Fashion for a Clouded Mind

[Jika]

I'm looking forward to teachings what should be taken into consideration regarding dressing for zazen.I'm confused by the different dress codes or interpretations for priests, people with Jukai, and without.As long as many small steps and stitches (which one is more?) prevent me from maybe one day wearing a kesa, I'll use blankets.Gassho,Danny

[Taigu]

Hi Danny,

The kesa has nothing to do with receiving jukai or becoming a priest. It is the robe of sitting. your birthright. Anybody can wear a kesa.
My advice would be for you to start sewing.

gassho


Taigu

[Kokuu]

Taigu

It would be lovely if you could lead us through sewing a kesa at some point, maybe beginning early in the year so those who wish can have one ready for next autumn?

I had similar thoughts to Danny in thinking that the kesa was the province of the unsui.

Gassho
Kokuu

[Koshin]

Hi Danny,

The kesa has nothing to do with receiving jukai or becoming a priest. It is the robe of sitting. your birthright. Anybody can wear a kesa.


Taigu

Thank you very much teacher...this is simply a beautiful teaching for my deluded mind.

Deep gassho

Sent from Tapatalk 2

[Jika]

Dear Taigu,

I think I was confused by another, older post

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?6638-Kesa-OKESA-it-is-about-time!&highlight=okesa

If I have permission, I would really like to try sewing a kesa.

Once I've started sewing at all, which will be my vacation (starting tomorrow) project: sewing the inflatable travelling zafu.
My mother used to sew a lot in her youth (I never saw her doing that and never had any interest to learn), and is now thrilled to pass on her knowledge.
I've stocked up on band-aids.

Unfortunately, I'm clumsy, but fortunately also patient.

Gassho,
Danny

P.S.: Reading a few older posts, I seem to have some time to learn sewing on non-ritual objects? Don't want to hurt anyone here. I just don't have a clue.

[Heishu]

Taigu,

I would also like to begin sewing a kesa with your permission. Like Kokuu I thought it was for an unsui.

Gassho,
Heishu

[Jundo]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of taking my Kesa off, or better said, taking off the Kesa that can be seen with the eye. I may wear it sometimes to commemorate our Tradition, and I may wear a Rakusu many times (which is an expression of Kesa). But I would not emphasize wearing of the Kesa as much. Taigu and I will come to take two rather different approaches on this and some other ways.

I will speak about this more in coming days, when I return to Japan.

But it is true that the Kesa has been used as a wrap for warmth, as well as wraps and blankets of all kinds ...



Gassho, Jundo

[Jika]

Dear Jundo,

I'm looking forward to hearing this, too.

I'll just try how my first sewing experience (a zafu, nothing wrong with that?) turns out.
If sewing gives me some of the introspection into the moment, the (no-)self, the material, the craft, I get from wood work.

Only wood work being more noisy, my neighbours would prefer me sewing...

I do sculpting without any electricity, things you could make with a saw and a milling machine within a couple of minutes take me hours.
Not for tradition, I simply like the process.

What do I do this for, need this for? Dunno.
Does not even keep me warm (least I burned it in a fireplace).

Gassho,
Danny

[Yugen]

Stupid Question Disorder (SQD): an observable phenomenon in practitioners of zen characterized by enquiry into the nature of existence and the creation of mind phenomena that obscure its elemental nature. A progressive condition; ameliorated by working with colleagues and sitting Zazen. Symptoms: curiosity; openness; progressive spaciousness of the mind; laughter.

No known cure.

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Just the foolishness of questions left unasked.


Deep bows
Yugen

[Jishin]

Stupid Question Disorder (SQD): an observable phenomenon in practitioners of zen characterized by enquiry into the nature of existence and the creation of mind phenomena that obscure its elemental nature. A progressive condition; ameliorated by working with colleagues and sitting Zazen. Symptoms: curiosity; openness; progressive spaciousness of the mind; laughter.

No known cure.

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Just the foolishness of questions left unasked.


Deep bows
Yugen

Wonderful Yugen.

Gassho, Jishin

[Taigu]

Yugen, pretty close, although one might say that it depends where the question arises from, as to the answer it should be given to the source , never to the words uttered or written.

