For more information on Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, please visit our website at www.ancientdragon.org. Our teachings are offered to the community through the generosity of our supporters. To make a donation online, please visit our website. In three weeks, November 23rd, we will be performing a priest ordination for Ruben Keller. So I want to talk about the meaning of priest ordination, and go over the ceremony this morning. So, well, first of all, it does not mean that Ruben's practice is better than anybody else's. But it does mean that Ruben is dedicating himself publicly to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, to supporting Buddha, to supporting Dharma. And also to be a presence in Sangha, just as a regular person, regular practitioner, but also just to express that completely.

[01:09]

So, yeah, the ceremony we'll do is very much the same as the Jukai ceremony that several of you have done. And... Some of you maybe are preparing for receiving the precepts. It's the same 16 precepts. And, yeah, so the ceremony, well, it's different in as much as there's more to it for the priest ordination. There are more things that are given. There's kimono and coromo and bowls, priest bowls. the oyoki, and so it's, and an okesa like this, and a zagu bowing that. So it's, in the 16th, you know, in some ways it's the same as the jukai ceremony, just more. So for those of you who have done or will be doing the jukai ceremony, this is also for you.

[02:17]

So I'm just going to go through the ceremony and talk about it. So And Nyozan and Aishin and I will do three bows together and come into the room and be seated here. And there will be an ordination table spread out here. And Aishin will be sitting there and Nyozan here. And then Ruben will have a cushion opposite the ordination table and then a cushion where he's sitting back further. And then people will be around, and various people have participation in the ceremony. Wade's going to be the person taking care of the online people. I think David and Douglas are going to be greeters. Jerry's going to be Eno and go on.

[03:20]

Anyway, there will be various positions. After Ishan, Yozan, and I are settled, then Douglas will lead in the ordinee, Reuben. So Douglas is the Jendo leader. And Reuben will be chanting in this room here. He'll be sitting from, I don't know. So the ceremony is at 2 o'clock, so he'll be sitting from 1.30. It's not earlier. and chanting Om. And then he'll get up and do a kinhin in the room. He'll be chanting Om Namu Shakyamuni Buddha. Om Namu Shakyamuni Buddha. And we'll be doing that until he comes in and then sits down. By the way, before he comes in and sits down, I will be doing a wisdom water ceremony, purifying the space and purifying all the people in here.

[04:25]

So, and then he will come in and do three prostrations and sit down, and I will say, invoking the presence and compassion of our ancestors in faith, that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way, and then we will all do homage to all Buddhas in ten directions, homage to the complete Dharma in ten directions, homage to the endless Sangha in ten directions. homage to our first teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, homage to Ehe Dogen Zenji, homage to the single being succession of bodhisattvas and ancestors, then to Dogen, and then homage to Shinryu Suzuki Dayo Sho. So, and may their presence and compassion sustain us now, and then we'll recite the names of Buddha, and we'll all recite. Vairochana Buddha, pure Dharmakaya, Lochana Buddha, complete Sambhogakaya, Shakyamuni Buddha, Myriya Nirmanakaya, Maitreya Buddha, a future birth, all Buddhas throughout space and time, Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma, Mahayana Sutra, Manjushri Bodhisattva, great wisdom, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, great activity, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, great compassion,

[05:55]

All Honored Ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas, Wisdom, Beyond Wisdom, Maha Prajnaparamita. So this is how we will begin this ceremony. And then I will say some other things to Ruben, but to everyone. You've come here to be ordained as a disciple of the Buddha and so forth. Listen attentively to the coming together of auspicious circumstances. coming together of suspicious circumstances in your present life. This ceremony has been made possible. So, I'll say some more things. As Buddha's disciple, you have the opportunity to receive the teachings transmitted from Shakyamuni Buddha through Buddhas and ancestors, through succession to us and to manifest Buddha's way forever. and so forth.

[06:56]

So this is all the same as for Jukai, to receive a human body in this world as rare occurrence, yet we cannot avoid the reality of birth and death. We must deeply and gratefully appreciate how meaningful, we must deeply and gratefully appreciate how meaningful and marvelous is this present existence. Rare also is the opportunity to listen to the Buddha and the appearance of Buddha in this world is our greatest joy. So there's more that will be said then. And this is when it becomes different from the Jukai ceremony. There's the initial head shading. So Ruben will shave his head. and his beard and his mustache.

