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Posted By Greg Fain, Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Mission accomplished! There they are, from left to right: The Reverends Trevor Maloney, Steven Davidowitz and Shundo David Haye. This lovely photograph was taken by our official photographer for the event, Catherine McPhee. Thanks Catherine! Thanks everybody who helped with the ceremony and reception! Thank you ordaining teachers! Thank you sewing teachers! Thank you lineage of Buddhas and Ancestors! What a lovely day it was last Saturday. What a lovely ceremony.

Here's a shot of our Abbot Ryushin Zendo Paul Haller shaving the head of his disciple Shundo. The woman holding the shaving gear so carefully is Lucy Xiao, Paul's attendant. Our sources tell us that Lucy is sewing an okesa now, and she'll probably be the next to ordain. Also spotted in the assembly were Steph Wenderski, Thiemo Blank and Bryan Clark from Green Gulch Farm, who will soon be ordaining with Tenshin Zenki Reb Anderson. It makes me so happy, and fills me with so much school spirit, to think about how San Francisco Zen Center is doing our part to help address the world-wide shortage of Zen Buddhist priests. Not that I think everybody should ordain! Far from it. I'm also very proud of Zen Center for never forgetting to support the path of the lay practitioner, and I'm mighty fond of our lay teachers like Leslie James, Ed Sattizahn and Laura Burges. But I guess because I'm a priest myself I just love this ceremony and this career path. The Rev. Dr. Linda Galijan has often told me that clergy usually rank highest in career satisfaction surveys by category. Just check out this excerpt from a University of Chicago website that I found after about 30 seconds:

Across all occupations, on average, 47 percent of people said they were very satisfied with their jobs and 33 percent said they were very happy. The top three jobs for satisfaction were clergy (87 percent reporting being very satisfied), firefighters (80 percent) and physical therapists (78 percent). Other top jobs, in which more than 60 percent of the respondents said they were very satisfied were education administrators, painters and sculpters, teachers, authors, psychologists, special education teachers, operating engineers, office supervisors and security and financial services salespersons.

Rev. Cynthia Lindner, Director of Ministry Studies at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, isn’t surprised by the finding. “Persons engaged in ministry have great opportunity to live and work out of their deepest convictions, oftentimes in the midst of communities of faith who share their concern for meaning, compassion and justice,” she said. “This congruence of belief, values, and actions in one’s daily work can be immensely satisfying.”

We beat firefighters! Whoo-hoo!!!

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Luke S. Iwabuchi says...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009
my guess is the U of Chicago survey did not survey priests who do not have the supportive structures of a temple, a sangha, or transmission to teach, cash cows in their community or an evident path to complete training. Would 87% of the priests from our school say that they are very satisfied with their job: the satisfaction of the work, the 'pay and benefits', a sense of being heard by the sangha, and included in decision-making, and the future outlook for the job ?
I am not questioning "this congruence of belief, values, and actions" as immensely satisfying, but I question whether the notion of american zen buddhist priest job and career satisfaction can be compared with other american clergy job and career satisfaction as being anywhere near the same in #'s or tone. Waddya think, y'all?
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Elisabeth Studd Deline says...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009
Salute!
Congratulations to David, Steven, and Trevor! Congratulations to the San Franscico Zen Center to be so lively! And Thanks to Buddha and Ancestors, without whom nothing would happen!!
May I suggest a task for the newly ordained members? Taking turns in teaching and answering questions raised in the Dharma Group, which badly needs teachers!
I will not stop hammering to the Sangha that far away people need YOU, especially beginners...
May your day be a peaceful one, full of Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity!
Love in the Dharma
Elisabeth from Corsica, member of the SFZC
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Renshin Bunce says...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009
Luke, it's my experience that more than 87% of the priests from our school would say that they are very satisfied with their job, but not necessarily for the reasons you list. For me, I'm 100% satisfied with being carried by vow and being a part of sangha. Both of those states were available to me before ordination, but I believe that the large public ritual made them much stronger. Living in the heart of the three treasures, "pay and benefits, being heard and included in decision-making, and future outlook" are valid but not at all necessary for satisfaction. I, for instance, have been living outside of the temple for six months and my current pay and benefits come from the Unemployment Department, and I have complete job satisfaction as I explore how to fully inhabit my priesthood with the help of my friends.
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Linda Galijan says...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009
Hi Luke, my dharma sister Renshin speaks my truth. I am deeply satisfied with my vocation as a priest. Although I am happy with the daily specifics of my life at City Center, that is not the source of my satisfaction. That comes from living a life of vow. Which doesn't mean it precludes difficulty or hardship. It just means that I am living my life in the way that is most aligned with my deepest values, with my heart's inmost desire.
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