The ceremony

For 15 years, Master Deshimaru taught us that the essence of Zen is zazen practice and the kesa [1] transmitted during the ordination.

Some beginners say they like doing zazen but are disturbed by the ceremony which comes afterwards. Some others decide not to come back because of this ceremony.
Some people in charge of a dojo hesitate to bring new practitioners to the Gendronnière for fear the ceremonies will dissuade them from continuing zazen practice.
As this question is frequently asked, we here propose to answer as simply as possible.

Début de cérémonie

First, nobody is forced to participate in the ceremony. If you want, you can simply stay in the last row, sitting with your hands together in gassho [2].

Master Nyojo said : « Zazen practice is body and mind rejected. It’s not necessary to burn incense, to bow, to repeat Buddha’s name, to force yourself into mortification, or to recite the sutras. Concentrate on the right sitting in zazen, shikantaza [3] ».

It is true that ceremonies are not “necessary”.
Zazen doesn’t need anything, it is not a technique or a spiritual exercise that needs to be completed by an elaborate ritual.
Zazen itself is the realization-practice of supreme enlightenment.

Why burden it with ceremonies ?

You can actually decide to cut them out but you will then notice that getting up quickly after zazen and passing without transition into the agitation of everyday life is not satisfactory. You will certainly ask yourself : « Couldn’t we practise something simple that would be a natural extension of the attitude of the body, breathing, and mind during zazen ? »

That’s precisely what we call « ceremony » and what we go on practising as Master Deshimaru did.

Gassho

At the beginning, we join our hands in gassho and chant the kesa sutra. [4]

Gassho is a gesture of respect. Gasshois realizing harmony between oneself and others, between the material and the spiritual.
Sensei [5] ] said : « The left hand represents God or Buddha, the right one the ego. Joining them, we completely unify with God or Buddha ».

Sampai

Then, the godo [6] offers incense and everybody does sampai [7].
Doing sampai is the perfect expression of zazen : abandoning the ego, rejecting body and mind, becoming humble in our relation to others, to the cosmic order, and to the living Buddhas that come to practise zazen.
Sampai, is realizing that the dharma, , the teaching transmission, is a lot more important than our small body.

The essence of Zen was transmitted from Bodhidharma to Eka through zazen and sampai.

Then we chant the Hannya Shingyo, the Great Wisdom sutra.
If you study it, you’ll understand that this sutra expresses the spirit of non-profit, mushotoku and the loving kindness of zazen which allow us to put an end to fear, suffering and to go together « beyond, fully beyond to the shore of satori ». Of course, when chanting, it’s not necessary to think of the meaning, but this is realized through the posture and the deep breathing out of the chanting itself.

Then come the Four Vows of the bodhisattva :

« Beings are numberless ; I vow to free them
Delusions are inexhaustible ; I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless ; I vow to enter them
The Buddha Way is unsurpassable ; I vow to realise it ».

These vows are the expression of faith in zazen and the motivation to go on with the practice eternally.
What better meaning is there to human life than pursuing realization tirelessly ? To those asking : « What is becoming a bodhisattva ? What does ordination commit us to ? » The answer is simple : continuing zazen and realizing these vows.

Then the eko, the Ji ho san shi and the offering of incense, dedicate the ceremony that has just taken place, to all the masters of transmission, to all the people who practise zazen and to all sentient beings.
It’s the gift of the merits of zazen for the good of the whole universe.
The kito [8] has the same meaning.

When we practise zazen, sampaï and gassho, we abandon our self-consciousness and we don’t think : « I practise for the others »any longer.
It’s at this very moment that practice becomes universal. All beings receive a beneficial influence from it and respond by creating a mutual sympathy.
That’s what we call the development of the awakening mind by Kanno doko.

Without zazen, , the ceremony would become a purely formalistic ritual, like that which, nowadays, has lead to the decadence and crisis in the authentic religious spirit.

After zazen, the simple ceremony, which Sensei transmitted to us, becomes the expression of the most profound and “alive” religious spirit, which is as necessary to the balance and life of humans as food and breathing.

When going out of the dojo, our life can become the expression of that spirit, in a total attention to others and oneself, and the actualization of the wisdom and loving kindness of zazen.

Gassho.

Roland RECH

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