310 - Three Paths: The Value of Monastics, Clergy, and Lay Practitioners in Western Zen

Since the Buddha’s time, certain practitioners have chosen to leave the household life to dedicate themselves completely to formal Buddhist training. Undergoing a ceremony of ordination in which they took monastic vows, these monks and nuns lived the remainder of their lives within a Sangha – community – of other ordained people. In modern Western Zen, you will find a thoroughly confusing situation where ordained people who live fully monastic lives are rare, most ordained people are called “priests” and live householder lives, and practitioners who are not ordained often teach the Dharma and lead lay Sanghas (functions historically reserved for ordained people). What is the use – if any – of continuing with a tradition of “ordination?” I discuss the value of monks, priests, and lay practitioners in the context of Zen as it is currently manifesting in the United States.