New Dharmacharyas: Thây transmits the lamp to Jane and Murray

November 2004

The Great Reunion Ordination Ceremony took place in November during the three-month Rains Retreat at Plum Village. Jane Coatesworth and Murray Corke received Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh and were appointed as Dharmacharyas. Eight monastics and eight other lay people (four from Germany, two from Holland and one each from Italy and USA) received Lamp Transmission from Thây in the same ceremony. Thây was full of energy and humour; the candidates supported one another's practice and greatly enjoyed each other's company.

During the Lamp Transmission, each candidate presents a verse expressing their own insight to Thich Nhat Hanh who, in accepting the candidate, replies with a verse in Vietnamese. Jane's insight gatha was:

I sing to the tree The silence between the phrases is vast and arresting The tree, graceful and steady,does her best with what she has Grateful, my heart is refreshed

Thây's gatha for Jane was:

The flowers of enlightenment are blooming everywhere The breeze floats the perfume of Zen far and wide So many members of the Sangha are gathered together The Buddha mind whether in the North or South, Past or present, Is the same

Thây then lights a stick of incense from his oil lamp and uses the incense to light a lamp, which is presented to the new Dharmacarya, symbolising the Lamp of the Dharma transmitted from one generation of teachers to the next. Thây is the 42nd generation of the Lam Te (Rinzai) Dhyana School and the 8th generation of the Lieu Quan Dharma Line.

Following the ordination, the new Dharma Teacher presents their first dharma talk to the assembled four-fold community.

Murray's insight gatha was:

Mind burdened by generations of errors A shower of rain slows my steps The call of a bird cracks open my heart Smiling, I walk on in freedom

Thây's reply was:

The Mahayana has just set the Dharma Wheel in motion Five continents come together, Praising from near and far The song of Zen is striking up with joyful sounds The Earth trembles, The devas congratulate you

Thay offered these words for the UK sangha.

Jane and Murray join Martin Pitt and Mai Nguyen, the existing Dharma Teachers in Britain.

With thanks to Phuoc Ho and Hannah Floyd for translating Thây's verses.