Community, Covenant, Precepts and Practice

During my talk at Ango opening, I mentioned how my need to find community led me to Toledo. This operates in my life on many levels.

Sitting zazen with others is very powerful. It makes it easier to sit longer and more regularly. There is something too, about physical presence. During the height of the pandemic, we sat together online, but it did not have the same power. Doing it in front of a computer screen didn't help either. However, when it was all we had, it was better than the alternative.

For this practice, the importance of community has shown up in many other ways for me. Working, eating, socializing: this too is practice and it is so much more valuable to our training that we do it with each other. We practice in Sangha.

Rinsen and Do'on have reminded us many times that this Zen way is not something we can do on our own, though no one can do it for us. The rock that never gets put in the tumbler never gets polished. Someone once described our community as a strange village full of kind people. I like that. We get along for the most part, but we also rub against each other the wrong way some times. Things can and have gone wrong in our relations with each other. This is exactly why we have a code of ethics and the EAR (Ethics And Reconciliation) council. When we practice in community, when we practice with Sangha, in the context of the Sangha Covenant and the Bodhisattva precepts, it lands differently. It manifests as practice and as our sincere efforts to alleviate suffering - something I wish I encountered more often in the wider world.

When I started coming to Toledo, it was a small group that met on Wednesday nights. Over time, more things emerged: talks, sesshin, Sunday services, workshops, games night, the Beans, Pasta-thon, sewing, parent support groups and so many other things. Our Temple is teeming with life. Our Sangha is Sanghaing and it is a beautiful thing to see.

Each of us is the very beating heart of this community. This coming Sunday, we are holding a presentation on the code of ethics that has helped us stay true to our commitment to one another in this great endeavour. Be there if you can. If not, please join us on Zoom or watch the recording. Blessing, Rev. Kaishin.