One Heart Sangha

Tag: ceremony

  • Fall Events

    Fall Events

    We are having a busy fall at One Heart Sangha.

    On October 3, we will be bearing witness to the WWII Holocaust by visiting the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington DC. Bearing witness is an important step in the Zen Peacemakers Three Tenets of Engaged Buddhism. By not knowing, setting aside our fixed notions and ideas about the Holocaust, we can bear witness to what arises in our hearts and minds as we tour the museum. The event is free, but you must register in advance. Visit the event page to learn more.

    On October 10, we will be holding a Jukai ceremony after a shortened morning Zazenkai. We are delighted to have our biggest Jukai class yet this year. Our students who are taking vows have been studying, sewing rakusus, and working on their lineage charts all year. Please join us for the morning Zazenkai, Jukai ceremony, or both. Register here.

    Finally, on Sunday, November 10 Sensei Bob will be offering a Zen Brush Art workshop. Brush art is a Japanese art form typically featuring natural subjects, Japanese characters, or traditional shapes like the circular enso. Zen brush art emphasizes spontaneity and minimalism, contrasting black ink and white paper. Learn more and sign up on the event page.

  • Reflection on the Precepts – “Capstone” Council Fire Circle

    Reflection on the Precepts – “Capstone” Council Fire Circle

    September 20 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

    Calling All Current and Former Precept Students!

    Please join the One Heart Sangha 2026 Precept Study Class to reflect on the
    Tenth Grave Precept

    I vow to honor my life as the life of a Peacemaker.

    This is the practice of Not Thinking Ill of the Three Treasures.

    I will not speak ill of The Three Treasures nor create conditions for others to do so.

    I will recognize myself and others as manifestations of Buddha,
    Dharma and Sangha.

    We we spend time in Council together reflecting in respectful interaction (in the manner of a ZPO Fire Circle) with one another on how the Precepts are alive with us, how they permeate our lives, how they challenge us to Wake Up!

    If you’ve been through Jukai, bring your experience of continuing to live with the Precepts – and for those who have been working with the Precepts this year, bring your reflections on how they have become more than words on a page.

    A calendar invitation will be sent to the OHS Sitting and Jukai groups.

  • October Morning Zazenkai and Jukai Ceremony

    October Morning Zazenkai and Jukai Ceremony

    October 10 @ 8:40 am – 3:00 pm

    • Zazenkai & Shuso Graduation Council 8:40 AM – 12:15 PM
    • Jukai and Cake 1:15 PM – 3:00 PM

    Join us for a “day of Zen” We have tea and light snacks, zazen, teisho (talks by Zen teachers), dokusan, chanting, and instruction. Arrive in time to be settled into the zendo by 8:55 AM for first bell at 9 AM.

    October’s Zazenkai will end at the lunch break. The last sitting round before the lunch break will be a Shuso Graduation Council for Elaine Taishin Thompson.

    During lunch we will transition the zendo space for the One Heart Sangha Jukai ceremony. Jukai will start at 1:15 PM.

    When you register for zazenkai, please add a free jukai ticket if you will be staying to attend the ceremony. Jukai participants are expected to attend zazenkai and should register for both. Add an additional jukai ticket for each of your guests.

    A requested donation of $40 full price / $20 discounted helps us cover costs we incur for the day.

    Register

    Washington Ethical Society

    7750 16th St NW DC 20012 + Google Map
  • Invitation to Shukke Tokudo – May 10th

    Invitation to Shukke Tokudo – May 10th

    Sensei Museidō is “Leaving (and Not Leaving) Home”

    You are cordially invited to attend the Shukke Tokudo of Sensei Rebecca Museidō on May 10, 2026. This is the Zen Buddhist ceremony of Leaving Home. This is the first step on the path of a monk (or in our White Plum Asanga tradition, a “priest”).

    For more details and directions see the Event Page

    The Significance of Shukke Tokudo

    In our Sōtō Zen tradition, Shukke Tokudo marks the moment of “leaving home,” not necessarily in a literal sense, but as a profound turning of one’s life toward the Buddha Way. It is the formal entry into priest training, grounded in the vows to awaken for the benefit of all beings.

    This ceremony is not merely symbolic; it is a living transmission of intention, discipline, and lineage. It is a vocation. Through shaving the head, receiving robes, and taking vows, the ordinand embodies a commitment to practice that is at once deeply personal and inseparable from the wider sangha. It is both a beginning and a continuation—an entry into a stream that has flowed uninterrupted for centuries.

    This year, Roshi Ed Sullivan Sangetsu of Red Rose Sangha and Sensei Jon Seichō Kenzen McCollum are honored to present the following candidates for Shukke Tokudo:

    • Sensei Rebecca Museidō Hawes

    • Dharma Holder Mike Dōshin Shanahan

    • Allison Shōkyo Ehrman

    • Davi Shōrei Hayes

    • Len Sōkai Sitnick

  • Jukai class for fall 2026

    Jukai class for fall 2026

    Sensei Rebecca is starting classes to lead regular students through precept study and preparation for Jukai. Jukai, giving and receiving the precepts, is how Zen practitioners make a commitment to upholding and maintaining the Bodhisattva Precepts and to entering the stream of the lineage of the Buddha Way.

    Over the spring and summer participants will sew their Rakusus, or Buddha’s Robe, incorporating their deep desire to practice with each stitch. They will also copy the ancestral lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha down to themselves, to indicate their place in the continuation of the Dharma stream. In our tradition students prepare a personal lineage of the people in their lives who brought them to Zen as well.

    If you are a regular attendee of either our Wednesday night sits or our Zazenkai, speak to Sensei Rebecca to learn more about jukai.

  • Tri Sangha Jukai

    Tri Sangha Jukai

    On Saturday, October 18th, One Heart Sangha hosted a “Tri-Sangha” Jukai ceremony with Teachers and Candidates from Joyful Mind Zen Community and Harbor Light Zen Sangha.

    Seven students confirmed their commitment to upholding and maintaining the Bodhisattva Precepts and to entering the stream of the lineage of the Buddha Way.

    Over the past year, each recipient hand-crafted a Rakusu, or Buddha’s Robe, incorporating their deep desire to practice with each stitch. 

    Each prepared a personal lineage of teachers that reveals what brought them to this point.

    Each copied the ancestral lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha down to themselves, to indicate their place in the continuation of the Dharma stream.

    Please welcome our newest bodhisattva cohort!

    Pictured: Precept Recipients: Susan Myoren (harbor light) | Sarah kyoshin & Mike Shinyu (joyful mind) | Cathy Yōki, Fran Kishin, Laura Kyohan & Michelle Myōshin (one heart)

    Seated Teachers: Jingen Sensei, Taikai Sensei, Museido Sensei, Kūhai Sensei, Shiho Sensei