The commitment is made

 Last week I participated in the ceremony of Jukai, or receiving the precepts, into a Soto Zen sangha. So that makes me a Buddhist, it is done. 

As part of the ceremony, the 16 Bodhisattva precepts are accepted, and as physical signs of that commitment, the Buddhas robe, in the form of the Rakusu, and paperwork outlining the bloodline, are received. I may put some thoughts down regarding these precepts, and it may be of interest to think about how they interact with the A.'.A.'. work that I did previously. Is this a continuation of that work, or a deviation? I'm not sure yet, but no matter. 

For a long time now my practice, if you can call it that, has been just sitting. Philosophically, I'm disinclined to philosophize actually, I don't find it helps deal with the very real problem of life and death. Buddhism on the other hand, especially Zen, is about what is, the here and now, and how we live in this very moment, it is akin to stoicism in this sense, and a far cry from the frivolity of metaphysical doodling entailed in the Qaballah, occultism, Christianity, or any of the other -isms I've delved into, all of which were sweet to the taste but ultimately devoid of nutritional value. 

So I'm going to think about a series of posts about the precepts, and may even try to approach other aspects of the practice, but being a very new practitioner (although I've been sitting for several years now) I don't plan on trying to do more than express my experience with Shikantaza style zazen, and with trying to maintain the precepts in my daily life.