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News
Karen DeCotis Ordained a Lay Teacher
Karen DeCotis was ordained a lay teacher in the Soto Zen tradition at a wonderful ceremony June 7, 2003 at the Berkeley Zen Center. Karen has been a student of Abbot Sojun Mel Weitsman and an active participant at the Berkeley Zen Center for many years. She lived and practiced at Green Gulch and Tassajara, both practice places of the San Francisco Zen Center. In May 2002 Karen moved to the Gallatin Valley and began to participate with the Bozeman Zen Group.
Sojun Mel Weitsman and members of the San Francisco Zen Center have worked for years to appropriately acknowledge dedicated lay teachers. Some lay teachers have been ordained as priests, but priests in Zen Buddhism are traditionally those who renounce householder life to lead a monastic life. Sojun Roshi decided to acknowledge lay teachers without priest ordination and asked Karen to sew a green rakusu. At the formal ordination ceremony Karen was give her green rakusu and granted permission to teach, train, and lead extended periods of Zen practice. Sojun Roshi explained the requirements for this kind of ordination including previous lay precept ordination, extensive practice and training, living as an example of the sangha, and demonstrating leadership.
We are pleased to welcome the extensive training, steady practice, and deep experience of such a senior lay practitioner into our sangha.
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