Daily Devotion
Zen ritual, like most things Zen, is pretty bare-bones. Still when I moved away from the center where I had been practicing, I found myself missing it. I had been looking for a way to bring some ritual into my daily life without cluttering things up too much. I felt this need more greatly after the move. In some of my reading I found again and again that though Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, there is a necessary devotional component which is an inherent part of the process of personal awakening.
The book: Bringing the Sacred to Life: The Daily Practice of Zen Ritual by John Daido Loori, spiritual leader and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery outlines a simple set of rituals which can be used at home. Nothing complicated or overly involved,just a basic home practice which is just what I was looking for. I have been using it now for about a month and it fills the need I have of bringing some sense of the sacred into my daily life, without making it overly “religious”.
A quote from the book says it: “Zen ritual is a way of acknowledging and celebrating the sacredness in all things.”
You may be able to find it at your local library (or ask them to order it), local bookstore or order it through Amazon:
Price: USD 10.36
31 used & new available from USD 3.94
Further reading:
More about ritual at About.com.
Atheism and Buddhism — Buddhism as an Atheistic Religion scroll down to “The Roll of Devotion”.
Everyday Life is The Practice at Shambala Sun.
