Mindfully eating like noble Zen nuns 【experiencing Japan】
600 years ago, when certain Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto housed nuns from the nobility, they had a distinct imperial court culture. The nuns were trained in conducting religious ceremonies, as well as in art and literature in the imperial tradition. They also had their own vegan culinary culture void of any animal protein. This special shoujin cuisine known as "Bamboo House style" vegan cuisine is preserved in a Zen temple in the western suburb of Tokyo.
This Zen Buddhist temple is located not very far from the Ghibli Museum, the Yokota Airbase or the International Christian University (ICU). The temple sits unassumingly behind a large super market, yet once one enters the grounds, serenity reigns.
Chef NISHII Koushun, an octogenarian trained in French cooking, serves a full course vegan lunch in this very tradition.
Each of the dishes were beautiful to see, subtle in taste, and refreshing to the soul, as one reflects mindfully on the very act of eating.
Eat, reflect, and do your part in this universe, the dishes seem to nudge. Use your senses, feel, be in the moment, live and act intentionally, and live a life without regrets.
That is the "working" meditation that Chef NISHI Koushun practices, instead of the common "sitting" meditation that she is exempted from, because of her bad knees. She lives life mindfully in this very Zen Temple, peeling gingko nuts in the fall, cooking down the vegetables, and preparing each meal from scratch every day.
Every third Friday, from 2 pm for an hour or two, one can join in this working meditation to clean the temple grounds.
If you are interested in this reflective culinary experience, I will help you arrange it.
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