FORMAL PRACTICE PATH
Formal Practice Path Is Not for Everyone
Zen is for everyone, as Sensei often said. But formal recognition may not be. Offering a formal practice path is not the same as suggesting that anyone should pursue it. How one actualizes the Zen life is a personal matter. One’s practice is not made more genuine by the trappings of formality. The establishment of genuine Zen practice should be the personal goal of the individual member, and supporting that effort is the central objective of a Zen community.
Students and practitioners of STO network may not wish to pursue a formal path to become either lay teacher or priest. The program offered by STO is directed primarily to lay practice, as our Founder believed this to be the future of Zen in America. All members of the STO sangha are presently engaged in living lives of family, career, and social engagement.
Those who make the commitment to formal training do so in order to serve the sangha. Those who pursue more formal stages of training take on greater responsibility — not to be confused with greater status — within the sangha.
Stages of Training
The stages of training available through STO begin with training as a Newcomer, and the option of becoming an Initiate. Initiation (Jap. Jukai), is open to anyone who is sincerely interested in practicing Zen. This is a personal choice, not a formal stage of training, but is considered a prerequisite for undertaking either lay ordination (Jap. Zaike Tokudo), or priest ordination (Jap. Shukke Tokudo). Vestment (wagesa).
Zen Lay Teacher Certification
STO is a lay practice lineage, and honors that legacy by establishing a Lay Teacher certification, credentialing those who choose this path for teaching Zen Buddhism, and authorizing them to perform such ceremonies for others. In this way, STO fosters robust practice for the layperson who maintains a household and other social obligations.
Zen Priest Transmission
With the mainstreaming of Zen in America, and the formal recognition of STO’s founder, offering full transmission as a Zen Priest has become possible, if not a necessity, credentialing those who choose this path for living the example of Zen Buddhism, and enhancing Zen training by authorizing others. In this way, STO opens wide the gate for those who are willing and able to commit to a deep level of service to the Zen community.
To learn more about the formal practice path, download the following document:
