Anyone else Buddhist?

I am Buddhist, but have never heard of having a ceremony like yours. My fiancé is not religious, so we will have a non religious wedding.

View Quoted Comment I am new to practicing Zen Buddhism and some of the prayers were recommended by my Sensei who will be officiating. My partner is not practicing but wants to integrate some traditions as it is part of my life. We are creating our own ceremony and integrating some new things. I really wanted to have our guests be very much apart of it, so the meta meditation will focus on them as well as us and to others.
I thought it would be neat to have them pass the rings and set an intention /bless the rings before we exchange them.
I’m not sure whether you consider Buddhism a religion, so my question is are you integrating any Buddhist traditions in your wedding?

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Hello,

No. We are not integrating any Buddhist tradition. However, we will have a tea ceremony tradition only in the morning only because we are both Chinese origin.

Hi, that sounds interesting. I haven't heard of a lot of those things, but meditation is always a wonderful idea! For our wedding, our punditji will be consecrating the environment and balancing our energies which are composed of the 5 elements: earth, wind, fire, water, ether. We have a small fire pit in the middle of where we sit, as the fire is the witness and purifier. Our guests would be throwing flower petals at us as a blessing from their end. We will also be exchanging floral garlands before the start of the ceremony as a form of acceptance of one another to start the ceremony.

View Quoted Comment That sounds amazing! What sect of Buddhism do you practice? I’m practicing and studying Zen within the White Plum Asangha.

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I was raised in a Hindu environment as a child which has definitely informed a lot of how I see the world as I've grown older. As the Buddhist philosophy came out of the Hindu philosophy, I found myself naturally just in a sense both places. I find Zen meditation practice is a crucial part of being able to function in this world. I do this along with certain Hindu mantras depending on the need of the moment. I don't belong to any specific groups. For me, the journey feels safest on my own. Though of course, we're never really alone as we're connected to the natural world since we are a part of it. I find that connection sustains me well, and I feel comfortable in that space. For our ceremony, I spoke with the punditji about not having any religious words because I feel that the Western world has turned all Eastern philosophies into religion and in turn, tainted the basic principles. Even now when you go to India, people are speaking of religion which is absurd because our ancestors clearly defined Hinduism, Buddhism, etc as philosophies for a way of living, not beholden to any doctrine. It's nice to hear someone on here who is doing something different! Your wedding sounds very unique, and honestly should be done in a way that feels right to you. Often what we need to do is an instinct without explanation, and that's a beautiful way to live!

View Quoted Comment That’s so refreshing to hear
It is a way of life, and it’s not at the same time.

I will not be doing this in my wedding just because my fiancé family is Catholic so we’re trying to stay away from a religious ceremony. But I grew up in the Buddhist household and currently a practicing Buddhism so I have considered going to a Buddhist temple to just have a small “ceremony” that will basically have a monk who will bless our wedding with Buddhist teachings. Would love to hear about your integration after your wedding.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense. It sounds like you’re walking a middle line. ☺️