The Principles of Shojin Ryori
The cornerstone of shojin ryori in Japan is an essay titled Tenzo Kyokun, or Instructions for the Cook, written by Dogen some 800 years ago. During his practice in China, Dogen found that Japanese Buddhist monks did not think of food as an important part of their religious practices. His essay aimed to address this problem in Japan: he stated that the tenzo, a position held only by highly disciplined monks, has the important responsibility of being in charge of food.
All meals eaten by the monks of Eiheiji are prepared by the monks assigned to the temple kitchen, under supervision of the tenzo. For monks who cook, it is important to follow a set of ideals known as the Three Minds:
• The Joyful Mind: never forgetting the joy of cooking, the joy of providing hospitality, and the joy of Buddhist practice.
• The Nurturing Mind: the warmth and kindness of carefully preparing food with the recipient in mind, like parents caring for children.
• The Magnanimous Mind: a broad and generous attitude, free of prejudice and bias.
The structure of each meal is also set: breakfast is rice porridge and a pickled vegetable. Lunch is rice, soup, a pickled vegetable, and one additional side dish. Dinner is similar to lunch, but with a second additional side dish as well.
Overnight stays are available at Eiheiji on certain dates, and these stays include shojin ryori meals. Additionally, some restaurants along the road to Eiheiji serve shojin ryori for lunch or dinner, and a number of shops along this road sell plant-based foods that are commonly a part of shojin ryori, like goma-dofu “sesame tofu” and abura-age fried tofu.
ENJOY FUKUI
Respecting Food as Physical and Spiritual Nourishment
Eating as a Part of Spiritual Practice
To properly appreciate dishes prepared with this amount of discipline and care, it is important to eat with the right frame of mind. Dogen’s teachings about food as a form of Zen practice extend to eating, as well. His rules and manners for properly appreciating a meal are still passed down and rigorously practiced at temples that follow the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. At the core of this is the Five Reflections:
• We reflect on the effort that brought us this food, and consider how it comes to us.
• We reflect on our virtue and practice, and whether we are worthy of this offering.
• We regard greed as the obstacle to freedom of mind.
• We regard this meal as medicine to sustain our life.
• For the sake of enlightenment, we now receive this food.
As the Soto school teaches, all foods—even vegetables—come from the taking of life, so we should accept this gift with appreciation. If cooking food is a part of religious practice, then so too is eating it.
Giving Back to the World, Even through Meals
At Eiheiji, there are many rules that surround mealtimes: meals come after chanting sutras, and are eaten quietly, without conversation. The thoughtfulness and careful treatment surrounding food here ensures that it is never wasted.
After everyone present has finished eating, each person is given hot water, poured into the largest dish used for the meal. This water is used to wash out the dish, scrubbed using a tool that monks each keep as part of their meal sets. The same water is then poured into the next largest dish and scrubbed, until all of the dishes are clean. The water used to clean the bowls is then collected as alms, because it contains nutrients from the various foods that were part of the meal. At lunch, there is another ritual: monks each give several grains of their rice as alms.
As an offering of the alms that were collected, the washing water is poured into a river and the rice is fed to birds and bugs, as a way to share the life taken for this meal and to give back to the natural world. These rituals serve as a symbol of shojin ryori’s emphasis on taking meals seriously in all ways.
