At yesterday's service, we passed out little green paper leaves and invited all present to consider something that was "leafing out" in their lives(a new skill, new way of looking a life, a resolution, etc.) As they were ready, they trooped up and attached their leaves to bare branches, then we blessed the branches and the growth and creativity they represented. This morning, I went over to have a look at what the congregation wrote and finish the process of blessing all those individual intentions before the janitor swept them away.
It was an intergenerational congregation, so many leaves involved youthful handwriting and resolutions involving musical instruments, getting along better with siblings, and sports skills. The adult-written leaves mentioned things like family relationships, new skills, taking better care of their health, dealing with anger, and various aspects of spiritual growth. I found four different languages in my wandering through the 500 leaves, and three times the words, new to me, "Kosen Rufu"
A Google Search (how did we ever manage our ministries before the internet?) reveals that this is a fundamental concept from Nichiren's Buddhism which involves how the quest for personal peace and happiness becomes a contribution to world peace. That's worth some study, so, since I wasn't organized enough yesterday to participate in the morning's ritual, I'll name my intention here; to learn more about Kosen Rufu and incorporate what I learn into my life.
May all that is budding out in your life be blessed!
1 comment:
before the janitor swept them away
Yikes! That seems disrespectful to the intentions and, by extension, those who wrote them.
(I'm reading your blog chronologically, so perhaps this aspect was improved in 2008 if you did the same thing again.)
Anyway, even composting the "leaves" feels to me to be a more respectful disposal of these ritual items.
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