Sejiki Ceremony

Sejiki is a popular Buddhist festival that high­lights the connection between our world and the worlds of spirits. At BZC, we offer it as a sort of Buddhist Halloween. The ceremony is a mixture of spooky and solemn—there will be costumes and noisemakers, but we will also recite the names of departed friends and family and make offerings to appease our own hungry ghosts. This year’s Sejiki ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 27. To allow preparation time for the ceremony, we will not be having early morning zazen or breakfast. Instead, we will begin with a work period at 8:30 a.m. to prepare our temple for the cere­mony. The formal program will start with zazen at 9:40, followed by a short lecture, and then the ceremony at 10:15.
Both children and adults are encouraged to participate, to wear costumes and bring noise-makers. If you bring your children, please come directly to the zendo at 10:15, as there is no childrens’ program before that time. Please direct any questions about children’s participa­tion to Hannah Meara: hmeara@gmail.com.
For more information about the program, please contact Carol Paul at 510-206-5051 or caroljpaul@yahoo.com. You can also give Carol names of departed ones to be recited during the ceremony of whom we might not be aware or if you will not be able to attend.