This morning we said goodbye to our tenzo (head cook). Her time
to nourish us is over, for now, and she returns to her family to care for her
infant granddaughter. She met us in
each moment, giving her full attention to whomever was standing before her. And you got the feeling that she was not
ignoring the pot on the stove, or the kitchen crew, or the countdown till
dinner, but that her elastic field of inclusion had just expanded to envelop
you.
Next week, fifteen students will arrive to participate in
our fall practice period. They have
somehow managed to arrange their lives to spend 78 days returning to center,
nourishing what they suspect is their true self that has perhaps been frosted by busyness and shoulds.
The opposite of nourishing is multitasking. The working lunch does not satisfy. When we split our attention, we attend to
nothing, and competence and thorough completion lose out in favor of a To-Do
list that never ends. In the Gēnjō Kōān,
Zen master Dōgen wrote what his tenzo
– and ours – already knew: “Meeting one thing is mastering it; doing one
practice is practicing completely.”
4 comments:
Good to see you here, Kyosho!
Miss you very much at Green Gulch
Kogen
Thank you for this post Valorie. At Upaya Zen Center, when I lived there as a resident, we would always end the practice period talking a bit about our overall experience. It would be wonderful to hear (if possible) some of the general reflections individuals have about their experience stepping out of the busyness of things for a period of time. You're such a warm and caring presence in the zendo, I'm glad you'll be there during the practice period! :)
Indeed, when I cook and when I eat, each must be in their own time, not together. Food tastes best when we receive it completely as a total sensory experience.
A nice bit of classical music is a complement to any meal, though, I do think.
I look forward to sharing some unbusy time with you all when shoulds and busyness assert themselves too much 'out here'.
Have a delicious practice period, all!
Indeed, when I cook and when I eat, each must be in their own time, not together. Food tastes best when we receive it completely as a total sensory experience.
A nice bit of classical music is a complement to any meal, though, I do think.
I look forward to sharing some unbusy time with you all when shoulds and busyness assert themselves too much 'out here'.
Have a delicious practice period, all!
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