December 8, Bodhi Day

​     On December 8, Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day, the day that Siddhartha Gotama awakened, or attained spiritual enlightenment, and thus became known as the Buddha. Around the world there are Zen practitioners participating in a 7-day sesshin, honoring the Buddha’s great effort, and their own, on this 8th day of the 12th month (rohatsu).
      When Katagiri Roshi established that practice at MZMC in 1973, Rohatsu sesshins were held at the end of the year, leading up to New Year’s Eve and including New Year’s Day. Then, in 1983, he began scheduling them to coincide with Bodhi Day. During the 1988 Rohatsu sesshin, Katagiri Roshi lectured on Dogen’s Shobogenzo Baika (Plum Blossoms). He intended to give his seventh and final talk on December 8 but was too ill to do so. His public teaching days were almost over by then.
      I’m writing this on December 7, the day in 1941 that Imperial Japanese forces attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. According to the Japanese calendar, it was December 8. I have often wondered if Japanese military leaders chose that date because they felt it to be an auspicious one, but apparently it was just a coincidence. 
      Wherever you are, may Bodhi Day be a day of peace for you,
       Andrea
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