#tokudo

A week ago Sunday was ordination day.  The lead-up, like any good quest required preparation, gathered the community and involved physical transformation.  By the end of the day, my head was bare, I had new clothes, a new name and the sense of having given it all.  My head was a buzz (on the inside -- I'm not talking about the haircut). 

What does it all mean in the end?  Being that I am already part of a small community, and the first novice priest, what it means is not written out as it might be in a community full of conventions.

In truth, however, each of us must, as Rumi said, "unfold our own myths" & in this way, I must unfold mine.  Just a few photos from the ceremony follow. 

But do not be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth,  without complicated explanations, so everyone will understand the passage,  We have opened you...

Unfold your own myth

Who gets up early to discover the moment light begins?

Who finds us here circling, bewildered like atoms?

Who comes to a spring thirsty

and sees the moon reflected in it?

Who like Jacob, blind with grief and age,

smells the shirt of his lost son and can see again?

Who lets a bucket down and brings up a flowing prophet?

Or, like Moses, goes for fire and finds what burns inside the sunrise?

Jesus slips into a house to escape enemies

and opens a door to the other world.

Solomon cuts open a fish, and there is a gold ring.

Omar storms in to kill the Prophet and leaves with blessings.

Chase a deer and end up everywhere.

An oyster opens his mouth to swallow one drop.

Now there is a pearl.

A vagrant wanders empty ruins.

Suddenly he is wealthy.

But do not be satisfied with stories,

how things have gone with others.

Unfold your own myth, 

without complicated explanations,

so everyone will understand the passage, 

We have opened you.

Start walking toward Shams, the teacher, the sun.

Your legs will get heavy and tired.

Then comes a moment of feeling the wings you have grown, lifting.

-Rumi, Coleman Barks, Trans. The Big Red Book

The last couple of weeks have felt a bit like a whirlwind! I have some supplies in hand (bowls, some fabric, reading materials) other supplies on their way (clothes that go under the robe I'm sewing).  I started sewing my Okesa yesterday. I took it to class & invited a couple of students (after class) to help me out, & sew their wishes for all beings into my robe. I love the many hands being part of this!

I also caught my cat "helping" this morning... [ahem] 

Sending out invitations caught me right in a challenge space.  I prefer to do things in private, to keep the things that matter to me close.  Going 'public' has not been my way.  REALLY.  NOT.

AND, sometimes it's not about my personal preferences, sometimes it's not about what I like.  Sometimes it's not even about me (gasp).  With the responses I've received, I see clearly that ceremonies yes, touch something very personal, perhaps acting as a capstone for past work, & hopefully a catalyst for future work for those directly involved, but they also serve a purpose for the wider community.  We see ourselves reflected in each other, & step into more of our own fullness when we witness others doing so.