Ceremonies and rituals have always accompanied humanity. They were an expression of homage to something greater than man, the existence of which our ancestors had long sensed. Sometimes it was the Sun, the forces of nature, sometimes a mythical divinity representing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although ceremonies are not the essence of Zen practice, which is always zazen, they are nevertheless present. This sometimes surprises beginners, who associate them with faith, religion or the worship of a God or deity. Since in Zen there is no faith in Buddha as God, before whom and what do we bow, chant, burn incense and make offerings? The Buddha symbolises above all our own awakening nature, the foundation of our being, the nature of all beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ceremonies generally take place after communal zazen and before meals. The chants are accompanied by various instruments, such as the mokugyo - a kind of wooden 'metronome' used to mark the rhythm, a drum to give energy or a gong to underline the important moments of the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the communal chanting and during the prostrations, we harmonise with each other, expressing our gratitude for the gifts we receive every day, such as food - spiritual food, in other words the teachings, as well as material food. Thanks to the efforts of countless beings, we are able to live and practise, which is why, during ceremonies, we symbolically offer them all the merits resulting from our meditation. Such an attitude develops generosity, humility, gratitude and benevolence within us, and our selfish tendencies are gradually weakened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although there is nothing 'sacred' about Zen, for those who practise the Way of Zen, every place is sacred; it is a place of the Way, which each of us is. The ceremony is therefore not limited to the Dharma Hall. Every daily activity, lived with attention, with total involvement of body and mind in what we are doing at the moment, is a ceremony.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Les c\u00e9r\u00e9monies et les rituels ont toujours accompagn\u00e9 l’humanit\u00e9. Ils \u00e9taient l’expression d’un hommage \u00e0 quelque chose de plus grand que l’homme, dont nos anc\u00eatres pressentaient l’existence depuis longtemps. Parfois […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zen"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n