In addition to meditation and ethical precepts, our spiritual tradition includes study. As we study the full Sunday’s chanting service, we learn about the teachings, as well as the teaching lineage that we inherit in this sangha. You notice that we chant in English, Pali and Sino-Japanese. This helps us get a sense of the sound, the music in the ear and the rhythms in the body of these traditional chants. These forms are universally chanted, so that we can join in should we travel to other Zen centers. The service is part of our White Plum lineage practice of Zen, and reminds us of the specific cultures that the Dharma comes down to us through. For instance, in the full service on a Sunday, the ancestors’ names include our Indian, Chinese, Japanese and American forebearers. Becoming familiar with them over time, we can appreciate the length and breadth of our Dharma family that threads all the way back to Shakyamuni Buddha. Chanting their names we get to know them, as we also encounter stories about them. We may even feel particular affinities with one or another ancestor. This is one way that we study and deepen our sense of belonging, as we are embraced by the beginningless vow to awaken with all beings.
