Paths of Membership Special Alert: Membership Initiative Meeting Sunday February 6th, 1:30 PM The Toledo Zen Center will be holding its seasonal membership intiative this month. If you have been participating in the life of the sangha and feel moved to formalize your relationship by making a commitment to support this great project, now is the time! We are an entirely member-supported organization, and rely on your generosity to continue to provide the kind of programming and training opportunities that nourish and heal. Please mark your calendars for Sunday February 6, and an informational meeting designed to give prospective members an in depth opportunity to meet Rev. Rinsen and Rev. Do'on and TZC Community Elders and learn all about the many different aspects of the Toledo Zen Center community.   Visitor: Clouds Freely Dancing Through the Sky Visitors are welcome to drop in as often as they wish. Nothing is compulsory, nothing is required. Please feel free to join in!   The Formal Sangha Membership Path: Seeds Rooting in Rich Soil For some, a sense of spiritual community and resonance with the TZC Sangha becomes such that they wish to join the community as Formal members. A Formal Sangha Member will have been attending TZC services for at least 3 months and has a clear resonance with the teachings of the Buddha Dharma, this community of practitioners, and TZC’s guiding teachers. They will have talked with the priests and met formally with the Sangha’s Elder Council to affirm their intention to live the Sangha Covenant and to actively engage in the life of the Center. Formal Members are welcome to join the monthly TZC business meetings, vote on community issues and are asked to support the spiritual community they now call home with a pledged monthly contribution and by contributing service to the TZC as they are able.   Intensive Training Path: Lotus Blooming in the Fire For Formal Members who are ready to fully immerse themselves in Zen training, the way forward is to join the Intensive Training Path. Characterized by a deeper commitment to working with the teachers and to regularly attending multi-day retreats (sesshins), this path is open to those who have been Formal Members of the Sangha for at least one year and have attended at least one TZC special workshop and one sesshin intensive. These members will have discussed their interest in this path and been encouraged to proceed by both Rev. Rinsen and Rev. Do’on in private interview (dokusan). They will then have expressed and clarified their intention with the Elders Council during sesshin, participated in a formal ceremony of recognition of entrance to this path, and will wear a dark blue monks work jacket (samue) publicly indicating their commitment to engaging the deep work of studying the Great Way. Intensive Training Members are required to attend at least two sesshins per year and are encouraged to attend as many TZC activities as possible. These members serve the sangha by joining the business meetings and helping with committee work. These members may return to the less intensive Formal Sangha Membership path at any time.   Jukai:Becoming a Buddhist: Rivers Merging With the Vast Ocean Depths In the ceremony of Jukai, a member makes a public vow to uphold the Buddhist precepts. These moral and ethical teachings describe the life of a Bodhisattva. Jukai is available to any Formal Member of the sangha. Those wishing to pursue Jukai will have made a formal request during private interview (dokusan). These members typically will have been a Formal Member of TZC for at least one year, regularly participate in weekly services, and will have attended at least one Sesshin and one afternoon workshop. To complete this path, the student will attend the precepts workshops and participate in a formal ceremony to state their vows publicly. They will wear the Buddha’s robe (rakusu), which they have sewn as part of the precepts workshops. This robe serves as a public indication of their commitment to upholding the ways of the Bodhisattva. contact us.