JUKAI Ceremony -- Sunday, April 25, 1999, 10:30 AM -- Zen Desert Sangha -- Tucson, AZ -- Joe Montani

The Three Refuges:

I take refuge in the Buddha...Teacher Shakyamuni, whom we wish to know intimately as the Tathagatha.

I take refuge in the Dharma...Keep us healthy and free.

I take refuge in the Sangha...We have found alignment in each others' magnetic field; let us proceed, through TRUE north, to our common goal.

The Three Pure Precepts:

I vow to maintain the precepts...These Ways of a Buddha are the on-ramp to the Buddhaway.

I vow to practice all good dharmas...Our many practices keep us awake so we may rest in our True Nature.

I vow to save the many beings...One drop of the ocean tastes like and is not separate from the whole great sea.

The Ten Grave Precepts:

I take up the Way of Not Killing... The line between Night and Day comes quickly enough for all.

I take up the Way of Not Stealing...If we agree on what is the difference between you and I, then let that also be the difference between our stuff.

I take up the Way of Not Misusing Sex...STEALING someone's heart away is yet another case of stealing.

I take up the Way of Not Speaking Falsely...The Path of Liberation is not a way of calculation and hiding.

I take up the Way of Not Giving or Taking Drugs...Body and mind have an energy all their own; Drugs have a body and mind of their own: Be careful!

I take up the Way of Not Discussing the Faults of Others...In seeing others, I am already 200 miles off-course; In seeing a fault, all hands are lost.

I take up the Way of Not Praising Myself While Abusing Others......If Comparisons are odious, then how much moreso are Contrasts. -- OR: -- With a fulcrum like that, and with such an unsound lever, this is the kind of leverage that otherwise lands one straight in Hell.

I take up the Way of Not Sparing the Dharma Assets...The Light of the Dharma cannot be hidden under a bushel, except by ME.

I take up the Way of Not Indulging in Anger...Storms come and storms go, naturally; for God's sake, don't put an anchor or a saddle on one.

I take up the Way of Not Defaming the Three Treasures...Why tell lies about our Home and Ourselves?

Pat Hawk Roshi was the Precepts Master for Joe, and has given Joe the dharma name Tennen ("Natural").
(From Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen, Joe has the dharma name Guo-Xiang ("Result-Form") dating from 12/1997, and first took the precepts in 5/1979).
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