Oryoki Practice Circle Meeting Eleven

[Shugen]

Hello all,

Welcome to the Oryoki Practice Circle.

We will meet Sundays 9:30am New York City Time (6:30am Los Angeles California - 2:30pm UTC )



I would like to invite everyone to share an Oryoki meal together. (Don't worry, it will not be recorded)

We will meet at the regular time, have a brief question and answer session, and then go through the ceremony from start to finish.


What you will need:

Your Oryoki set

A thermos/insulated cup/pot of hot water for the "water service"

Food (keep it simple: a "staple" for the Buddha bowl like rice or oatmeal, something a
little more flavorful for the middle bowl like fruit and yogurt or cooked vegetables, and
something a little "special" for the final bowl. In a Traditional Japanese Monastery, the
Buddha bowl would contain rice or rice gruel, the second bowl would be Miso soup or broth
and the final bowl would contain pickled vegetables)


You will want to put your food in separate serving dishes and place them next to where you will be eating - within reach. (Don't forget serving Utensils!)

If anyone has questions, please post and I will do my best to answer them.

I look forward to practicing together,

Shugen

[Shugen]

Hello all,

Here is one of the Oryoki segments from our last Rohatsu retreat (mistakes and all!):

The video is for reference purposes only. Our ceremony will be more "formal" and I will not be explaining the steps as we go through them.

Gassho,

Shugen

[Mp]

Awesome, thanks Shugen, will be there with meal ready. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today


Sent from my mobile, cause I am out & about! =)

[Entai]

I won't be able to take my meal with you all in real time (whatever that is), but will take it Sunday evening after work. Shugen, thank you so much for these teachings. They have been wonderful.

Gassho, Entai
#SatToday

[Onkai]

Thank you, Shugen. I'm looking forward to the oryoki meal. I will be there live with a meal, unless there is a technical glitch

Gassho,
Onkai
SatToday.

[Washin]

Thank you Shugen. Getting my meal ready and looking forward to practicing together.

Gassho
Washin
sat tosay

[Onkai]

Thank you, Shugen and everyone. I look forward to doing it again.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat

[Washin]

I look forward to doing it again.

Me too. Thank you all.

Gassho
Washin
ST

[Mp]

I look forward to doing it again.

Me as well ... thank you all for such a great practice. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jundo]

Thank you all. This experiment has also set a precedent for what can happen to bring a Traditional Practice online.

I recently discovered some material that shows that this Practice of Oryoki, although refined by Dogen and the Japanese masters, largely reaches back to China centuries before, with elements (such as the grouping of bowls) originating in India long before.

However, perhaps in all that time, no one has ever attempted to teach and undertake Oryoki in the way of this group of people today. So, a little Oryoki history has been made by you. Thank you to Shugen for a lovely and careful effort to shepard folks through this lovely Practice.

Gassho, J

PS - About the origins of Oryoki ...

I thought our Oryoki folks might find this interesting. 11th Century Oryoki instructions from before the time of Dogen. As well, the author traces aspects back to many centuries before that, and the configuration of the bowls to India. Some of the chants are identical to chants in the 4th century AD ...

The Chanyuan qinggui (Chinese: 禪苑清規 or The Rules of Purity in the Chan Monastery, is a highly influential set of rules for Zen monasteries compiled by the Chinese monk Changlu Zongze in 1103. Although many other monastic codes aimed at the Zen school would follow, Chanyuan qinggui is the oldest extant work of its kind. Prior to the Rules of Purity, various translations of Indian Vinaya texts had existed in China since the fifth century, while Chinese monks beginning with Daoan has created sangha regulations in the 4th century. However, none was extensive or geared towards any particular sect that existed at that time. Both types of regulations has a direct influence on Chanyuan qinggui, but neither aimed to be nearly as extensive or authoritative. The text regulates nearly all aspects of daily life in a monastery, from the proper protocol for ceremonies to the correct way to visit the toilet. The text became the standard reference for its topic not only in Song Dynasty China, but also well into the Yuan Dynasty, as well as abroad in Korea and Japan.

Daoxuan himself was largely preserving practices codified more than two hundred years before by Daoan, through his works we can discern indirectly how many Chan monastic practices, many of them still carried out today, can be traced as far back as the fourth century. We see, for example, that the octagonal hammer with its pillar stand, which sits in the center of the Sangha hall in Chan monasteries, is not a Chan invention, but a device used long before by Daoxuan, who, in turn, inherited it from Daoan. The five contemplations [recited when opening the Bowls] and other verses chanted by Chan monks during the Tang and Song are described in Daoxuan’s Xingshi chao, and these, too, can be traced back to Daoan’s time. ... Even the use of four nesting bowls at mealtimes, often thought to be unique to the Chan monastery, can be found in the original Vinaya texts [from India]

The 11th Century text ...

To correctly display a nest of bowls, the monk should first
bow and untie his cloth bundle. He takes out the bowl wiper and
folds the cloth into a small shape. He then takes out his spoon and
chopstick bag and places them horizontally, close in front of him. Next
the clean towel is used to cover the knees, after which the cloth
bundle is completely opened and the three corners closest to him are
folded over and neatly joined together at the center, while the far corner
is allowed to drape over the edge of the platform. He then uses
both hands to unfold the mat. With his right hand facing down, he
holds the corner of the mat closest to him on the right side and places
it over the top of the bowls in front of him. Then, with the left hand
facing up, he reaches under the mat to pick up the bowls and places
them on the left side of the mat. Using the fingertips of both hands,
he takes out the three smaller bowls stacked together and places
them on the mat one at a time without making any noise. If his seat
is narrow, he should display only three of his bowls. He then opens
the bag to take out his spoon and chopsticks. (When removing these
items, he should take out the chopsticks first. When replacing them, he should
put the spoon in first.) He places the chopsticks and spoon horizontally
behind the first bowl, with the handles to the side of his upper shoulder.
The brush he places on the edge of the mat to the side of the
lower shoulder with the handle facing out. He then waits for the offering
of food to all sentient beings.

