Eating as a spiritual practice

Buddhist breakfast

'Itadakimasu'--the standard thing to say before eating in Japan.  What a phrase, what complex layers of meaning.  Itadaku is a humble verb meaning 'partake.'  Japanese has ways of speaking that reflect the humility of the speaker.  It seems remarkably consonant with one of the Six Verses for Training the Mind from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition: 'In any group, I will consider myself to be the lowest in rank.'  A fairly tough concept for most Americans (including me) to get their heads around.  The verb form itadakimasu is formal, suggesting respect for the food and those who prepared it.  So itadakimasu 'I humbly partake, with respect' is kind of like grace, but no god is involved--makes things so easy!  Probably 100% of school kids in Japan learn to say this at lunch.  No worries about religion in the lunchroom, who goes to what temple or church, or who believes or doesn't.  Just humility and respect.  

I went to a ceremony at the temple Sensoji this morning, starting at 7:00 AM, that involved about 30 minutes of chanting (the sutra of Avalokitesvara, = chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra) in the main hall of the temple.  Then we moved to the Shoin, a traditional chamber in the garden of the former monastery Denboin.  There we did 'sai jiki,' which is a Buddhist way of eating.  The spiritual side is the point, much more than the nutritional side.  The food was about as simple as can be, okayu, which is rice cooked with extra water so that it is almost souplike.  Nothing is added, so the taste is just bland white rice.  By the way, this is a traditional breakfast in many parts of Asia, usually available at a hotel breakfast, for example.  Strongly salted side dishes are eaten with the gruel. Today's meal was typical--yellow takuan pickled radish, kelp boiled in sweet soy sauce, and gobo (a root vegetable) also cooked in a very salty way. But first, there was a ceremony, which I was struggling to read in Japanese.  First there was the invocation of the law, the Buddha and the sangha.  Then, we formed the meditation hand gesture to read affirmations of our respect for the food and  our hope for all sentient beings who hunger, both in the physical sense as well as the spiritual, both in this world and in worlds beyond this one.  A small plate was passed around, and each person added one bite of rice to the plate, as a symbolic offering.  This took five or ten minutes, and then finally we said 'Itadakimasu!'  Everyone ate silently, and finished rather quickly--for me, soupy rice takes a while to eat with chopsticks.  Then, tea kettles were passed around, and everyone filled the empty rice bowl with tea(or was it hot water?).  With one's last slice of radish, the inside of the bowl was wiped clean, and the tea was drunk, leaving the dishes clean.  Many monastics eat all their meals this way.  Next, there was a short sermon.  Afterwards, we took a spin around the garden.  

It is easy to apply an esoteric (mikkyo) Buddhist interpretation to this--actions of body, speech and mind are called mysteries, I think because of the effects they have.  This is karma.  Often, the link between cause and effect can be less than obvious--I don't suppose any homeless people actually had their hunger assuaged by our efforts.  But the idea is that the intention is what counts.  So we chanted and meditated for our minds.  We spoke our prayers and took action in the form of offering food and also eating in a humble and respectful way.  

The setting was probably a bit too luxurious.  The nineteenth-century building was lavishly detailed, decorated with beautiful hanging scrolls, and the entire side of the building facing the garden was completely open.  The group is a kind of club at the temple, and I was able to participate through an introduction by a friend.  

Here is the famous view of the Shoin with the pagoda of Sensoji in the background:

Thanks for reading!  (I think you can see a higher resolution if you click on the photo)

Trying longer meditation

I was a bit worried about the prospect of a two-hour session of sitting and walking meditation. I have gotten used to doing twenty or thirty minutes easily, and I sometimes do some chanting that could bring it up to an hour or so. Actually, I am not that interested in timing my sessions, but still, a two-hour session was an unknown. Looking around the internets, I have seen stories about people who freaked out after suddenly jumping into intensive meditation sessions.

Fortunately, the situation at the once-monthly two-hour sessions at the temple Enyuji is very user-friendly--you can come in or go out freely during the session. The priest, Rev Oka, said that the time would pass 'before you know it' or in Japanese 'a to iu ma ni.' He was right. He didn't do any howa, and we chanted some very short prayers and the Heart Sutra. The 700-year-old Hall of Shakyamuni was dark except for candles on the altar. We were sitting in two concentric three-sided squares facing the center of the square space. For the walking, we would bow while sitting, then stand and bow again, then walk in a square the same as the sitting layout, holding one hand in a fist in front of the chest, and the other hand around it. The sitting meditation, as explained by Rev Oka, is basically sitting in half-lotus, on a zafu, with hands in the traditional Buddhist meditation mudra, with eyes half-closed.

