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<\/a><\/p>\nBuddha was born in Kapilavastu<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We had our Saturday Practice Morning yesterday and ate, as usual, with oryoki (pictured above), as we also eat during sesshin. A loose tranlation of \u201coryoki\u201d is \u201cbowls that hold just enough.\u201d <\/p><\/span>Click here for the \u201crules from headquarters\u201d for this way of eating \u2013 but don\u2019t get hung up on any \u201ctrue way,\u201d just follow the instructions offered at your practice place (or the spirit of eating in order to let go of self-clinging).<\/span><\/a>\n The verses quoted above are the first words that we recite before setting out the bowls, serving, eating, washing, drinking some of the wash water, and packing up the bowls.<\/p>\n To paraphrase, \u201cHere we are receiving a meal within the continuity of Buddha\u2019s way, flowing harmoniously just like birth flows to enlightenment flows to teaching and flows to death. As we open ourselves with everything we meet, may we, the donors, and the food, be free from self-clinging.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone might say, \u201cWhat does this have to do with our post-modern lives?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019d say, \u201cWhere we sit when we eat is a vital aspect of Zen.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone might argue, \u201cBut Dogen said that Zen practice was just zazen.\u201d<\/p>\n And I would say, \u201cYeah, but how can we make this zazen alive in our whole life?\u201d<\/p>\n Dogen, after all, provided detailed instructions for many aspects of monastic life, including eating. For example, see <\/p><\/span>\u201cFukushuhanpo\u201d<\/span><\/a> or \u201cCoursing the Way Through Rice and Gruel.\u201d\n But back to our post-modern lives. Informed by the practice of previous generations, whatever we use to eat \u2013 plates and forks or oryoki \u2013 we can eat with the heart of a practitioner by remembering that we are eating in order to let go of our self-clinging, not to enhance it. One practical method for remembering is to recite a verse like the one above before you slurp down your latte and croissant.\u00a0<\/p><\/span><\/div>\n
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