Gassho

Taigu

[Ishin]

Hello all

For me I think, there is a time for more traditional and there is a time to throw that all out and just sit in your jeans. I do like, respect and see the need for traditional garb in the Zen tradition. Just like school uniforms, or professional attire; I feel there is something about this that sets the tone. The practice demands repetition and regular, well, practice. Kesa and rakusu may help set the tone and bring a certain somberness and special separate mental space to the ritual of sitting, just as lighting candles, incense, prostrations, chanting etc. Of course, within these traditions, they are also very practical. Keeping oneself warm is one example.

On the other hand, if you are wearing a kesa to somehow lift yourself up, or to practice sheer Nipponery, then it could easily be a distraction from the intent of the whole practice. Look at me! Now I am a REAL Zen Buddhist! The fact that so many have posted above how they thought the kesa was just for Unsui illustrates my point.

In the practice of Kung Fu, one thing we talk about is a saying "you have trained the room, not the form". This means that though you can perform your training form ( kata in Japanese) in the school,when you try to do it in an open field or at home, you have quite forgotten it. I have begun to see that I have become used to sitting at certain times, and in a certain way. Perhaps having certain clothes is yet another layer of this tendency to habit. I see the need for sitting in different ways in my practice so that it doesn't just become a routine, but an active practice that requires "nothing special". I want to be able to defend myself with Kung Fu if the need arises anywhere anytime. I want to be able to be mindfully present in the same manner, wearing kesa, jeans, scrubs bathing suit.

I look forward to Jundo and Taigu's teachings and expressions in this.

Gassho
C

[Yugen]

Fashion for a Clouded Mind

Taigu,
I agree with you. Our questions are like koans - used to approach the heart of the practice. I believe as we progress we come to realize there is only one question - and the answer can be found only by oneself - good friends in practice can only share the path. Many of the questions we see on the forum - should I be a vegetarian- should I consume alcohol as a Buddhist - can I wear a Kesa - should I sit in Burmese or Lotus - are all "preliminaries" or gateways to that one question.

Hisamatsu Shinichi had it right i think when he wrote that all questions, all Koans, could be reduced to the Fundamental Koan - the one question.

All we can do in the meantime is encourage exploration, and a teacher will help a student do that. I am just a novice priest, not a teacher, and this is only my opinion.

Clark: forms and routines are essential to practice but even these at some point become obstacles to moving forward and genuinely opening the mind and living completely, leaving nothing behind. I am nowhere near this point and may never be, but realize its out there. Ironically, reaching the point of "freedom" allows us to immerse ourselves in the forms and rituals - the forms become us and we become an expression of the form. In martial arts a point is reached where your kata no longer looks like your teacher's but becomes your own.... And your teacher tells you to stop imitating them and find your own expression. But you know this.

Deep bows
Yugen

[Byokan]

Yugen, thank you

Gassho
Lisa

[Jinyo]

I have always felt out on a limb regarding the tradition of the Kesa/Rakusa.
This is a personal view and in no way reflects a lack of respect for tradition or questioning of what feel right for others.
I would be happy to sew a Rakusa or Kesa as a meditative, symbolic act but I know in my heart that I do not want to wear either
of these garments.
For myself I only want to come to Zazen 'blind and naked' (metaphorically!) because I do not think it matters what outer garments a person wears - whether a lay person, an unsui or a priest. I just end up asking myself 'Who does one wear this garment for - the eye of an external beholder or the inner workings of the heart? The heart has no care for what a person wears.
Can one be an unsui or priest without wearing the robes of tradition? Is there an authentic zen practice outside of tradition?
I do not know the answer to these questions.
Do we put people off by following tradition? This bothers me. Zen is a wonderful practice but how many people see the ghosts of past negative religious experiences in the robes, the chanting, etc. Do we care more for this than really helping people and being totally approachable. Isn't Zen ultimately about love.
Just some questions and not meant to offend - but ultimately they lead to the most troubling question for me personally - 'how can I belong here if this is what I feel'

Gassho

Willow