Taking the Precepts

Rinsen thought that it would be nice for me to post a few words on my recent experience of taking the Precepts with Jundo Cohen, the teacher at the online Treeleaf sangha. So, here goes!
We started our preparations for jukai (taking the Precepts) back in September last year. Jundo used Aitken Roshi's The Mind of Clover as the main text for our online discussions, supplemented with a variety of other materials. I'm more of a "lurker" than a "poster" on blogs and discussion boards, so it was often a bit of a challenge for me to participate in conversation . . . but it was great to share ideas and reflections with other voices literally across the world. Jundo shaped the experience in other ways, too, with metta practice, samu (work practice), and opportunities to interact directly with him through webcams. We also worked together sewing a rakusu, with Jundo filming lessons on sewing by Rev. Taigu. I don't have a lot of sewing experience (some buttons, maybe!), so the rakusu was a challenging and genuinely humbling experience that was, in itself, true practice: sewing meditation! Our jukai ceremony took place just a couple of weeks ago - it's recorded on Jundo's blog - and was a truly remarkable and unforgettable experience I shared with people from Japan, China, Israel, Germany, Sweden, England, Spain . . .
I also received a dharma name from Jundo, though I was very happy to discover that Jundo and Rinsen had collaborated on it. Jundo gave me the name "Monsho"; "Mon" means "literary" and "Sho" means "bell" . . . and anyone who attended the TZC retreat in December knows exactly why Rinsen helped pick this out for me!
It's hard to capture in words how much the experience of taking the Precepts means to me. But, because so many of my fellow precept-takers in (on?) Treeleaf have the online sangha as their only connection with practice, I am often reminded how grateful I am for everyone in the Toledo sangha: Jundo and Rinsen, Treeleaf and the TZC - I'm very happy to have the best of both worlds!
Gassho,
Simon.