[07:58]

And so, you know, it's funny, when I was first ordained in the mid-'80s, it wasn't until Michael Jordan later that this haircut became popular. So Matthew and Jake and Joe have shaved heads. And at that time, you know, we discouraged people from shaving their head. if they weren't becoming a priest. And I see Caitlin's joined us from Canada. Hi, Caitlin. So, yeah. But since Michael Jordan and Hal, it's sort of a popular haircut. So I can walk around and people don't think I'm something special. And so, yeah. Anyway, but during this ceremony of priest ordination, there's a head shaving. And there's an initial head-shaving. And I'll say some things first.

[08:59]

Great disciple of Buddha, the source of mind is still. The ocean of Dharma is profound. Those who realize this are liberated, on the spot, traveling the path of Buddha. One must be in the state of renunciation. And for renunciation, head-shaving is appropriate. And so cutting off the hair is cutting the root of clinging. And the initial head shaving, Ruben will come in with an area of his head that's not shaved, and I will cut most of that off of the initial head shaving. And as we begin the head shaving, all of us, the assembly and the ordinary, will say, only the mind of a bodhisattva can cut through this drifting, wandering life and take the path of nirvana, this virtue cannot be defined.

[10:00]

So we do that three times. So a lot of this we do three times. But I'm just going to recite it once. Well, we will chant, the bonds of attachment are hard to break. In our past, present, and future karma, realization beyond the realm of karma is the offering of true compassion. So that's the initial head shaving. And then I will say, once in this world of birth and death, when we realize our imperturbable way-seeking mind, Bodhi is right at hand. This very beginner's mind, Bodhisattvas know as immeasurably deep and wide. Not even Buddha can define it. there will be the presentation of the Coromo first. So Ruben will come up and I will move the Coromo over the flowers.

[11:09]

There'll be flowers in the center of the coordination table. No, we'll do flowers. Flowers is good. Sarah will do flowers and then I will give this Koromo to Ruben, who will go back and put it on. So all of this takes a little time. Then there's the final head shaving. And I will say to Ruben, this last hair is called the Shura. Only a Buddha can cut it off. Now I will cut it off. Do you allow me to cut it off? Ruben will say... Yes, sir. So... And... During the head shavings, by the way, we need a photographer. Oh, Wade, you're going to be a photographer. So Wade will photograph this for Japanese Soto Shu. So all the priests I've ordained have been registered in Japanese Soto Shu.

[12:10]

And I'm registered in Japanese Soto School as a Kokusai Fukyoshi, an international lecturer. missionary, whatever. But, you know, in our setup here, we have not registered Shusos because the Shusos ceremony to be registered in Seventh-day Sector School is rather formal and involves a bigger space and having a number of teachers from Japan and so forth. So we registered priests, but not Shusos or transmission. Anyway, okay, so I'm going to cut off Rupin's last hair, and I'll say, shaving your head, and again shaving your head, cutting your attachments, you are now on the path of Buddha. And in this mind and body of complete awakening, you will free all sentient beings from suffering.

[13:15]

And then the ordinary will say something, and now, And then Reuben will come up and receive his new name. So this happens in Jukai 2. So there's a name given. And what I've done with priest ordained is to change one character of your name. I forget what I changed. Oh, you were priest ordained by me. Did I change anything? Oh, okay. Well, after that. I ranted that. She gave me an English. Oh, good. Anyway, yes. But since then, I've been changing one character of a name, and I changed Aishin's name. Aishin. Yes. Aishin is your second name or your first name? Second name. Right. So these names are... It's complicated.

[14:18]

The first name, so your first name is Ikuden, Nourishing Field. Asian is Chanting Reality. But I changed it from a different A, which was a different Shin. Oh, Chanting, yes, Chanting Faith. Yes, to Chanting Reality. So, okay, a different Shin character. So these names, you know, When we first received these names, we didn't know this, but in Japanese Soto school, the second name is the name that is used. So my name is Taigen Shizan, ultimate source, smooth or polishing mountains. In the Soto Zen group that includes people authorized in Japan, I'm Shizan, not Taigen. So, anyway, so, the second name is the one that's used, and they have different contexts in Japanese after school.

