Original Root Zen Center

Celebrating Buddha’s Enlightenment: Q&A with Master Teacher Linda Somlai

Graceful. Joyous. How can I help you?
These three phrases are how Master Teacher Linda Somlai described Buddha’s Enlightenment, which the Original Root Zen Center will celebrate on Sunday, Dec. 13. Here are her answers to several questions about the tradition, and how we celebrate it. (Questions asked by Janine Anderson)

Q: What is Buddha’s Enlightenment?
A: It is when we Buddhists celebrate the traditional and historic Buddha’s moment of awakening. When he has been sitting for six years and looked up at the morning star and had a realization.
It’s not so much that we celebrate his realization, but the face that he taught and pointed that we all have the ability to wake up.
That really true connection is what brings us to such joy and happiness in wanting to celebrate this. As humans, that connects us to our biggest hope, the ability to wake up and function as loving beings.

Q: Why are precepts taken at this time?
A: It isn’t particularly traditional, since precepts may be taken any time of year. It seems like a natural connection when someone stepa forward and says I’m willing to share this practice path. They publicly vow to “just try.” It’s an incredible thing to celebrate.

Q: Each preceptor gets a pin, with a Chinese character on it – for example, Love for Pathfinders, Peace for Peacekeeper Teachers, Effort for Teachers in Training, Truth for Reverend Teachers. What do those words point to?
A: When we were looking at the different ways people could become a member of our community, we wanted to have it be as wide as the places the members came from.
We wanted to pick a word that could possibly guide their effort if they got confused, which we all get. You could look back to your vows, back to the promise, and let that word guide your practice. There are practice medicines for each of us in difficult times. We wanted to stay with the Chinese character so we wouldn’t think too much, just use it as a guide.

Q: Why do we give gifts?
A: We come from a culture that so wants to fix things that are wrong. Our practice says we are complete and perfect just as we are. It’s much better to give a gift than try to fix somebody. Complete and perfect means that we can always try. And I think that’s what we’re celebrating in each other on Enlightenment Day. That’s why usually some kind of practice present for the Zen Center. Two new crescent cushions appeared from the Do-Gam. We were all so excited about those two new cushions. I get very happy seeing that energy in the community. And (giving gifts) brings such joy to each other.

Q: Each year we have a Buddha’s Enlightenment poem. Why is that?
A: When the community gathers for celebrating events, there’s always a teaching from Master Teachers, Senior Teachers, the Abbot, and particularly for our more traditional celebrations, it’s done in the form of a poem. And here at ORZC, that word “poem” is used very loosely and widely.

Q: Preceptors, and members of the community who wish to join in, receive a small burn on the inside of their arm. Why is that?
A: It goes way back in our history and it’s now the very smallest touch of the end of an incense stick that has been lit and burned out. In that moment of incense touching your skin, your mind is completely burn and ouch. It brings you completely into the present. We can use this experience to reflect that we are moment-to-moment beings.
We do not need to be pulled and tossed about by the attachment to our own thinking. We can let it go just as easily as that moment of skin burn.

Q: Why do we come together to celebrate Buddha’s Enlightenment?
A: This is our most natural way of functioning. We just think we are individual and separate beings. And of course, we are, otherwise we’d be landing in each others’ laps all the time. At our most sparkling best we realize if you hurt, I hurt, if you’re joyous, I’m joyous. That transcends even the physicality of being in the same room and the same place.
Plus, we have good potluck.

Janine Anderson is a Teacher-in-training at ORZC.