Ordination of Rev Bhanu

Welcome everybody.

Chris, Rob, and, uh, other people I can't see even with my new glasses on.

Ellie, Ellie, and Ben. Oh no, sorry, someone else saying— someone else on Ben's phone.

Well, welcome. Welcome if you're in person, if you're online, welcome if you're watching YouTube later. We're here to share somebody's practice together and also to ordain Dave into the order, into the Brighter Buddhist Order. Ordination, obviously a tradition that goes back 2,500 years to the Buddha, who ordained just a couple of people, you know, and then since then it's spread across the whole world. In The Shamanic Bones, Zen Zenju Bathin Manuel Osho writes that transmission, which— so in Zen Buddhism, you— there's various stages of ordination. You become ordained as a novice priest, and at some point you receive transmission where they say, I am almost like I'm giving you the whole of the Dharma, and now you can go forth and give other people the whole of the Dharma. An ordination is a sort of version of that. And she writes about that process of transmission as being a shamanic process, as if there is— as if awakening— well, not as if— that awakening has been handed down from Buddha Shakyamuni, from Buddha Shakyamuni's teachers, to Buddha Shakyamuni, to Ananda, Mahākāśipāti, you know, or Mahāprajñāpatī, all the Buddha's disciples, or their disciples, or their disciples. Like there is a flame that is handed down, and there is some truth to that. When we are around somebody who has got a lot of Buddha nature in them, self-nature in Ayatthaya language, it draws that qual— it draws those qualities out of us. If we're around somebody who is wise and compassionate, those things are more likely to rise to the surface in our own systems. And the idea of transmission is that there's almost— there's almost something magical that happens where you go, and here it is, suddenly you're full of that. In Pure Land Buddhism, the idea of transmission from teacher to disciple is less strong because the important relationship is between the practitioner and Amida Buddha, who is in the universe, who is in our hearts, who is, who is this vast, infinitely wise, infinitely compassionate force that doesn't just live in any one person but is available all the time anywhere. The Buddha's light is unimpeded, which means, you know, it goes through everything. There's nothing that can stand in its way. So wherever you are, that wisdom and compassion of Amida's light is available. So in Pure Land Buddhism, we don't have transmission, we have shinjin, which is awakening to the Buddha's light, to knowing the Buddha's light. So in some ways you might say, oh, what, the ordination is just a sort of signpost to that experience? It's just a bit of window dressing that we do to sort of confirm this person has had that shin— but what, two things? One, this person has had that shinjin experience, that awakening of faith and awakening of wisdom. And two, that they've gone through a process of training that means they're sort of qualified, you know, enough, because we're all foolish beings, to become a minister and do the work of being a minister. In the world, and that this is just a sort of drama that we do to let people know about it. And from one point of view, that's true, like the important things have already happened in the heart of the ordinate and in the training of the ordinate. But that isn't the whole story, because there is still something of that shamanic magic that happens during the ceremony, even though We mostly talk about this as a confirmation of something. It is also a process— going through this ritual is also a process of transformation. There is something that changes in the ceremony. There is a magic that happens. There is something that is given and received. So both of those things are true. It is both a confirmation and a celebration of what has come before, and it is also an initiation. It is a transmission. It is a moment of transformation as well. So that's what's happening this morning.

Namaste to you.

So before we move into the ceremony, we'll have some quiet time and you can sit with those words and sit with the Buddha, and we'll do some chanting as we usually do, and then we will finish with some vows. As this morning is an ordination ceremony, all the Buddhas are especially present to support us. I feel that Medicine Buddha is particularly asking if they can be here today, so we will chant for the Medicine Buddha. The words are on your liturgy sheet if you don't know them. They are Taya Tah Om Begun Jin Bacon J. Maha Bacon J. Ratsa Samutgate So.

Thai.

Ekam je, ekam je, maha vekam je, rasa samudgat siso ha. Satya Robyn, ekam je, ekam je, maha vekam je, rasa samudgat siso ha.

Ministers, will please stand. I'd just like to, before you start, um, just, um, welcome the people that really wanted to be here but couldn't be here, especially Pema, who's depositing her son into his new life in Poland, and people that would have been here to support you, Dave, if they could have. And also just feeling grateful to everyone who's been in connection with Bright Earth over the years and with the Bida order, that if it wasn't for all of those people, we wouldn't be here in our current form. So just wanting to send blessings to all of them, invite them to be somehow a part of this ceremony if they want to be.

So as you know, today we're ordaining Dave as a Bright Earth minister, giving him his new Buddhist name. And, um, it says here, say a bit about ordination, but it also said that at the beginning, so just remember what I said earlier. Uh, so as you know, Dave joined us a few years ago and moved into the community because His then partner wanted to live in spiritual community, and he thought like, oh, maybe, yeah, maybe that's a good idea. And then something caught, uh, some faith caught faith in Amida Buddha and drawn by that light deeper and deeper into this community, into the Buddhist tradition, into spiritual practice into his own heart and his own heart opening. I know, you know, the process of being a trainee means going through the book groups, examining your ethical behavior, learning about Buddhist history, being able to speak about Buddhist history, being able to join up Buddhist philosophy with your lived experience. I know there was a particularly powerful moment in reading Nagarjuna's book, Promise of the Sacred World, that just sort of— well, maybe that was when the Shinjin was, right? So all of these different causes and conditions coming together, you know, that Nagarjuna is a— Nagarjuna is an important Buddhist teacher. Nagarjuna has put this Promise of the Sacred World, but he's also an important Buddhist teacher from a different Buddhist community. Yeah, a whole— not just, you know, we often speak about a lineage of teachers, which speaks of a line, you know, that's where the word lineage comes from. And yet I love the image from Tree Ratna of the refuge tree because it isn't a line actually, it's more like a web of teachers. And inspiration and dharma that's all around us. And today we're in the center of that web. Everyone's in the center of that web, right? That's how the internet metaphor works. Every jewel is the center and reflects every other jewel. But as Satya Robyn said, the Buddhas are paying special attention to this room this morning.