[15:29]

We don't have to go into all that, but, anyway, so... I'm curious about that. There are two names. The second name is, isn't it Kaimyo and Homiyo? Yeah, and I forget how that is. And I think the formal name is the second name. Yes, the formal name. But the more intimate name is the first name. Is that it? Maybe. I think that's what Grant said, but I forget which one's in Kainio and which one is... Yeah, right. I think the Kai would be Jukai. I don't know. I forget. I forget. This is technical. It's part of the change, coming to America, right? Yeah. Well, but in other places, I think they use the second name. Zentatsu Myoyu Beguroshi used his first name. Tenshin Zenki, Tenshin, used his first name. But now he also uses his second name, Zenki. And I'm Taigen, she's on. Anyway, so you're Hogetsu Kigen.

[16:32]

Yeah, but in Japan you would be Kigen. Yeah, yeah. Right, so Hogetsu is Jeweled Moon. Kigen is returning to the source. And since I'm, since It's the same Guinness in my name, Ultimate Source. So, we're turning. Anyway, Ruben's name is Myoshin Tozan, which is bright or radiant heart ascending the mountain. And I will change one of those characters. I won't say which. So, okay. So, there's a name that's given at this point in the ceremony. And then... After that, there's a presentation, and these are each done separately, of a sitting cloth. So Ruben will come up and receive the sitting cloth, and he says some things, and then I will say, Great is the sitting cloth used by Buddhas and ancestors.

[17:34]

I vow to bow on it with all beings. Then I'll give him the sitting cloth. Then I'll give him a rakasu. Oh, and you know, in Suzuki Roshi lineage, there's a color code. So all of you have blue Roxus. It took way ordination here. Black Roxu is for priests. Brown Roxu is for ordained people. And black, so Ruben will receive a black Roxu and a black Okesa. So a black Okesa is for priests and Brown Ocase is for transmitted people. That's in Suzuki Roshi lineage, that color coding. I think it might also be in category lineage. I'm not sure. But it's not universal to Soto school. So, anyway. So, I also have a black rock suit with a ring that I received from Japan as a koksai for Kyoshi.

[18:39]

Actually, a couple of them. Anyway, okay, so Ruben will receive a Pazagu, then a Raksu, and then he will get his Okesha, and he will say some things, and then he will go and put on his Okesha and say, And then he will wrap himself in his Okesa. And, you know, Ruben will need help with his Okesa, because everybody does. At first, putting on Okesa is, you know, I've been doing it for, whatever, almost 40 years.

[19:40]

And I still sometimes get it a little messed up. So anyway, Aishin will help, and Paula will help, and Yosan, I don't see here, but he will help, and Hogetsu will help. Anyway, he will get his okesa. So, but that's, the people will help him when he comes here regularly and lives his okesa. So, Then there's begging bowls that I will give to Ruben. And then, so there's more. Then, after he's clothed in Buddha's robes, he will receive the precepts. And these are the same precepts that people receive in Jikai, the same 16 precepts. And first he will say, oh, my ancient twisted karma from beginning was greed, hate, and delusion. born through body, speech, and mind. I now fully avow three times.

[20:43]

And then he will receive the precepts. And then I'll do the wisdom water again before he receives the precepts. So that's to purify the room, to purify all the people in the assembly and Reuben. And then... After that, I'll say we have purified our mind and body. Now you may receive the path of the precepts of the three treasures, which are the beauty of human life. You are seated with Buddha and are really Buddha's child. Will you receive these precepts? And Ruben will say, and then we'll do the three precepts. I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. And they'll be repeated. I will hit the clapper after each one and he'll repeat them. When I take refuge in Buddha as the perfect teacher, I take refuge in Dharma as the perfect teaching. I take refuge in Sangha as the perfect life.

