Racine Buddhists celebrate
enlightenment
By David Steinkraus, The Journal
Times, Dec 11, 2006
RACINE, Wisconsin (USA) -- When you're a growing
religion, you get more space. The Original Root Zen Center isn't
close to erecting a megachurch with a few acres of parking lot. But
this year, on Sunday night, it traded its cramped second-floor room
at the DeKoven Center for the Great Hall as the venue for its
enlightenment ceremony.
The ceremony marks the day, actually the morning, when Siddhartha
Gautama became a Buddha, which means someone who has
awakened.
"It seems like the last few years we've had a few more young people
starting," said Linda Somlai, who with her husband Tony serves as
abbot of the center. There are four new babies in the center's
membership, she said. The youngsters are brought to meditation,
too, and while that may seem a distraction, it isn't; Somlai said
the meditators have learned to accept that different sound.
Part of the Enlightenment Day ceremony involved those new members.
They stood and recited their precepts, a list of promises made to
the community about their practice of Buddhism. It's not necessary,
Somlai said. Some people have attended the center for 15 years
without doing so.
But it was something that Darin and Bethany Zimpel wanted to do.
Darin didn't have a faith before joining the center. Bethany
did.
"My whole life, ever since I had a class in college, I've been
interested in Buddhism," said Darin, 39. He felt like a Buddhist,
agreed with the teachings he knew of, but never acted.
"There was a lot of death in my family about a year ago, and it
kind of got me looking for something deeper," Darin said. His voice
broke a bit and Bethany took his hand. "And I found this. It makes
sense. It just makes sense."
"And as soon as we came to the Zen Center, everything just
clicked," he said. To go somewhere where peace and love and caring
is the main concern, that's just such a wonderful thing."
Bethany, 36, was raised Catholic but didn't practice. She connected
with some Christian teachings, such as the importance of helping
others. "I never identified with that faith base where you're doing
something for a certain outcome for yourself."
When Darin decided to attend the center, he asked her to come with
him. "I had spiritual beliefs, but never put a name to them. When I
came to the Zen Center I said `that is exactly what I've been
following and what I believe in.' " So they stood and publicly made
their promises. In their case it was five vows (more advanced
practitioners add to that list) to develop compassion, transform
suffering into love and peace, help all beings, heal and nourish
those in need, and extinguish desire, anger and ignorance.
There were many bows, of course, bows tipping the body forward from
the waist and bows in which participants knelt and touched their
heads to the floor. There was a golden figure of the Buddha at the
front of the room, but all the bowing didn't make the statue an
object of devotion, Linda Somlai explained to the audience.
"When we bow, it's not to an icon or a deity," she said. "When we
do bow, it's an act of humility."
The statue is not even really a person; it's a mirror, Tony Somlai
said.
"That's a reflection of who we're supposed to be."
Original Root Zen
Center