Glossary
Dharma: teachings
Dojo: in Zen this is the Zendo or place of practice
Dokusan: personal and private interview with the teacher
Gassho: bowing - a practice of gratitude
Ino: Retreat leader, chant leader
Jikki Jitsu: Retreat Leader, timekeeper - uses bell and clappers, and leads kinhin
Jisha: Retreat Leader, liaison between teacher and students esp for dokusan and also in charge of housekeeping issues
Kentan: Silent, 2 way greeting between teacher and students, during the first meditation period in the morning
Kinhin: walking practice
Koans: a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story used in meditation to illuminate our lives
Mudra: hand gesture/ position
Raihai: ritual bowing and vows
Roshi: zen teacher
Sangha: community of practitioners, any community, all community
Sensei: apprentice teacher
Sesshin: to touch, receive and convey the heart-mind; silent Zen retreat.
Shikantaza: "Just sitting", no counting, no koan, just this
Sutras: Buddhist scripture, discourses attributed to Buddha
Tanto: Retreat leader, in charge of the zendo and your needs during practice
Teisho: formal dharma talk given by a teacher
Zazen: seated practice
Zazenkai: half-day gathering with zazen, kinhin and/or dharma talk
Zendo: place where the way of Zen is practised
The rituals we use in Zen are ancient. Some of them hark back a thousand years or more. They are designed to deepen our experience. As they originate from ancient China and Japan they may seem strange at first. However, they have their own beauty and wonder, and often express vividly what cannot be expressed in words.
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