[21:45]

Now I have completely taken refuge in Buddha. Now I have completely taken refuge in Dharma. Now I have completely taken refuge in Sangha. This is important because all of us, everybody who is in the assembly and online, will also be receiving Buddha's precepts at this time. And so, taking refuge in Buddha, taking refuge in Dharma, taking refuge in Sangha is something that we all do. It's kind of the heart of Zazen. So, taking refuge in Buddha in some ways includes all 16 precepts, just to take refuge in Buddha. But then, taking refuge in Dharma, taking refuge in Sangha, and Ruben will be, you know, a servant of Sangha. He has a ways to come from where he lives, south of Chicago, in the south suburbs, but he will be here as much as he can and just will be here to be part of Sangha.

[22:48]

So, and then I'll say from now on, even after realizing Buddhahood, will you follow this compassionate path of the three treasures? that I have just passed to you. And he will say, yes, I will. And I'll do that three times. And then there'll be the three pure precepts. I vow to embrace and sustain right conduct. I vow to embrace and sustain all good. I vow to embrace and sustain all being. So these three pure precepts are about not doing evil, doing good, and then including all beings. including everyone. So this means including people in Palestine and in Israel, including people from Mexico, including people, black people who were brought here as slaves, including indigenous people whose land we are on and occupying.

[23:55]

All beings are included in these pure precepts. So, yeah, how do we include all beings? This is a challenge, including Maka beings, too. How do we include all beings? And I will say, now will you receive these precepts? Yes, and he will say, yes, I will. We'll do that three times. Then there's the ten grave precepts. And, again, just... I'm shortening the whole text, but disciple of Buddha does not kill. Dogen says in the pure mind of Buddha, there's no killing. So this is not something I should say because, you know, some of you are newish practitioners, but in the non-dual Buddha realm, which we embrace when we receive the precepts,

[25:00]

Both killing and not killing are violations of the precincts. So killing and not killing, we of course don't kill, but also we can't help but kill. We eat broccoli or lettuce or things that were alive and were killed to feed us. Or if you're not a vegetarian, Anyway, how do we include all beings? So a disciple of Buddha does not kill. And the meaning of that in Soto Zen is that there's no killing and there's no not killing. So I'll just say that much. Disciple of Buddha does not take what is not given. Disciple of Buddha does not misuse sexuality. Disciple of Buddha does not lie. disciple of Buddha does not intoxicate mind or body of self or others.

[26:05]

So this includes all kinds of intoxicants, television, social media. Zazen can be an intoxicant if you are using it as a way of avoiding being in the world, being present in the world. So Zazen is a way of Seeing yourself, studying, Dogen says, to study the ways to study the self. So this means that we study all of our ancient twisted karma. We study all of our past karmic entanglements. We study the ways in which we are caught by those entanglements. So, yeah. You don't intoxicate mind or body or self or others. A disciple of Buddha does not speak of others' faults. This is a difficult one now because, you know, I want to speak against the actions of the Maga, maybe not Maga, but the Ice Dogs Gestapo in Chicago and in...

[27:24]

New York and in Los Angeles and other places throughout our country. But it's not about others. It's not about the fault of others. It's their actions. So this is difficult. But MAGA people have been... Well, there's a brainwashing operation. Anyway, I'm not going to get into all of that right now. We can in discussion if you want. But... How do we speak of faulty actions rather than faulty beings? Disciple of Buddha does not praise self at the expense of others. So talking about oneself and all of one's achievements and accomplishments compared to others is in some ways a violation of the precepts. Of course, we can acknowledge our own ancient twisted karma, but yeah, that's not at the expense of others.

[28:26]

Disciple of Buddha is not possessive of anything, not even the Dharma. That's really, that's a difficult one. How do we not possess anything? How do we share things and the Dharma? Disciple of Buddha does not harbor ill will. So anger is a natural phenomenon. It's part of what happens in our world. We get angry at things. We get angry at people who mistreat us. We get angry at lots of things. But to harbor ill will is to make hatred. And I don't hate Donald Trump. I'll just say that. I deplore what he's doing. but I don't hate him. He's misguided anyway. It's difficult not to harbor ill will.

