Emily Eslami - On Shaky Ground (The Precepts pt 1 - Historical Background)

In the long awaited premier to Emily's new in depth series on the precepts, she takes us on a wild ride through 2500 years of making and breaking the rules, as we whittle an unwieldy set of hundreds of vows down to the familiar 16 that we Zennies know and love today. Join us as we find Buddha laying down the law about the proper relationship one should have with a monkey (respectful of course...) and when the appropriate time to wear owl feathers is (sadly, never). And then we catch up with Dogen as he makes his way to China and has his monkhood (gasp!) questioned by the emperor himself for an apparent lack of concern for said owl feathers and monkey rules. Along the way we question what it means to make impossible vows (everything!) and ultimately who we answer to when we break them (only ourselves!).