The Zoom link to participate in this event will be provided at least 24 hours before it begins. Please call 415-354-0360 if you have any questions.
Three Thursdays, October 16–30, 7–8:30 pm PT, Online
Many regional expressions of Buddhism have at least one annual spirit ceremony, to provide for and remember relatives who have passed on. Sometimes these ceremonies include unknown spirits and those in need who may be unknown to us. At San Francisco Zen Center, we hold an annual ceremony that has emerged and evolved from elements of the Japanese Obon festival, but which has aligned on the calendar with Day of the Dead and All Souls’ Day events that are part of the Christian cycle of observances.
At San Francisco Zen Center and related sanghas, memorial and spirit-focused ceremonies continue to be popular and moving for those involved. Even in the cultural context of the U.S.—rooted so deeply in scientific materialism—these old folkways clearly still speak to our human experience. By exploring this particular ceremony, we’ll have the opportunity to pick up threads of traditional attitudes on filial piety, modernizing impulses in Buddhism and the West, changing attitudes and beliefs about spirits and ghosts, and the history of Buddhist folk practices.
In this three-part course, we’ll look at:
- The history of Buddhist teachings and ceremonies related to spirits, ghosts, and the departed
- The details of the Sejiki ceremony, as it’s practiced at San Francisco Zen Center
- Considerations and suggestions for engaging with spirit-practices in your own life
The final class will be an online Sejiki ceremony, co-created by the class participants.
The main text for this class is SFZC’s text for the Sejiki ceremony:
- https://www.sfzc.org/files/daily_sutras_Gate_of_Sweet_Dew
- https://www.sfzc.org/files/daily_sutras_Kan_Ro_Mon
- As well as this script for the ceremony, as performed at a small, local sangha: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YzcH-suouT0b1OhcJPxX0SiCeENadAu7/view?usp=sharing
Excerpts may also be referred to from:
- Conjuring the Buddha by Jacob Dalton
- The Shamanic Bones of Zen by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
- Buddhist Magic by Sam van Schaik
Recordings:
All course sessions will be recorded, and registered participants will receive temporary access to the recordings for later viewing.
- Sustaining Level: $126
- Member (Become an SFZC Member): $113
- Sliding Scale 1: $76
- Sliding Scale 2: $32
- Current SFZC residents and qualified SFZC retirees may attend this course for free. To register, please email onlineprograms@sfzc.org at least 72 hours before the program begins.
Or call 415-354-0360.