[29:28]

How do we not hold on to anger? And, you know, anger, hatred doesn't do anything, doesn't fix anything. Hatred just produces more hatred. Okay, and then the last one, a disciple of the Buddha does not disparage the three treasures. So, okay, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, we don't, you know, we can disparage them in various ways, but we're celebrating them. And then I say, abiding according to the ten grave precepts from now on, even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continuously observe them? And Ruben will say, yeah, and that happens three times. Okay, okay. Then there's the presentation of the lineage. So the lineage document is a document of the precepts. Our lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha. So there's an actual document that shows Shakyamuni Buddha at the top.

[30:33]

And then it wriggles around in two. Well, there's in the Indian ancestors are one group. But then in China, there's two. There's the Soto school and there's the Rinzai school. and then they come together in Dogen. And then there's the Japanese teachers, to Suzuki Roshi, and initially to me, and Sumai teacher Reb, and to me. And then it goes down to the person receiving the precepts. And then from them, it goes back up to Shakyamuni Buddha. So this precept document is pretty cool. It's the Ketchum Yaku, it's called the blood vein. because it's, well, the line that runs through all these names of all these teachers, and then through two sides, is red. It's the blood vein, and it comes down, and then there's a red line back up to Shakyamuni Buddha from Ruben or from whomever. Anyway, so Ruben will receive that, those precepts, and then I'll say a bunch of things.

[31:42]

The Buddha lands in all directions. Rejoice. The earth trembles and blossoms fall. In each of those lands, Bodhisattvas ask the Buddha, what is the meaning of such extraordinary signs? And each Buddha says to them, in the Saha world, the followers of Shakyamuni Buddha's teaching have been listening to a discourse on the Bodhisattva's precepts delivered by their teacher who had previously received the precepts from his own teacher or her own teacher. Anyway, so there's that. And then we will end with, well, we'll conclude the part of the ceremony chanting, like a cloud in an endless sky, like a lotus in muddy water, we live in the pure mind of Buddha. And then I'll say this, we bow to Thagata, and then we do all Buddhas throughout space and time, all honored ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas, Wisdom Beyond Wisdom, Mahaprajna Paramita.

[32:43]

But... that's not the end. I'll come back and the ordinary will bow three times to the teacher with open Zavu and puts down all the Zavu says, thank you very much. And then I will talk about all the people who made this ceremony possible. So, okay, that's the ceremony. And I'll also talk about Ruben's new name. And yeah, anyway, So, and the saying on the back of his Raksu, which will also be mentioned. And then there will be a recessional out. I will lead, followed by Aishin and Nirsan and Ruben and the Jundo leader, Douglas, and Hogetsu. So then we'll go back and do some vows in the library. So that's the ceremony, basically. I wanted to go over it with all of you.

[33:45]

So it takes a while. And at this point, I just want to open this up and see if you have any questions about the precepts or about the ceremony or about names, about, you know, any of it. So, yes, Nicholas. Thanks for that talk. I got almost out of it. I really appreciate your laying out the... the ceremony and, you know, sort of fleshing out the meaning and all these things that happened during these ceremonies. So, we were talking about the Ocase and I think it was Thursday with you. I never remember what I said. Yeah, and it caused me to do some research about the whole thing. Oh, good. And it was very interesting. I really found it fascinating. So, this is in line with that. What I also want to say is I was sitting here thinking, how long have I been around here?

[34:50]

I could come up with like 14 years at least, right? Maybe it's a little more than that. And you were also involved in other sanghas before. Yes. As Ruben has been. Yes. And so I've had the privilege of watching how people grow and how people mature and practice and how how Zazen works in that. And it's sometimes hard to see that in oneself, but you can see it in others. And so maybe I can just assume this work. Well, it works in mysterious ways, you know, and people come and sit for a while and then leave and then sometimes come back or, you know, every person who has Zazen instruction, they may not come back here, but they have benefited from the Zazen instruction. You may be singing Zazen. And so, yeah. And then in Zazen, all of our ancient twisted karma comes up.

