Category Archives: Jukai / Precepts

On the practice and making a Rakusu

I’ve had a pattern for a Rakusu for many years now; for as many years as I have been practising (on and off). I‘ve made a more determined effort to commit to this practice ever since my father passed away just over two years ago. He was someone who appreciated his life on a moment to moment basis. I never heard him complain about his life, and he’d had some pretty tough times growing up in Liverpool during the Second World War. He had no Zen training, and yet he was always appreciative of his life, a cup of tea, turning on a tap and having instant hot water; I remember him commenting on such simple acts and I would be puzzled; now I smile at such memories. He was always satisfied and contented with simple pleasures and always seemed to go with the flow of his life. I learned a lot from my dad.

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