Also, Rev Oka recommends a counting system--one to ten, and just start over if you get distracted. So we settled in for four cycles, each with 25 minutes of meditation and five minutes of walking. The first sitting cycle was okay, my mind not too out-of-control. Standing up afterwards was a bit tricky. I was using a blanket, so I had to hustle to get my blanket out of the way where people wouldn't step on it. After sitting, just navigating as I walked was a bit tricky in the darkened temple. Also, the tatami mats have lots of dips and waves, so it required close attention. Also, there are some wooden frames that are part of the structure of the temple. You are not supposed to step on these, in traditional Japanese etiquette. So that was another factor to track. Also, I was in the outer ring so we passed between the altar and the sutra table. The first time around, I banged my leg into the sutra table. So that was another thing to pay attention to. However, the five minutes were over very quickly. In the second sitting, my leg fell asleep seriously. I couldn't get up and I thought I would let need to let some people behind me go past, but I recovered quickly enough to jump into my original place in line without too much delay. The last two sitting sessions were not difficult--maybe even a bit blissy. I began to get used to the tricky walking as well. I cheated a bit, starting to move my legs around a bit during the little delay as everyone prepares to transition from sitting to standing. After the fourth sitting, we did some small-scale stretching exercises and left the temple without further ado.

We were invited to the rest pavilion in the garden for tea and snacks. For once, there were some questions! Plus lots of pure social gab, but very mellow and pleasant. I think people are in a special frame of mind after meditation. That mood continued for me as I walked back home--20 or 25 minutes. So I will definitely go again. I think it is better than the shorter session, which has a short howa sermon, a bit longer prayer ceremony (also with the Heart Sutra), just one sitting and no walking. These sessions are just once a month, and there will not be any sessions during December--probably because December is the busiest month for everyone due to year-end obligations. But I feel very encouraged about this experience. (The pic above is the Hall of Shakyamuni at the temple Enyuji.)

Don't discuss Buddhism!

I am facing the possibility of a return to the US. I have enjoyed the overall Buddhist-friendly environment in Japan, and I wonder what it will be like in the US. My current impressions of Buddhism in the US (or the 'west' in general) are pretty much from the interwebs. But here it is: English speakers on the internet like lengthy harangues about what they understand Buddhism to be. I'm not saying no one gets it right...I can't make that kind of judgement. But among the Buddhist practitioners I know here, no one gets into too much theory. Of course, if you want to know about emptiness, non-self, the Five Aggregates--well, just ask Google-san. There may in fact be some Japanese who talk about such things. But I have met very few. In the two meditation groups I hang out with, the approach is to recite a few traditional prayers and the Heart Sutra, either before, after or bracketing the meditation. Of course, there are some physical exercises, too. In the meditation class at the Shingon temple, everyone learns three of the mudras or hand positions. These (AFAIK) have very explicit meanings and functions in Shingon--part of the esotericism, generally not taught to lay people. These three mudras are not hidden from casual practitioners, but at the same time, there is not much discussion of them. The Shingon session also includes two mantras--the teacher gives a very quick and maybe vague summary of the meaning or intention of these. After the sessions (both the Shingon one and the zazen at a Tendai temple) everyone is invited for tea and cookies (actually sembei) afterward, with opportunities for questions. But, NO ONE EVER ASKS ANYTHING! Why do we have to hold our hands that way? What is the meaning of the mantras? No one ever asks. Why not? A lot of it is probably Japanese upbringing and etiquette. Questions have a tinge of challenge to authority. They suggest that the teacher maybe didn't do his job well enough. The Heart Sutra is so well-known, it is like the elephant in the room. No one discusses it. I would guess most people don't feel any necessity for understanding the sutra on an intellectual level, so just reciting in the context of a meditation session is enough. Maybe it will just soak in. Actually, I find this admirable.

My impression is that some westerners, especially of the Zen persuasion, are reluctant to do sutra recitations or anything ceremonial. Just sitting should be enough. Maybe they are right. But the Japanese don't even think twice about ceremonies--they happen all the time, everywhere, not just in religious contexts. I would guess that 95% of Japanese who visit a temple will drop a coin in the box and put their hands together in front of the temple or image. If everyone around them is reciting a sutra, they will do it too. Personally, I like this idea that the sutra will soak in (to some extent) just by reciting it. So, questions are not really necessary. Certainly it keeps the vibes very mellow. No contradicting, no 'yes, but...'. Very often, even a sermon (howa 法話）will be very mundane. The priest at the Tendai temple often uses anecdotes about the children in the temple kindergarten in his mini-howa before the meditation session.

I suspect that many westerners are uncertain about meditation, whether they are doin' it rite. So they like to ask a lot of questions. Why am I so fidgety? How can I control the monkey mind? And so on. On the other hand, most Japanese have had at least some exposure to meditation from an early age. Kids who go for karate or other martial arts usually start and end their practice sessions with a minute or two of silence. As people grow up, they realize that no matter how much you want to fidget, you shouldn't. Partly a matter of respect for those around you. Also, 90% (I don't really know, but it is a lot) of Tokyo people ride public transport. I can't really sleep deeply on an urban train making a lot of stops, but I stay in a meditative state for long stretches. Probably lots of other people do, a kind of non-religious meditation. As I age, I feel the necessity to geeze a bit, so I have to wonder about the next generation, even in Japan. I heard one aspiring meditator complain that after settling down for meditation, pop songs kept running through his head. Get those buds out of your ears, people!!

So, maybe I will find a group in the US that uses recitation and silence more than theoretical discussions. If you know any, let me know! (The pic at the top is my basic meditation set--incense and a candle help set the mood.)