[35:52]

Yeah. How do we deal with that? So, I've had the privilege of watching our dear boy. Yeah, for sure. And I love your dharma. And I'm so excited that this is happening to you and that you've chosen this path. I think that the Sangha is really going to benefit from your teaching and your presence. And so, yeah, it's just, it's always, I'm always kind of shocked at how excited I get about these things, but it's, it's, it's just wonderful to see the community as a whole mature as well and grow. And so, yeah, right. Well, this is about Sangha. So yeah, Ruben is just dedicating himself to Sangha. And in some way, that's it. So, yeah. And all of us, every one of you, some of you I haven't met before, or maybe I have occasionally, but yeah, this is Sangha, all of us.

[37:04]

And all of us together are developing and growing. And so, yes. Very much so. I've even seen broken you, broken Hugetza, broken all the teachers. It's like everyone, you know, it's a beautiful thing. Yeah. And all of you are part of that. Each one of you. Thank you. Other comments or questions? I was wondering if you say a little bit about what you think it means to be a priest in our context. Well, yeah, I said something at the beginning, but yeah, what it means to be a priest is just to, not to be better than anyone else, but to be fully, actually a servant. Tosan Ryokai, Dongshan Liangjie, was the founder of our Soto lineage in China, and his second name means good servant.

[38:09]

So to be a priest is to serve the Sangha. And of course, to serve Buddha and Dharma too. But it doesn't mean, you know, being a priest doesn't mean being a teacher. It means just being someone who is devoted to the Dharma and devoted to Sangha and devoted to Buddha. Well, I could keep talking, but, you know, that's really it. Other comments? Anyone? Online or in the room? Very quickly. David, hi. Yeah. You mentioned many things. One of them was the sagu. The sagu. The sagu is the bowing mat. That's the... Okay. Yes. Right. That. And that's what you put down to bow on to project the occasion. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah. It was a city clock. Yeah, it's a sitting... Yes, you sit on it.

[39:11]

Yes. I also think it's very important for me to... And you mentioned this, to not otherize and hate anymore. Because it's so easy these days to just hate the other side. If there is such a thing, you know, but there is... I think there is. Yeah, there's this mass hysteria, right? You know, on both sides. And just to... You know, remember the Buddha's words, hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed. And I mean, it sounds a little, you know, I don't know, fanciful or something, but it's really true. And so it's gotten easier not to hate people. And it's gotten easier for me to talk to people that are, you know, long ago on the other side and to really listen and to not demonize otherwise. And I just feel like that's really going to be the answer to get out of that situation. Yes. Well, it's difficult, you know.

[40:19]

We have ICE people who are all around Chicago doing terrible things. Grabbing people, putting them, you know. It's just horrible. Absolutely. It's terrible. And there are people who are driving around photographing it, making records of it, trying to, blowing whistles when they see it. And so that's really important. And so how do we... So Caitlin's in Canada where they... Don't have this problem, I guess. Not yet. Canada hasn't become part of the United States, and it never happened. Yeah, so it's not exactly hatred, but stopping, trying to stop, acting, acting out, filming, ice encounters with people.

[41:28]

And it can be dangerous. I heard about A nice person who saw somebody photographing him and held up his gun and pointed at the person. These are people acting in thuggish ways. Totally. So, you know, this is just my opinion. I'm not speaking for anybody else here. But how do we then respond? So this is going to be a long haul. We have to see this in terms of the long time view of how things change. And they do change. And the majority of people in this country don't want this stuff. So anyway, it's that this kind of action has to change. And of course, I'm going to hate sometimes, you know,

[42:29]

But it's like to be aware that it's not the same. Right. That's right. How does anger arise when you see something like that but not turn it into hatred or not harbor it or let go very quickly of it or as quickly as you can but still act just to stop it. And anyway, it's We live in a very complicated world. And these precepts are about how to live in the world. There's the ultimate side of them where, you know, there's no such thing as killing or not killing. And then there's the practical side of them where we kill the opportunity to be aware. Okay, so is there... Good. So is there a last comment or response or question online or in person?

[43:35]

Uvin. Thank you very much. You're welcome. You're welcome. Well, thank you very much. And it would be really wonderful to have our first C-Sort Nation in this location for nine years, I think. Yes. but we'll do voice-out for the hours, and then Lady White could just make a few announcements. Our ego is out of condition today. Jerry, we wish farewell. So, beings are numberless, we vow to be the...

[44:18]

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