“One of the strongest characteristics of the role of shuso is its innate awkwardness. One is always both junior and senior. This is a given to the path to those on the shuso path. This fact is confronted deeply. The faces of the junior and senior are constantly being switched, sometimes both worn at the same time.” —Domyo Burk

On the last full day of NYZC’s recent summer sesshin (Silent Retreat), Sensei Chodo delivers a multifaceted talk on appreciation for the mothers of the world, citing stories and poems from Oyama Sumita and Tony Hoagland. He then turns his focus to celebrating Deborah Jyoshin Stewart, the sangha’s first shuso, or senior student, as she prepares to lead the gathered practitioners in the center’s very first Shuso Hossen ceremony the next day, signifying the student’s promotion to the senior role. 

ZENTALK NOTES

Sensei Chodo Robert Campbell is a co-founder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and is part of the core faculty for the Buddhist Track in the Master in Pastoral Care and Counseling at Zen Center’s education partner, New York Theological Seminary.

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The post What is the Role of Shuso? | Chodo Robert Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.