Juzu

[Taigu]

Re: Juzu

the 108 defilements for sure.
I once asked a Soto priest here in Japan and he said we did not use these...


gassho

Taigu

[Shokai]

Re: Juzu

Thank you Jundo and Taigu;
You take me back to Auditor Training days. During an audit, one researches and investigates a specific procedure by sampling transactions then interviewing the persons involved. Inevitably, you come to asking the question, "Why do you do this or that?" And, invariably, the answer is, "Because we've always done it that way!" :shock:

And so, without further ado;

... let it be so from now on!

Like it's not as if this sort of approach is without precedent. :roll: :lol: :lol:

Seriously :|, I wear a 27 bead sandalwood mala (on my left wrist from now on :roll: ) because I like/not like the smell of it My wife is allergic to incense but can tolerate the mala. As well, its presence on my wrist helps with mindfulness training throughout the day. I've tried using beads in prayer and/or chanting and it just doesn't seem to work; as in 'do anything." It could have something to do with witnessing all of those hours long 'Hail Mary' sessions the night before a Catholic funeral. :shock:

[Emmet]

Re: Juzu

Thanks for the research; I've been looking forward to seeing what you've discovered.
It will be useful tomorrow. I'll be playing our Center's keisu bells for our local Change Your Mind Day, sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Besides chanting the Heart Sutra, at opening and closing the bells will sound 108 times. I'll play with my juzu in my left hand, and the bai in my right. Considering how long it has taken me to develop the ability to count to 10 reliably, 108 unassisted is a bit of a stretch.
Sadly, a friend's lover has unexpectedly died. I will carry them when offering incense at his memorial, too.

[Horin]

I know this thread is very old and inactive but does somehone have an instruction or idea what this knot-string is and how to do it?
Thanks in advance,
Gassho, ben
Lah/st

[Jundo]

I know this thread is very old and inactive but does somehone have an instruction or idea what this knot-string is and how to do it?
Thanks in advance,
Gassho, ben
Lah/st

Hi Ben,

Which knot do you mean?

The Juzu generally has a very limited place in Soto Zen compared to the more chanty schools. I can point you to a scholars article on the topic a little later. It will tell you more about the meaning of it all than you ever imagined.

Here is also a more recent thread with more on the topic too.

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?15113-Mala-beads-in-Zen-Buddhism&p=194472&viewfull=1#post194472

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Horin]

Hello Jundo, thanks for your fast reply. I mean the juzu you posted in the first post http://i138.photobucket.com/q248/PiobBear/001-4.jpg
there is a knot sling/tassle and im curious how to do this knot:-) also i know that beads are not important for zen at all.
Gassho

[Jundo]

Hello Jundo, thanks for your fast reply. I mean the juzu you posted in the first post http://i138.photobucket.com/q248/PiobBear/001-4.jpg
there is a knot sling/tassle and im curious how to do this knot:-) also i know that beads are not important for zen at all.
Gassho

Oh, Piobair is the only person I know who has made one. You would have to PM him. He stops by here once in awhile, so use this link ... you might catch him.

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/member.php?12728-Piobair

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Horin]

Thank you jundo:-)

[Shinshi]

Hi hishiryo,

In one of his posts above Poibair wrote:

#The tassel is a 4-part square braid (doubled) and finished with a Turks-head knot (back in the day I was pretty good at marlinspike seamanship)."

So it is a square braid that is finished off with a Turks-head not. If you google both you can find lots of videos on how to tie them.

Looking at the knot I think it might also be called a crown knot. Here is a video of someone tying one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJEUyJPSps

Here is a page tying something that looks pretty similar to me - but calling it a Turks head

http://www.paracordguild.com/tie-turks-head-terminal-knot/

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Horin]

Hello Shinshi,
thank you for your post. it helped me a lot
gassho

[Shinshi]

Hello Shinshi,
thank you for your post. it helped me a lot
gassho

Glad it helped. Good luck with your tying!

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Jundo]

If you really, REALLY want to dive into this topic ...