...

To correctly receive the food, the monk should hold the bowl with
both hands and lower his hands close to the mat. The bowl should
be held level. The monk should gauge the amount of food served
him; he should not request too much and leave unfinished food. He
must wait until the food has been distributed and the rector has struck
with the hammer before he lifts up his bowl to make the offering.
After the hammer has struck, he presses his hands together in honor
of the food and performs the five contemplations:

one, to ponder the effort necessary to supply this food and to appreciate its origins; two, to reflect
on one’s own virtue being insufficient to receive the offering; three, to protect the
mind’s integrity, to depart from error, and, as a general principle, to avoid being
greedy; four, at the same time to consider the food as medicine and bodily nourishment,
preventing emaciation; five, to receive this food as necessary for attaining
enlightenment.

After this comes the offering of food to all sentient beings.

(Before the completion of the five contemplations the food cannot
be considered one’s own portion and therefore cannot be offered to sentient beings.)
While the monks perform the offering of food to all sentient beings,
they chant a verse: “All spirit beings and deities, / Now I offer you this
food. / May this food be spread in all ten directions / For all spirit beings and
deities to share.

...

After he has finished eating, if there
is anything left in his bowl he should use the bowl wiper to clean it
and then eat it. When he receives the water, the monk should wash
the largest bowl first and then the other bowls in order from largest
to smallest. He should not wash the smaller bowls inside the large
bowl. He then wipes the bowls to dry them. In addition, the
spoon and chopsticks should be washed and placed inside their bag.
The water for the bowls should not spill onto the floor around the
platform. The mantra pronounced while the water from the bowls
is poured out is “Om mahorase svâhâ.” The two thumbs are used to
stack all the bowls inside each other. With the left hand facing up,
the monk puts the bowls into the center of the cloth. Then with the
right hand facing down, he holds the corner of the mat closest to him
on the right side and puts it on top of the bowls. He then folds the
mat and places it back on top of the bowls. Next he picks up the corner
of the cloth closest to the body to cover the bowls. Then he pulls
the corner of the cloth draped over the end of the platform toward
himself to cover the bowls. He folds the clean towel and places it, together
with the bag containing the spoon and chopsticks and the bowl
brush, on top of the now covered bowls and covers them with the
bowl wiper. After the monks have put their bundles back in order,
when they hear the hammer strike to exit the hall, they will all chant
the verse for the completion of the meal:

“After the meal, the body is full
of physical energy / And quakes with a power like the heroes, which permeates
all ten directions in the past, present, and future./ One can now revert
causes and transform effects and therefore one need no longer be preoccupied
with one’s inabilities. / Let all sentient beings obtain supernatural power
through this strength.”

http://terebess.hu/zen/Chanyuan-qinggui.pdf

Gassho, J

SatToday

[Shugen]

I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity to be of service. I very much enjoyed it!

We will meet again in a few weeks to share another meal together.

Gassho,

Shugen

#sattoday


Shugen
明道 修眼
As a priest in training, please take everything I say with a "pinch of salt"

[Mp]

I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity to be of service. I very much enjoyed it!

We will meet again in a few weeks to share another meal together.

Gassho,

Shugen

#sattoday


Shugen
明道 修眼
As a priest in training, please take everything I say with a "pinch of salt"

It was a pleasure brother! Look forward to our Sunday morning meals. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Entai]

Gassho,
Entai

#SatToday

[Kotei]

Hi all,

practicing Oryoki with actual food inside the bowls is not bad either :-)
Hopefully, I'll make it to the next collective realtime meal.
I am also looking very much forward to our (hopefully reoccurring) Rohatsu Retreat meal.This time with more preparation on this side.

For today, I carefully selected fine, organic vegetables and attentively prepared a simple meal.
I sat, prepared a simple but fine meal, practiced Oryoki and sat again --- together with you all in the usual timeless Treeleaf way.
I think I will continue practicing on a semi-regular basis. Maybe not weekly, but somewhat like that.
Still a lot to practice, but already at a point, were I can appreciate the fine and simple method, tools and food during practice.

I've had a nice, calm forenoon with you all. Thank you for that.
Thank you, Jundo for the additional Infos!

Gassho,
Kotei sattoday.

[Shugen]

Hi all,

practicing Oryoki with actual food inside the bowls is not bad either :-)
Hopefully, I'll make it to the next collective realtime meal.
I am also looking very much forward to our (hopefully reoccurring) Rohatsu Retreat meal.This time with more preparation on this side.

For today, I carefully selected fine, organic vegetables and attentively prepared a simple meal.
I sat, prepared a simple but fine meal, practiced Oryoki and sat again --- together with you all in the usual timeless Treeleaf way.
I think I will continue practicing on a semi-regular basis. Maybe not weekly, but somewhat like that.
Still a lot to practice, but already at a point, were I can appreciate the fine and simple method, tools and food during practice.

I've had a nice, calm forenoon with you all. Thank you for that.
Thank you, Jundo for the additional Infos!

Gassho,
Kotei sattoday.

It is a wonderful practice!

We will be meeting again soon to share a meal.

Gassho,

Shugen


Shugen
明道 修眼
As a priest in training, please take everything I say with a "pinch of salt"