How To Cook Your Life : from the Zen kitchen to Enlightenment.

[Meitou]

I've just started Kosho Uchiyama Roshi's commentary and as usual when reading anything related to Dogen's amazing teachings, I have to ask myself why I ever bother studying anything else, as his work seems to contain the answers to everything ever asked.
I know other people have mentioned reading this at the moment, so I've opened this thread for anyone who wants to chat about it in an informal way.
I'm trying to highlight favourite passages but as usual there's such a wealth of wisdom that it's tempting to highlight everything however today I picked out a couple of succinct passages regarding shikantaza.

"The basis for silent illumination is to entrust everything to the posture of zazen, letting go of all that comes up without trying to work out solutions for what we ought to do about this or that. This is what is called shikan-taza. When we do zazen with this attitude, it is no longer sitting for the purpose of fulfilling some artificial fantasy such as gaining enlightenment or improving our minds."

And

"This is the activity of shikan-taza. This practice itself is enlightenment; it is the wholehearted practice of this enlightenment which we should carry on."

Gassho
Meitou
Sattoday lah

[Risho]

ah excellent! I'm currently listening to Jundo's talks on the Tenzo Kyokun - about a talk every day or every other day, then I transcribe the passage into a notebook. Once I'm done with the talks I'm going to start the reading - it's this Ango tradition I started a few years back that just stuck.

I agree with you - the Tenzo Kyokun is one of my favorites. It is so resonant to me because I'm sort of a Tenzo at work - basically a middle manager, but it's such a great prescription for following the Bodhisattva path in our workaday world.

Thank you for starting this thread!

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

[gaurdianaq]

Recently just finished reading this and I loved it, this is one of the favorite things I read...

In the very first chapter Uchiyama recounts a story of a monk named Wuzhao

One day Wuzhao was working as the tenzo at a monastery in the Wutai Mountains. When the Bodhisattva Manjustri suddenly appeared above the pot where he was cooking, Wuzhao beat him. Later he said, 'Even if Shakyamuni were to appear above the pot, I would beat him, too!

And I feel like this stood out to me more than anything else in the book, maybe it's just how over the top it is and yet it feels very down to earth. I don't know much about Manjusri but as I understand he's an important person/symbol in Buddhism, and here Manjusri suddenly appears before him, and his first reaction isn't "Manjusri! To what do I owe the honor of your appearance!?" it's "What the heck are you doing!? You'll ruin the food!", and he says even if it was Shakyamuni he'd do the same. I feel it's a good analogy for Samu (not the violence, but as an example of him putting his everything into the work and ensuring it's done well)

Apologies for going over


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[Meitou]

ah excellent! I'm currently listening to Jundo's talks on the Tenzo Kyokun - about a talk every day or every other day, then I transcribe the passage into a notebook. Once I'm done with the talks I'm going to start the reading - it's this Ango tradition I started a few years back that just stuck.

I agree with you - the Tenzo Kyokun is one of my favorites. It is so resonant to me because I'm sort of a Tenzo at work - basically a middle manager, but it's such a great prescription for following the Bodhisattva path in our workaday world.

Thank you for starting this thread!

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

Thanks for the info on those talks Rish, I don't think I knew about them, I'll start listening. By the by, when you transcribe, do you just listen and write or do you use a transcribing programme?
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday lah

[Risho]

oh - I just copy the passage of text from that day's talk into my notebook. For example, from the first talk, I would copy this into my notebook:

Buddhist monasteries have, in principle, six stewards. All are disciples of Buddha and all carry out the work of Buddha. Among them is the officer known as the cook, who is in charge of preparing meals for the assembly of monks. The Rules of Purity for Chan Monasteries (Chanyuan qinggui) says, "In order to offer nourishment to the monks of the community, there is a cook." From ancient times, the position has been assigned to senior monks who have the way-seeking mind -- eminent persons who have aroused the thought of awakening.

In general, the job of cook is an all-consuming pursuit of the way. If one lacks the way-seeking mind, it will be nothing but a vain struggle and hardship, without benefit in the end. The Rules of Purity for Chan Monasteries says, "One should maintain a way-seeking mind, make adjustments in accord with the occasion, and see to it that the great assemby receives what is necessary and is at ease." In days of yore, [emminent] monks such as Guishan and Dongshan performed this job, and various other great ancestral teachers did too at some point in their careers. Thus, it is surely not the same as the work of worldy cooks, imperial cooks, and the like.

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

[Meitou]

Oh that's great, I'll take a listen - that passage relates to what I have been reading today too.
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday lah

[Margherita]

Thank you Risho, I didn't know about this.
I love the idea of reading again Uchiyama's book, so I am up for an informal chat, Meitou , I will start the reading tomorrow.