Prayer Beads in Japanese Sōtō Zen - Michaela Mross

https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/prayer-beads.pdf

He writes:

When a lay parishioner visits a Buddhist temple, he or she usually carries
a Buddhist rosary. It marks a parishioner versus the occasional visitor
and is considered a necessary item of proper attire. For most Japanese,
not wearing a rosary when putting the hands in prayer or reverence
seems to be improper. Likewise, the official webpage of the Sōtō Zen
school instructs lay followers to not forget prayer beads when attending
funerals or memorial services. Parishioners should further put a rosary
on the lowest shelf of their home altar, ready to be used during prayers.
Also, the members of the choirs singing Buddhist hymns at Sōtō temples
wear short rosaries while singing and playing a bell. Thus, prayer
beads serve “as sources of identification,” to borrow John Kieschnick’s
words. The rosary is an especially interesting object because—besides
the robe or o-kesa—“prayer beads are kept closer to the practitioner than
any other ritual object. They become physical evidence of faith, devotion,
and practice.”

In contrast to Tendai, Shingon, or Pure Land clerics, Sōtō clerics rarely
use prayer beads in ritual settings. Moreover, images of Zen masters usually
do not depict monks or nuns holding prayer beads; instead, a fly-whisk
or another kind of staff signifies their status as a Zen cleric. Therefore,
Buddhist rosaries are typically not associated with Zen. Nevertheless,
prayer beads have been used for various purposes in the Sōtō school
as well.

A certain emphasis on the Rosary crept into Soto Zen in the centuries after the time of Dogen, as various Pure Land and Esoteric beliefs were brought in during a time when Dogen and Zazen were much more forgotten. For lay people in Soto, the usage has much more to do with attendance at funerals and worship of ancestors at the home Buddhist altar, not Zen practice. So, most westerners will have little need or interest in that aspect of Japanese Buddhism.

In the west in general, and especially in our Sangha, there is very little emphasis on the beads in Zen groups. Zazen is the centerpiece, and no beads are required for that.

Also:

Telling Beads: The Forms and Functions of the Buddhist Rosary in Japan - George J. Tanabe

https://publikationen.uni-tuebingen.de/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10900/47040/pdf/Tanabe_2012.pdf?sequence=1

Gassho, Jundo

SatTodayLAH

[Ryushi]

in Soto, the usage has much more to do with attendance at funerals and worship of ancestors at the home Buddhist altar, not Zen practice. So, most westerners will have little need or interest in that aspect of Japanese Buddhism.

That's what I had always read. But I've seen a number of people wearing a bracelet mala, perhaps mostly as fashion. I noticed Edward Espe Brown wearing one, as well, which confused me a bit.

[Jundo]

That's what I had always read. But I've seen a number of people wearing a bracelet mala, perhaps mostly as fashion. I noticed Edward Espe Brown wearing one, as well, which confused me a bit.

I assume that many Westerners (me too sometimes) wear them simply as a re-MIND-er of something ... something wordless and sacred ... as we move through ordinary life. Frankly, not unlike wearing a crucifix on a chain for a Christian, or a "chai" as a Jew.

Japanese folks also believe that their are protective properties, that certain materials are more "powerful" than others. I don't buy that at all. or believe in some special powers to them beyond the mind. Some can cost the equivalent of hundreds of dollars.

https://ssl.yasuda-nenju.com/eng/products/detail.php?no=151

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Daitetsu]

I wear a Juzu from time to time, but I neither use it for any practice nor do I think it holds a special power.
IMHO one should not wear it in order to demonstrate something, as for me Zen is about being oneself without any masks, so for me this should be nothing to "show off".

However, like Jundo said, it can act as a reminder. I got my latest Juzu during a visit in the Buddhist Centre in Manchester (UK).
So when I am somewhere there are situations in which I notice the Juzu and it makes me stop and take a deep breath (i.e. I become mindful of the current situation). And other times I think about that nice visit in Manchester. ;-)

Gassho,

Daitetsu

#sat2day