Shuso responsibilities and activities
Ango lasts for three months, beginning in early April and ending with the July precepts retreat, and the shuso makes arrangements to live somewhere in Bloomington for the entire period. He or she is asked to take on the following specific responsibilities and activities during his or her term.
Sotoshu forms and paperwork: You will need to complete and sign various registration forms as required by Sotoshu to document your service as shuso for the ango. These are added to your record to show that you’ve completed the training requirements necessary for advancement to higher ranks. If you do not live in Bloomington, we will need to send you some forms before the start of the ango and ask you to return them in a timely way so that registration can be completed on time.
Theme: You will be asked to choose a theme for the ango; this theme should reflect an area of interest that you plan to explore with the sangha during your term. It will serve as the organizing thread of your dharma talks and may suggest ideas for additional activities that would be meaningful
to the sangha. It should also give you the opportunity to grow as a leader and teacher. Your theme could be a practice, a text, an activity, a deep question, an aspect or challenge of modern life, etc. Ask yourself: Where do I want to take the sangha during the three months of this ango? What do I want practitioners to understand as a result? How do I want them to grow in their practice?
Koan: You will choose a koan with which to work during the honsoku gyocha and hossenshiki held at the end of the ango. You may relate the koan to the ango theme and work with it in Sunday talks if you choose, or approach it only in the ceremonies. Ceremony attendees will ask you questions about this koan, so you may choose to refer to it in ango activities in order to help them prepare.
Morning rounds: You will enter the zendo before the doshi, offer incense and bows at the main altar, and walk the perimeter of the zendo to greet and check on those who are sitting. Conducting morning rounds prepares you to lead your own sangha by letting you practice the movements.
World Peace ceremonies: You will serve as doshi (officiant) for the ceremony, which happens on the third Sunday of each month following the dharma talk. Over the course of a three-month ango, you should have the opportunity to do this three times.
Ryaku Fusatsu: You will serve as ino for the monthly ceremony of renewing our aspiration to follow the precepts. Over the course of a three-month ango, you should have the opportunity to do this three times.
Bathroom cleaning: During the soji period following weekday morning zazen, you will take responsibility for cleaning the two bathrooms near the zendo. The shuso traditionally takes on jobs such as dealing with the trash or cleaning the bathrooms as a practice of humility and service in the midst of developing and exercising leadership.
Talks: You will offer eight Sunday morning dharma talks over the course of the ango, assuming the teaching role in the same way that Hoko would, entering formally and making incense offerings and bows at the main altar, indicating the start of the chants, and fielding questions from the sangha after your talk. Your talks will be recorded and posted to our YouTube account for worldwide viewing (as well as for your own review).
Honsoku Gyocha and Hossenshiki: Toward the end of the ango, you and the sangha will participate in ceremonies designed to demonstrate your understanding of the dharma and ability to embody the practice. During the evening honsaku gyocha, Hoko or Todo-san will offer some comments on your chosen koan; following this, formal tea will be served. The next morning you will answer the sangha’s questions about the koan or about other topics in a spontaneous exchange, serving in place of the abbot to formally teach the dharma.
Sotoshu forms and paperwork: You will need to complete and sign various registration forms as required by Sotoshu to document your service as shuso for the ango. These are added to your record to show that you’ve completed the training requirements necessary for advancement to higher ranks. If you do not live in Bloomington, we will need to send you some forms before the start of the ango and ask you to return them in a timely way so that registration can be completed on time.
Theme: You will be asked to choose a theme for the ango; this theme should reflect an area of interest that you plan to explore with the sangha during your term. It will serve as the organizing thread of your dharma talks and may suggest ideas for additional activities that would be meaningful
to the sangha. It should also give you the opportunity to grow as a leader and teacher. Your theme could be a practice, a text, an activity, a deep question, an aspect or challenge of modern life, etc. Ask yourself: Where do I want to take the sangha during the three months of this ango? What do I want practitioners to understand as a result? How do I want them to grow in their practice?
Koan: You will choose a koan with which to work during the honsoku gyocha and hossenshiki held at the end of the ango. You may relate the koan to the ango theme and work with it in Sunday talks if you choose, or approach it only in the ceremonies. Ceremony attendees will ask you questions about this koan, so you may choose to refer to it in ango activities in order to help them prepare.
Morning rounds: You will enter the zendo before the doshi, offer incense and bows at the main altar, and walk the perimeter of the zendo to greet and check on those who are sitting. Conducting morning rounds prepares you to lead your own sangha by letting you practice the movements.
World Peace ceremonies: You will serve as doshi (officiant) for the ceremony, which happens on the third Sunday of each month following the dharma talk. Over the course of a three-month ango, you should have the opportunity to do this three times.
Ryaku Fusatsu: You will serve as ino for the monthly ceremony of renewing our aspiration to follow the precepts. Over the course of a three-month ango, you should have the opportunity to do this three times.
Bathroom cleaning: During the soji period following weekday morning zazen, you will take responsibility for cleaning the two bathrooms near the zendo. The shuso traditionally takes on jobs such as dealing with the trash or cleaning the bathrooms as a practice of humility and service in the midst of developing and exercising leadership.
Talks: You will offer eight Sunday morning dharma talks over the course of the ango, assuming the teaching role in the same way that Hoko would, entering formally and making incense offerings and bows at the main altar, indicating the start of the chants, and fielding questions from the sangha after your talk. Your talks will be recorded and posted to our YouTube account for worldwide viewing (as well as for your own review).
Honsoku Gyocha and Hossenshiki: Toward the end of the ango, you and the sangha will participate in ceremonies designed to demonstrate your understanding of the dharma and ability to embody the practice. During the evening honsaku gyocha, Hoko or Todo-san will offer some comments on your chosen koan; following this, formal tea will be served. The next morning you will answer the sangha’s questions about the koan or about other topics in a spontaneous exchange, serving in place of the abbot to formally teach the dharma.
