Oryoki
The bowls of the adjusted measure
The 0 of Oryoki means the circularity in movement of what is given, the giver and what is received. It is a trinity: the giver (cook) feeds the eater (practitioners) and what is given (food) is offered to the cook. Each one is at the same time the receiver, the giver and what is given. This is the mystery of the gift that only exists because it is given back, because it is in a moving continuity. It is the principle of almsgiving where the one who gives is the one who receives and where the one who begs offers the other the opportunity to activate their generosity.
Ryo is the adjusted measure of what we need to live in alignment with the living community (nature, humans, animals). This adjusted measure unfolds in the contemplative sitting of zazen and thanks to the six-flavours of the tenzo, which by its way of cooking offers a satiety of completeness to the practitioners by offering them the unique flavor of their life.
Ki is the dishes, the containers.
To eat as we live, to live as we eat, in the recognition of abundance, in the contemplation of the beauty of the world.
The oryoki are the vehicle of our miracle, the one that by the grace of breath and food makes us live, allows us to laugh, to love, to cry.
It is a posture, that of welcoming with hands offered without choosing or asking and a look that reveals our humanity...
The history of this practice goes back to the first Chinese temples which, in an effort to be autonomous from the Confucian society of the time, could no longer depend on others to feed themselves. Kitchens and all the logistics were set up until a great master realized that feeding the practice was the practice. It was the master Hyakujō Ekai 720 -814) who in the 9th century recorded the rites of the table in the pure rules of Baihzang which became the monastic code from which all the Japanese Zen schools were inspired.
To unfold the dishes of the awakened, to realize the symbiosis that reveals our interconnection to the cosmos and to all beings is deep activism.
At each meal, we can receive and by the simple fact of eating contribute to the activation of life, to nourish our history and that of the collective.
To help you compose simple 3-bowl menus you can consult the directions proposed on the blog of this site.
And to help you practice at home here are some videos to discover the practice of O ryokis
The 3 bowls of the Zen practice of food for each day activate unified reality;
For each day, to receive the ancestors, the sun, the earth and all beings at our party;
For each day to be invited to the table of the universe.
Point after point, in the spirit of Kesa we sew to nourish ourselves and others from our practice
the manual for sewing
the linens of your bowls
The 3 bowls of Zen food practice for each day activate the unified reality;
For each day, to receive the ancestors, the sun, the earth and all beings at our feast;
For each day to be invited to the table of the universe.
Deploy his bowls
The 3 basic bowls of food practice where all the food in the world unfolds.
In the first bowl we place the cereal traditionally unseasoned because it is the bowl of the awakened who is satisfied with the neutral taste, the second bowl receives the dish or the soup and the third the simple raw vegetables, pickled or lacto fermented.
At breakfast, it is the rice porridge that receives the first bowl, the raw vegetables the second and the sesame salt the third. In the Western version, you keep the cereal of your choice in the Buddha's bowl, in the second you can put granola and in the third cooked or fresh fruit.
It is in retreat that one becomes familiar with this dance because it is to be deployed in community the bowls of the awake as we wake up.
The three basic bowls of the food practice where all the food of the world is spread out.
The first bowl contains the cereal, traditionally not seasoned, as it is the bowl of the eventuality that is sufficiently neutral in taste, the second bowl contains the dish or soup and the third the simple raw vegetables, pickled or lacto-fermented.
At breakfast, the first bowl is filled with rice porridge, the second with raw vegetables and the third with sesame salt. In the western version, the cereal of one's choice is kept in the Buddha bowl, granola in the second and cooked or fresh fruit in the third.
It is on retreat that we become familiar with this dance, for it is in the process of spreading out the bowls of the awakened ones in community that we awaken.
wash your bowls
To clean your bowls is to clean your life, it's every day to do with what comes before us as best as possible. In oryoki practice we make our own dishes. So there is no break between before and after a meal, everything is equal, everything is food. To wash one's bowls is to continue to feed oneself and as the water is then offered to sentient beings, to our hungry part, to the greed of the world and above all returned to nature, we deeply feel our contribution to the world. By simply eating and then simply washing, we activate the wheel of life, ours but also those of all others.
The cutlery is traditionally composed of 2 chopsticks, a large spoon and a setsu (wooden tongue with fabric cap)
To clean your bowls is to clean your life, it is to deal with what is in front of you as best as possible every day. In the practice of oryoki we do our own washing up. So there is no break between the before and after of a meal, everything is equal, everything is food. To wash our bowls is to continue to be nourished and as the water is then offered to sentient beings, to our hungry part, to the greed of the world and above all returned to nature we feel deeply our contribution to the world. By simply eating and then washing, we activate the wheel of life, our own but also those of all others.
The cutlery is traditionally made up of two chopsticks, a large spoon and a setsu (a wooden strip with a cloth cap)
Wrap your bowls
Deploy his bowls and to eat also of this fragility of the material then to dress them again to protect them until the new meal. It connects us deeply to the living reality of not animated.
Every Oryoki is wrapped in several cloths:
- 1 cotton-lined pouch
- 1 large towel cotton (square)
- 1 medium napkin (rectangle)
- 1 cut-out white napkin
- 1 setsu windshield
Unfolding the bowls and feeding on the fragility of the material and then dressing them again to protect them until the next meal. This connects us deeply to the living reality of the non-animate.
Each Oryoki is wrapped in several cloths:
- 1 cotton lined pouch
- 1 large cotton towel (square)
- 1 medium towel (rectangle)
- 1 white towel cut out
- 1 setsu cap