Everyone on the Monastery property participates in cooking all together every day for one hour. For many years we had a designated cook that spent all day each day cooking for the community. In more recent times this has changed. We have found it to be more in keeping with the spirit of training for all of us to share in that work, then to leave the kitchen together and go on to other tasks. We begin with a recitation of the kitchen guidelines. These guidelines assist us in remembering how we practice while we are cooking—how to care for the cutting boards, the waste water, the vegetables, and so on—and how we may work in a way that represents Zen practice.
Once the guidelines are read, we go to work: we chop, we grate, we sauté, we toast, we steam, and everything else that needs to be done, then we wash the dishes when we’re through. All the while we practice cleanliness, attention to detail, and respect for what we have been given. In this way, we have seen, the food and the preparation of the food may teach us how to live in this/here/now.
Gasshō