A World of Inspiration for Artful Living
Check out this very cool computer Zen from the Kodaiji-Temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Hint: You will occasionally need to click to proceed, but wait to make sure it isn’t progressing on its own first.
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For centuries, Japanese Zen masters have cultivated gardens of harmoniously arranged rocks and raked gravel, creating silent havens for peaceful contemplation. If you don’t have room for a full-sized rock garden, a miniature Zen garden provides an opportunity to appreciate the same relaxation and harmony.
You can make a garden for yourself in 5 easy steps:
This has become my signature dish. Invite me to a potluck and this vegetarian stew is more than likely what you’ll find when you lift the lid off my covered dish. It’s delicious, healthy, and very personally fulfilling to make.
The recipe is adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. They, in turn, adapted it from The Greens Cookbook, which is a cookbook from the Greens, a very popular vegetarian restaurant in the Bay Area that is run by members of the Tassajara Zen community. So you see, although it’s called “Zuni” stew, there is a Zen connection (beyond the shared ZZZs).
As with everything Zen, Zen cooking is about being mindful of the process. Cutting, chopping, peeling, and working with fresh ingredients, whenever possible, will contribute to the Zen of the experience. That said, I know it isn’t always feasible to use only fresh produce, so I’ve given you some alternatives where possible. As I alluded to earlier, this recipe is based on one that was designed for a slow cooker or crock pot, but I’ve also used a big pot on the stove and it worked just fine.
Zen Stories or Koans are short tales designed to open the mind to new ways of thinking. They often do not follow what we would consider rational thought, but that’s the point. By removing yourself from what you would call normal or rational, you can see the world from a new perspective.
Here are a few shorter proverbs as well as some links at the end to longer stories:
Do not speak unless it improves on silence
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After enlightenment, the laundry.
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When walking, walk. When eating, eat.
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Those who know don’t tell and those who tell don’t know.
Sōtō Zen crest
If you’ve been hanging around here much at all, you know that we we’re usually all over the map—quite literally. Every week, we pick a new topic (from all corners of the world) and each one—usually—has just a thread of a connection to the one before (e.g., a decadent dessert we named “Chocolate Nirvana” one week leads us to a discussion of the Buddhist festival of Nirvana Day the next). This week, though, I’d like to stay with some of the Buddhist ideas a little longer. The reason is that while I was working with last week’s posts, I was reminded of a story a friend once told me and I wanted to share it with you. We’ll get to that in a minute. Specifically, I thought it might be interesting to delve a little deeper into what is known as Zen, short for Zen Buddhism.
Now, Zen—by very definition—is indefinable, so that makes this somewhat difficult, but here we go…
Bodhidharma by Blockdruck von Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)
There are eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. Used extensively in Buddhist art, each of the symbols is also associated with an aspect of the physical form of the Buddha. One symbol is a Dharma Wheel such as served as the illustration for our What Would Buddha Do post. The others are: a Conch Shell, a Lotus, a Parasol, a Pair of Golden Fishes, a Banner Proclaiming Victory, a Treasure Vase, and an Endless Knot.
The endless knot, which seems (to me, anyway) to bear a striking similarity to some of the Celtic knots, is a geometric diagram that symbolizes interrelationships and how everything exists as part of a web of karma and its effect. Having no beginning or end, some believe the knot also represents the infinite wisdom of the Buddha, and the cycle of death and rebirth.
Tibetan Dharma Wheel
I’m sure you’ve seen those WWJD bumper stickers (What would Jesus do?). But did you know there’s also a book out there titled What Would Buddha Do? (As well as a spin-off title: What Would Buddha Do at Work?:101 Answers to Workplace Dilemmas. We used it several years ago for some staff development here at CRIZMAC.)
The books are based on the guiding principles of Buddhism, including the Four Noble Truths, which Buddha experienced while meditating under the Bodhi tree (as discussed in our post on Nirvana Day).
As discussed in our post on Nirvana Day, meditation often plays a key role in the observances of this holiday. Buddhists believe that meditation is very important for physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. It is a way to clear the mind and encourage positive thinking, while also eliminating negative energy.
You can learn the following simple meditation technique in five minutes. And just five minutes practice daily will yield positive results. Meditation is the first step toward understanding how we direct our internal experience and to understanding our unconscious habits.
To begin, find a quiet area where you can concentrate. First, get into a comfortable sitting position—in a chair or cross-legged on the floor. Sit upright. If you are sitting in a chair, your feet should be flat on the floor and your back should not be resting against the back of the chair. Rest your arms, with palms turned upward, at the joint between your thighs and torso.
Painting of the first teaching Buddha Gautama gave after his enlightenment, at the Deer Park in Sarnath, India
In honor of Nirvana Day, a few words of wisdom and quotes from Buddha:
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You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
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Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.
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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth,
faithfulness the best relationship.
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