Gassho,
Mags,
ST

[Risho]

I love a good internet mystery; I was able to track the Griffith Foulk Tenzo Kyokun translation (which Jundo references in his talks) here: https://www.redcedarzen.org/resource...%20(Foulk).pdf

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

[shikantazen]

Being content with what is, yet making diligent effort towards gaining nothing. I am thinking these days on how to develop this contented mind that can fully accept all situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Gassho,
Sam
ST

[Kokuu]

Being content with what is, yet making diligent effort towards gaining nothing. I am thinking these days on how to develop this contented mind that can fully accept all situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated

I have heard Zazen can be good!

Sorry, Sam, I know you hate that kind of answer but it is true.

Observe this present moment, right here, right now. What is lacking? What is missing?

In Zazen, we spend time each day putting down all thoughts of striving and just sitting with what is, and take the same attitude into life. By paying attention to what is here rather than ideas of what could or should be, there is much less discontent. Of course, since we are human, those thoughts still arise of wanting something more or different but in time we recognise them for what they are.

On a different tack, physical activity such as gardening and chopping wood can tend to bring us back into the body and bring contentment by just weeding and chopping without needing those activities to be anything more than they are.

Apologies for too many words.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Bion]

Being content with what is, yet making diligent effort towards gaining nothing. I am thinking these days on how to develop this contented mind that can fully accept all situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Gassho,
Sam
ST

One word: ZAZEN .. Not because it’ll help you gain anything in the future, but because it is an active practice of just what you want. Once sitting with a timer set, there’s nothing to wish for, you know exactly how long you’ll be simply sitting, there’s nothing good or bad, just things to experience; maybe some pain, numbness, ringing in the ears, neighbors, cars outside, an itch.. Sit through all of it knowing your only purpose for the set time is to be there in that position.

[emoji1374] SatToday

[Risho]

I am thinking these days on how to develop this contented mind that can fully accept all situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Gassho,
Sam
ST

No it's zazen

Also Ango - the practice of renunciation is just this - when you give up something you like, when that Ango honeymoon wears off, that's where you really practice just being content if you don't get what you want.

[shikantazen]

Thanks all, Sorry my question wasn't clear. I was asking how do we develop that contented (no gaining) mind for zazen. How do we deal with enlightenment expectations, wanting to improve situations or oneself and learn to love and accept everything as is

I ask this as I'm reading this book and it says "upright sitting" and "no gaining mind" are two most vital pieces of zazen:

https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Fujita-Issho-Polishing-a-Tile.pdf

Apologies for going over 3 sentences

Gassho,
Sam
ST

[gaurdianaq]

Being content with what is, yet making diligent effort towards gaining nothing. I am thinking these days on how to develop this contented mind that can fully accept all situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Gassho,
Sam
ST

I find for me, work can help cultivate this mindset. I've noticed when I have a decent days work I feel much more content in the evening, even if the work day had it's stressful moments (this never used to be the case, but I feel like Zazen has helped in that regards)

That being said, I do struggle with having this contented mind on the weekends (even if I sit Zazen) and I'm still trying to find that...


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[gaurdianaq]

Thanks all, Sorry my question wasn't clear. I was asking how do we develop that contented (no gaining) mind for zazen. How do we deal with enlightenment expectations, wanting to improve situations or oneself and learn to love and accept everything as is

I ask this as I'm reading this book and it says "upright sitting" and "no gaining mind" are two most vital pieces of zazen:

https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Fujita-Issho-Polishing-a-Tile.pdf

Apologies for going over 3 sentences

Gassho,
Sam
ST

In regards to the first part, I would ask myself "What do I gain from enlightenment?" I feel like the moment I consider the idea of attaining some enlightened/higher state of mind that I can reach one day if I try hard enough, that I'd be living in a fantasy world. When do I become enlightened vs not enlightened, where do I draw the line? To use a more down to earth example, say I'm training to be a chef, when do I go from not chef to chef? Is it when I graduate from culinary school? When I serve my first meal?

I think we can want to improve situations/oneself while also not trying to get anywhere. I like the example Jundo uses, you can live in a house with a leaky roof, and fully accept the house for what it is. "This is my home!" you say about the house, and then you still go and fix the leak in the roof because it needs to be done.

I can't comment on the part about upright sitting specifically being vital, but the impression I got from Jundo was that the more important part is the "no gaining mind" as you put it, and that the focus on specific forms of sitting came about as a product of their times, back when there was less understanding of how the body worked and so their were some misinformed beliefs about the effect of breath and posture on "energies" in the body, which now we know otherwise thanks to modern science.

Apologies for going over 3 sentences.


Evan,
Sat today, lah