitating our Precept studies take an active role in leading the conversation, and will be providing a variety of readings for discussion. Obviously, that will take quite a few weeks.
We will also be sewing a Rakusu. To that end, our sewing instructors will help guide you.
Our Preparations for Jukai will conclude with a netcast 2-day retreat tentatively scheduled for December 6th and 7th for Jukai recipients and others, then be brought home with the ceremony in early January (exact date to be determined, but likely Sunday January 17th). As with all our activities and retreats, the ceremony will be conducted fully online. Jukai recipients will participate from home, and will be expected to complete the retreat. However, those with work or family responsibilities will be able to sit the retreat even after our ceremony (with the “any time” recorded version) if personal circumstances do not permit otherwise. We held such retreats in prior years … and they went well.
That will be the culmination of our special 90 Day Ango Training Period during this time. Details on this year’s Practice Period are here
For the last many years, our Treeleaf Sangha has held the world’s first and most special “All Online Jukai Ceremony”, using our one and two-way media resources here at Treeleaf. As with all our online activities here at Treeleaf, our Jukai will be held with the same seriousness and same procedures (with small changes due to logistics) as a Jukai conducted by Zen Sangha anywhere in the world. It is important to all of us who will participate that our “online Jukai” be as profound and comprehensive as any Jukai held by any Zen Buddhist group, and we are determined to do as much as, or more than, can be accomplished by other Zen groups that happen to meet under one roof. We are pioneers, and other Sangha have learned from us how to do such ceremonies over the years.
If you feel called to join our Jukai preparations, we’d be delighted to support you and your practice. In order to sign up to participate, the first thing you need to do is join our Treeleaf Forum. Once that process is complete, you can visit the Ango Information Thread and post your desire to participate. After that, you’ll be able to access all the information and resources available here. We will assist you from there.
Finally, we might say that when any one of us undertakes “Jukai”, the whole universe undertakes “Jukai” in that very moment. For each of us, all of us, the Precepts and the whole of Reality are not two.