THE ETERNAL SPRING ORDER

The Eternal Spring Order was established in response to a pattern Sensei Michael Brunner began to notice within contemporary American Zen Buddhism. Over time, certain common errors had quietly taken root — a drifting from embodied practice into ideology, a narrowing of compassion along political and cultural lines, and a loss of wonder in favor of rigid views and private attainment.

Rather than preserving the living heart of the Way, these tendencies often reinforced division, abstraction, and subtle forms of spiritual self-importance.

The Eternal Spring Order was founded to return again and again to the ground of practice itself — to a Zen that is alive, inclusive, compassionate, and actively engaged with the world as it is. Rooted within the Sōtō Zen tradition, the Order emphasizes embodiment over belief, relationship over ideology, and awakening expressed through daily life and service.

All priests ordained within One River Zen are members of the Eternal Spring Order and are required to take the Vows of Distinction. These vows are not symbolic promises or aspirational ideals. They are living commitments meant to guide how we walk, teach, serve, and relate to others — moment by moment, in the midst of this very world.

What follows are the Vows of Distinction of the Eternal Spring Order:

The First Vow of Distinction: A Vow to Embody The Three Transformative Touchstones

With open hands and an open heart, I vow to embody the Three Transformative Touchstones—

To Maintain Wonder, meeting each moment with openness and curiosity, allowing creativity and insight to arise from direct experience;

To Include Everything, embracing joy and sorrow, confusion and clarity, as essential aspects of the unfolding path;

 To Transform Suffering, working with difficulty not as an obstacle, but as the very ground from which wisdom and expression are born through skillful action.

I vow to embody these touchstones in the way I walk, speak, create, and serve.

I vow to teach them not as concepts, but as living practices— offered through presence, through example, and through compassionate engagement with this world just as it is.

This is not a vow of private attainment, but a commitment to participate fully in the mystery of life, to guide others toward the wonder that surrounds and sustains us, and to dwell in this Eternal Spring–the mind-flower never ceasing to bloom anew.

Call and Response: The First Vow of Distinction
A Vow to Embody the Three Transformative Touchstones

Teacher:
With open hands and an open heart,
do you vow to embody the Three Transformative Touchstones
as the ground of your life and practice?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to live by the Three Transformative Touchstones
with sincerity and presence.

Teacher:
Do you vow to Maintain Wonder,
meeting each moment with openness and curiosity,
allowing creativity and insight to arise from direct experience?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to meet each moment with fresh eyes
and allow wonder to guide my path.

Teacher:
Do you vow to Include Everything,
embracing joy and sorrow, confusion and clarity,
as essential aspects of the unfolding path?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to include everything without resistance,
trusting that all things belong to the Way.

Teacher:
Do you vow to Transform Suffering,
working with difficulty not as an obstacle,
but as the very ground from which wisdom and expression are born through skillful action?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to meet suffering with courage and compassion,
and to let it ripen into insight and expression.

Teacher:
Do you vow to embody these touchstones
in how you walk, speak, create, and serve?
And do you vow to teach them—not as fixed ideas—
but as living practices of the Way?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to live these teachings fully
and offer them through presence, example, and compassionate action.

Teacher:
Do you vow to hold this not as a private attainment,
but as a commitment to participate fully in the mystery of life—
to guide others gently toward the beauty that surrounds and sustains us,
and to dwell in to dwell in this Eternal Spring–the mind-flower never ceasing to bloom anew?

Ordinand:
I do. I make this vow in reverence,
to walk the path of awakening with all beings.

The Second Vow of Distinction: A Vow of Compassionate Action Beyond Division

With open hands and an open heart,

I vow to set aside political clinging and strife,

knowing they arise in the mind and divide what is already whole.

I vow to meet difference with clarity and openness,

to see through the stories that separate us,

and to hold space for all beings with dignity and respect.

I vow to respond to injustice not with hollow words and ideas,

but with compassionate action, grounded in presence and wisdom.

In a world of noise and conflict,

I vow to embody the stillness that sees clearly

and acts without hatred, blame, or despair.

This is not a retreat from the world,

but a vow to engage it from the ground of understanding and love.

Call and Response: The Second Vow of Distinction
A Vow of Compassionate Action Beyond Division

Teacher:
With open hands and an open heart,
do you vow to set aside political clinging and strife,
knowing they arise in the mind and divide what is already whole?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to let go of division born in the mind
and to meet the world with an undivided heart.

Teacher:
Do you vow to meet difference with clarity and openness,
to see through the stories that separate us,
and to hold space for all beings with dignity and respect?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to meet difference with presence and humility,
and to honor the dignity of all beings.

Teacher:
Do you vow to respond to injustice not with hollow words and ideas,
but with compassionate action, grounded in presence and wisdom?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to act with compassion,
grounded in the stillness of clear seeing and the wisdom of the Way.

Teacher:
In a world of noise and conflict,
do you vow to embody the stillness that sees clearly
and acts without hatred, blame, or despair?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to be a refuge of stillness and clarity,
and to act from love rather than fear.

Teacher:
Do you vow to live not in retreat from the world,
but to engage it fully from the ground of understanding and love?

Ordinand:
I do. With open hands and an open heart,
I vow to walk the path of compassionate action in this very world.

The Third Vow of Distinction: A Vow of Interfaith Compassion and Cooperation

With open hands and an open heart,
I vow to walk the path of practice with all faith traditions.

Recognizing that doctrines are but fingers pointing to the moon,
I commit to looking beyond difference and division,
and to seeing the shared light of compassion that shines through many paths.

I vow to cultivate relationships with fellow spiritual leaders—
to listen deeply, speak truthfully, and act with humility.

Together, we will work to heal suffering, uplift the forgotten,
and bear witness to the sacredness within each being.

In fellowship and wonder, I offer this vow—
not as an ideal to be grasped,
but as a living practice of compassion and wonder.

Call and Response: The Third Vow of Distinction
A Vow of Interfaith Compassion and Cooperation

Teacher:
With open hands and an open heart,
do you vow to walk the path of practice with all faith traditions?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to walk the path of practice with all faith traditions.

Teacher:
Recognizing that doctrines are but fingers pointing to the moon,
do you vow to look beyond difference and division,
and to see the shared light of compassion that shines through many paths?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to look beyond division
and to honor the light of compassion in all traditions.

Teacher:
Do you vow to cultivate relationships with fellow spiritual leaders—
to listen deeply, speak truthfully, and act with humility?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to listen with an open heart,
to speak with sincerity, and to serve with humility.

Teacher:
Together with others, do you vow to heal suffering, uplift the forgotten,
and bear witness to the sacredness within each being?

Ordinand:
I do. I vow to serve alongside other faith leaders with compassion
and bear witness to the sacredness of all life.

Teacher:
Will you keep this vow not as an ideal to be grasped,
but as a living practice of compassion and wonder, moment by moment?

Ordinand:
I will. In fellowship and wonder, I offer this vow
as a living expression of the Way.