Zendo guidelines
In the interest of minimizing distraction for ourselves and others, we observe the following:
• We leave shoes and hats in the entryway of the building. You may leave coats and outerwear on the hooks there as well.
• We leave electronic devices outside of the zendo. You will not be checking the time, reading your email or taking calls during zazen. If you are required to wear a pager, please make sure it’s been silenced before you enter. Likewise, if you’re leaving your electronics in the cubbies, silence them so that the ringing and beeping doesn’t carry down the hall into the zendo.
• We bring into the zendo what we need in order to sit, but not more than what we need. Purses, bags and valuables should be left outside the zendo, either in the cubbies or locked in your car. Unless you have a health condition that requires constant hydration, please leave water bottles outside as well.
• We don’t wear shorts in the zendo. Long pants or skirts help keep the cushions clean and minimize distraction to other practitioners. If you arrive in shorts, we will lend you a pair of pants and ask you to put them on for the duration of your visit. Other clothing and personal items to avoid: items with loud colors, patterns or writing; flashy or noisy jewelry; clothing that does not cover shoulders and knees; scents and perfumed products.
• We don’t enter the zendo once a zazen (sitting) period has begun. If zazen is in progress when you arrive, please wait to enter until the bell rings to end the period. Your clue as to whether zazen is officially in progress is that the jikido is no longer standing at the door but seated beneath the bell. You are welcome to come in during kinhin (walking).
• When entering the zendo, we step over the threshhold with the left foot, gassho and bow, and proceed to our cushions with our hands in shashu.
• When getting up from our sitting places, we care for our cushions and tidy up. Whether what follows zazen is kinhin, a dharma talk, or a formal or informal exit from the zendo, at all times fluff up your cushion, brush off and straighten your zabuton, fold up any belongings and leave your place as neat as possible. Remember that if the next activity is kinhin, every person in the zendo, including the teacher, is going to walk past your place and get an impression of your mindstate. Even if you're the last to stand up, don't cut corners or skip steps in order to "catch up." Others aren't waiting for you; they're doing standing zazen until everyone is ready. Even if everyone was watching, what would you want them to see, someone doing a slapdash job of taking care of a sitting place, or someone sincerely and thoroughly carrying out practice?
• We recognize that the jikido is charge of the temperature and light level in the zendo. If you have concerns about these, please see him or her rather than making changes on your own that affect everyone. Dressing in layers is a good idea so that you can maintain a comfortable temperature. Remember that some practitioners, including the teacher(s), are wearing four layers of robes and have no choice about their attire.
Thank you for your practice!
• We leave shoes and hats in the entryway of the building. You may leave coats and outerwear on the hooks there as well.
• We leave electronic devices outside of the zendo. You will not be checking the time, reading your email or taking calls during zazen. If you are required to wear a pager, please make sure it’s been silenced before you enter. Likewise, if you’re leaving your electronics in the cubbies, silence them so that the ringing and beeping doesn’t carry down the hall into the zendo.
• We bring into the zendo what we need in order to sit, but not more than what we need. Purses, bags and valuables should be left outside the zendo, either in the cubbies or locked in your car. Unless you have a health condition that requires constant hydration, please leave water bottles outside as well.
• We don’t wear shorts in the zendo. Long pants or skirts help keep the cushions clean and minimize distraction to other practitioners. If you arrive in shorts, we will lend you a pair of pants and ask you to put them on for the duration of your visit. Other clothing and personal items to avoid: items with loud colors, patterns or writing; flashy or noisy jewelry; clothing that does not cover shoulders and knees; scents and perfumed products.
• We don’t enter the zendo once a zazen (sitting) period has begun. If zazen is in progress when you arrive, please wait to enter until the bell rings to end the period. Your clue as to whether zazen is officially in progress is that the jikido is no longer standing at the door but seated beneath the bell. You are welcome to come in during kinhin (walking).
• When entering the zendo, we step over the threshhold with the left foot, gassho and bow, and proceed to our cushions with our hands in shashu.
• When getting up from our sitting places, we care for our cushions and tidy up. Whether what follows zazen is kinhin, a dharma talk, or a formal or informal exit from the zendo, at all times fluff up your cushion, brush off and straighten your zabuton, fold up any belongings and leave your place as neat as possible. Remember that if the next activity is kinhin, every person in the zendo, including the teacher, is going to walk past your place and get an impression of your mindstate. Even if you're the last to stand up, don't cut corners or skip steps in order to "catch up." Others aren't waiting for you; they're doing standing zazen until everyone is ready. Even if everyone was watching, what would you want them to see, someone doing a slapdash job of taking care of a sitting place, or someone sincerely and thoroughly carrying out practice?
• We recognize that the jikido is charge of the temperature and light level in the zendo. If you have concerns about these, please see him or her rather than making changes on your own that affect everyone. Dressing in layers is a good idea so that you can maintain a comfortable temperature. Remember that some practitioners, including the teacher(s), are wearing four layers of robes and have no choice about their attire.
Thank you for your practice!
