women zen ancestors

hi friends!

as i continue my buddhist practice, one thing i want to be very careful about is not to ignore the female side of buddhism. what i mean by that is that zen, Theravada, and other groups that i am a part of or have been a part of are typically dominated by men (and cis, hetero, upper class men at that, but we'll address more of this at another time), but women play just as important of a role. they tend to be less well-known in these circles, and i'd like to avoid that in my own understanding and education moving forward.

so, to that end, here are two interesting links that i am reading today.

Brief Biographies of Women Zen Ancestors

and

Women Zen ancestors: a second take

i hope you find this as helpful and interesting as i do.

adulting level: 100%

hi all!

so, i'm a real adult today. i mean, i'm 33 and have have some societal markers of adulthood (a job, housing) for some time, but today i'm just straight killin' it on the adulthood front.

i've completed all of my requirements for my first week of classes towards my IT degree. woo! i started metformin, a medicine that is supposed to help me with my diabetes, today too. less woo, but still necessary. i paid all of my bills today and have enough left over for groceries and a couple dates with my partner. woo!

still to come: finish sewing my rakusu for jukai, start monitoring my blood sugar regularly, start exercising again, save some money in some manner. otherwise, we're golden!

i've got a few more posts on the back burner, but i feel fairly good right now about how things are going so i'm going to keep it light for the moment. see you all soon!

more precepts

The Three Treasures

I take refuge in the Buddha

I take refuge in the Dharma

I take refuge in the Sangha

The Three Pure Precepts

Not Creating Evil

Practicing Good

Actualizing Good For Others

The Ten Grave Precepts

Affirm life; Do not kill

Be giving; Do not steal

Honor the body; Do not misuse sexuality

Manifest truth; Do not lie

Proceed clearly; Do not cloud the mind

See the perfection; Do not speak of others errors and faults

Realize self and other as one; Do not elevate the self and blame others

Give generously; Do not be withholding

Actualize harmony; Do not be angry

Experience the intimacy of things; Do not defile the Three Treasures

that's all i've got for you today. i'm working on sewing my rakusu and paying attention to my conduct!