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North
Coast Buddhist Sangha Library |
KUMEIDO
You are all warmly invited to the formal opening ceremony (Kaitanshiki) of Kumeido / Little River Zen Center on October 29th at 3 P.M. The ceremony will be followed by a pot luck dinner celebration. All are welcomeÉchildren included. A little more than a year ago, many of you attended the dedication
ceremony for Kumeido, a community ritual in which we dedicated our land and
barn for sacred use as a retreat center and place for meditation practice and spiritual
exploration. Now the Reverend Gengo Akiba
Roshi, Bishop of Soto Zen in North America, will be performing the
formal opening ceremony to designate Kumeido as an official American Zen Center. He will be bringing with him from
Japan a statue of Manjushri which he will install in the Meditation Hall
(Zendo) at Kumeido. The
statue of Manjushri riding upon a lion held by a lotus can be found in all Zen
Centers around the world.
Manjushri is both an historical figure and a symbol of an enlightened
being (bodhisattva) who is
motivated by compassion and seeks enlightenment for him/herself but also for
everyone else. Manjushri carries
a sword of discriminating wisdom that cuts away delusion, aversion and
longing to reveal understanding,
equanimity and a compassionate heart. Please join us for this important ceremony and please bring a dish
to share afterwards. |