That might need to be We want to make water offerings. Sprinkled throughout 3,000 worlds, though its nature is clear and without form, its virtues benefit all living beings, cleansing offenses and severing faults. The Dharma rain waters the lotus. We dedicate this water to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. We call on their presence to witness our ceremony.

Is the community assembled?

Yes, the community is assembled.

Is Amida Buddha present in the community?

Yes, Amida Buddha is present in the community.

For what reason is the community assembled today?

The community is assembled to ordain Dave Smith as a minister in the Brighter Buddhist Order.

Let us proceed. Dave, please approach the shrine.

As we see Amida Buddha and ourselves more clearly, faith and contrition arise together. We will now ask Dave to recite the sanghaemon, the verse of contrition. Satya Robyn.

I now entirely repent all harmful actions I have perpetrated in the past, arising from beginningless greed, anger, and delusion, manifested through body, speech, and mind.

Our ceremony is the reaffirmation of our vocation. Amida Buddha and the Pure Land are beyond human comprehension.

They are limitless love itself.

We entrust ourselves completely to the unimpeded light and pray that all may become aware of its completely encompassing presence. Bright Earth ministers help to create the conditions in which people are more likely to wake up to spiritual reality. We champion Engaged Buddhism, we have an emphasis on Ecological Buddhism, and we encourage spiritual practice in our everyday lives. We are in service to the Dharma. We understand that we are spiritually equal to others. We will also find ourselves in positions of responsibility where people who may be vulnerable will look up to us and trust us.

Therefore, we take our role seriously.

We hope to empower others to find their own connection with the infinite.

We aim to remain humble and aware of our limitations whilst recognizing the value of our training and experience. We also aim to live grounded, meaningful, and happy lives, becoming role models through refuge in the Three Jewels and Four Refuges. Shinran said, the light of compassion illuminates us from afar. Those beings it reaches, it is taught, attain joy of Dharma. So take refuge in Amida, the great consolation.

Dave, is it your wish to be ordained as a minister in the Bright Earth Buddhist Order?

Yes, indeed.

So Dave will now reconfirm his vows and precepts. So I'll lead those in the same way that we do, like on a Saturday or Wednesday evening, but just Dave will respond this morning. So please repeat after me. For refuge I go to the Buddha.

For refuge I go to the Buddha.

The one who is awake and full of love.

The one who's awakened from all— Namo Buddhaia! For refuge I go to the Dharma.

All that guides us to wisdom and compassion.

Namodhamaya.

For refuge I go to the Sangha. Those who live in the Buddhist light. For refuge I go to the Earth.

For refuge I go to the Earth.

The holy ground of awakening.

The holy ground of awakening.

Namobhumyay.

Namobhumyay.

Please bow. With faith in the Three Jewels.

With faith in the Three Jewels.

And in light of our human tendencies.

And in light of our human tendencies.

I pray that I may become aware—

—of when I take life.

Of when I take life.

I pray that I may become aware—

of when I take what is not freely given.

When I take what is not freely given. I pray that I may become aware—

I pray that I may come away— from sexual misconduct. From my fall into sexual misconduct.

I pray that I may become aware— I pray that I may become aware of when I fall into wrong speech.

When I fall into wrong speech. I pray that I may become aware— I pray that I may become aware of when I become intoxicated.

When I become intoxicated.

Please bow. Now the, uh, master will lead you in the Bodhisattva vows. Innumerable sentient beings, we vow to save them all. Inexhaustible deluded passions, we vow to transform them all.

Immeasurable are the Dharma teachings, we vow to master them all.

Infinite is the Buddha's way, we vow to follow it completely.

Peace be upon you.

Now, Dave, if you'll please recite the prayer to Amitabha.

From my heart, I bow to Amitabha, the embodiment of love and compassion. From now until I reach enlightenment, hook me with your great love and kindness to liberate me.

So now, if the congregation would remain seated, that Dave will make prostrations as we usually do, and if you could join the chanting.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

So if you would like to kneel, and we will now, um, proceed to We're naming Dave with a regatta, and before we place the regatta on Dave, we incense it, which means that the incense kind of puts blessings over it.

I have reconfirmed my vows and precepts and my dedication to the Bodhisattva path.

I'm going to bring you your envelope here with your new name in it, sign of the transformation. See, when people like awards ceremonies open envelopes, they don't know what's going to be written on this. Well, I do know what's— it's nice to have a little ritual. So Dave, from this moment forward in the Buddhist community and wherever else you would like to use your name, you should be known as Banu, which means radiant, luminous, ray of light. Namaste.

I vow to be a conduit for the Dharma, to seek out and embrace the Dharma in all its manifestations, and to share the Dharma with my fellow practitioners and all who would wish to hear it.

Please now stand and bow to our newly confirmed minister.

Having realized true interesting, majestic, and boundless by the working of unhindered light, the ice of blind passion melts without fail to instantly become the water of enlightenment.

As when Dharmakara made his vows to create the Pure Land and become a Buddha, the entire earth now shakes in 6 ways, and a rain of wonderful flowers falls from heaven, scattering everywhere. Spontaneous music is heard, and a voice in the sky says, 'Surely you will attain the highest perfect awakening.' From the Pure Land Sutra.

Bhanni's ordination as a minister of the Bright Earth Buddhist Order. This concludes. Namaste. That's all the bells. Just when you thought it was over, just one more bell. So we now can greet the new minister cordially, which means give them a hug. Ameen.