The manner of receiving: jukai-e
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from Hoko
When we receive the rakusu along with the precepts and lineage paper during the jukai-e, what’s actually being given and received? What are we getting? Okumura Roshi says: Wearing okesa or rakusu means that we have received the 16-article Precepts that has been transmitted through Soto Zen tradition in Japan and further transmitted to America and other countries out side Japan. This is the symbol that we are all descendants and students of Dogen Zenji. We become Buddhists through receiving the Precepts, in the case of Soto Zen tradition the 16-article Precepts. That is Three Refuges, Three-fold Pure Precepts and the Ten Major Precepts. [Spiritual Legacy of Dogen] This is pointing to the idea that authentic transmission of the dharma is considered one of the main things that holds Soto Zen together as a school. Authentic transmission is one of the main themes of Dogen’s teaching. Keeping this tradition alive in a skillful and legitimate way was critical for him. You’ll arrive at the ceremony empty-handed, if you will, and leave wearing a rakusu and carrying a name and papers. Practicing with these tangible things is important and meaningful -- it supports our aspiration. This is not something you do casually and without some significant discernment. Recipients must first ask to receive the precepts; they can’t be given otherwise. You'll do that formally by making bows to your preceptor just before the ceremony and saying, "Please allow me to receive the precepts." Interestingly, immediately after all the invocations, the very next thing that happens is the bestowal of the rakusu. It happens before the precepts are read out and you agree to continuously observe them. In other words, you take the precepts while already wearing the rakusu; it's not a stamp of approval or a reward for your vows. You take them as Buddha, because awakening is already here. Once you make public vows, then you receive the kechimyaku that shows you're officially part of the lineage and a link in the unfolding transmission of the dharma. All of Soto Zen traces its lineage from Shakyamuni through Bodhidharma in China to Dogen in Japan, then down three more generations to Keizan. After that the lineage splits into two branches, those of Meiho Sotetsu (ours at Sanshin) and Gasan Joseki, and from there outward. Receiving the precepts means officially joining the family. You’ve properly received precepts from a qualified preceptor and your name is written at the end of your lineage paper. Receiving and wearing the rakusu is an outward manifestation of that transmission. Over and over again, Dōgen Zenji emphasized the merit of wearing the robe. Just taking the precepts and wearing the rakusu, even though we aren’t able to maintain the precepts, is better than having never taken the precepts at all. At the same time, there is no one giving you anything, nothing to receive and no you to receive it. Dharma is already functioning whether or not you sew a robe and receive it. This is the activity of the universal self. You don’t need to wait to sew a rakusu before engaging in your practice. |
Jukai order of events
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