Re: Incense/Ceremony
Hellos to those posting here
Julia, I do not know how to post a video clip! I am sure it is easy, but have never done one.
My guess: if you were to write down the instructions of what to do first, second, third, etc, it would end up sounding a lot like what I wrote above!!!
Really, what Kvon wrote--
just observe what you, yourself, do
when you are making the different movements, isn't there a first, second, and third movement? And aren't they practical in nature? For example, you wouldn't put the incense stick in the incense bowl before you light it!
I think of hockey players putting on their gear: there is a ritual (if not a ceremony, Amelia) about doing certain kinds of repetitive tasks. Ritual allows you to pay attention without struggle: you are doing the same things, and can attend carefully to each of them: pilots going over their pre-flight checks, dental assistants with all the shiny implements...you know where each thing is. Each time they perform these tasks, it is as if it is for the first time.
If you visit/sit with a group sometime, you may have the opportunity to see how they go about the practical matters of setting up the butsudan, lighting the candles, placing the flowers, offering the incense. In your own home, you are going to set about doing what is practical for you. It is simple and straightforward. There is a simple beauty and an elegance in economy of motion, in minimum of fuss.
I like Kvon's description: the living room becoming a zendo.
With a few simple attentive gestures a corner transformed!
Kirk's information about the unhealthful nature of incense is good to know: some people are extremely sensitive. Happily, I am not one...
Hellos to those posting here
Julia, I do not know how to post a video clip! I am sure it is easy, but have never done one.
My guess: if you were to write down the instructions of what to do first, second, third, etc, it would end up sounding a lot like what I wrote above!!!
Really, what Kvon wrote--
just observe what you, yourself, do
when you are making the different movements, isn't there a first, second, and third movement? And aren't they practical in nature? For example, you wouldn't put the incense stick in the incense bowl before you light it!
I think of hockey players putting on their gear: there is a ritual (if not a ceremony, Amelia) about doing certain kinds of repetitive tasks. Ritual allows you to pay attention without struggle: you are doing the same things, and can attend carefully to each of them: pilots going over their pre-flight checks, dental assistants with all the shiny implements...you know where each thing is. Each time they perform these tasks, it is as if it is for the first time.
If you visit/sit with a group sometime, you may have the opportunity to see how they go about the practical matters of setting up the butsudan, lighting the candles, placing the flowers, offering the incense. In your own home, you are going to set about doing what is practical for you. It is simple and straightforward. There is a simple beauty and an elegance in economy of motion, in minimum of fuss.
I like Kvon's description: the living room becoming a zendo.
With a few simple attentive gestures a corner transformed!
Kirk's information about the unhealthful nature of incense is good to know: some people are extremely sensitive. Happily, I am not one...
Since I don't have a separate space for my altar, I appreciate the ceremony aspect even more because that space seems to have more sacredness to it via the ritual gestures.
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