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Fushukuhanpo: How to Use Your Bowls by Eihei Dogen zenji (Page 2) translated by Yasuda Joshu Dainen roshi and Anzan Hoshin roshi (published in “Cooking Zen,” Great Matter Publications 1996) © 1999-2004 White Wind Zen Community. All rights reserved.
As to how boiled rice or congee should be served. If the food is served hastily then those receiving it will also hurry. If the serving is too slow, sitting becomes drawn out and worn. The serving of the food is done by the hands of the servers, not by the monks receiving the meal. Begin the serving with the leader and end with the Abbot. [1] The servers must take care and not smear the hands of the receivers or the edge of the bowls with congee, soup and so on. When using a ladle, move it up and down a few times before serving to ensure that no food will slide off its sides. Bend the body towards the person that you are serving and keep your free hand against the chest. [2] The amount of rice or congee to be served is determined by the person receiving the food. Do carry soup or side dish vessels with the hands hanging down. Try not to sneeze or cough while serving; if this is unavoidable, turn away from the seating platform. Carrying the tray for boiled rice is carrying out the precepts.
On receiving the food. This should be done with civility; as the Buddha said, “Food should be received respectfully.” This an important point. Do not stick out your bowl demandingly before the server has come to you. In receiving food the bowl should be lifted up and away from the lacquered mat held level with the hands beneath it. Take an appropriate amount, [3] not so much that any food might be left uneaten. Indicate “enough” to the server by lifting and lowering the hand two fingers breadth. [4] In general, do not take the spoon or ladle from the server's hand and serve yourself nor use your own spoon or chopsticks to put something back from your bowl into the serving vessel. An ancient said, “Receive food with the mind in equanimity and the bowl held level in receiving soup and rice. Eat the rice, the soup, and then the side dish in sequence.” Don't pull up your knees and hold them with your hands while the serving is in process. If the server is hurried so that grains of rice, drops of soup, or pieces of the side dish fall into your bowls the serving should be done again. Do not raise your bowl and begin to eat before the ino's strike with the mallet announcing the completion of service. At the sound of the mallet, [5] bow with palm to palm, pick up the food [6] and chant the Five Remembrances: [7] “This meal arises from the labour of all beings may we remember their offering. [8] Delusions are many, attention wanders, may we justify this offering. Greed arises from self-cherishing, may we be free in moderation. This offering sustains us, gives us strength, may we be grateful. We use this strength and attain the Way.” Emerging from this contemplation is the time to place the offerings to the hungry ghosts; [9] do not do so before this practice is completed. [10] To make the offering using the thumb and index finger to put seven grains on the handle of the cleaning stick or on the edge of the lacquered mat. Do not exceed seven grains. [11] In the case of rice cakes, wheat or buckwheat noodles it should be no larger than the size of a small coin. [12] Currently we no longer do this offering at the morning meal of congee although this was done in ancient times. Do not use the spoon or chopsticks for the offering. After this, silently bring your hands together palm to palm.
As to eating congee for the morning meal. Receive the congee in the Buddha bowl [13] and then set the bowl down on its stand. [14] When it is time [15] pick up the second bowl with the right hand, place it on the open palm of the left hand and hold it in place with the thumb over the lip of the bowl so that the thumb is shaped like a turtle's neck. [16] Pick up the spoon with the right hand to transfer the congee from the Buddha bowl into the second bowl. [17] Bring the second bowl close to the left side of the Buddha bowl and transfer about seven or eight spoonfuls. Raise the second bowl to the mouth and eat the congee using the spoon. Eat the congee by repeating this procedure as many times as required. When the congee in the Buddha bowl is almost gone, place the second bowl down on the lacquered mat leaving about a spoonful of congee in it. Take up the Buddha bowl, eat the remaining congee, then wipe the bowl with the cleaning stick and replace it on its stand. Then pick up the second bowl and eat the remaining congee, wipe it with the cleaning stick, and place it back on the mat. Then just wait for water to be brought for cleaning.
As to eating rice at the noon meal. Bring the Buddha bowl [18] up near the mouth to eat from it. Do not eat from it while leaving it down on the mat or by putting it to your mouth. The Buddha said, “We must not receive food casually or arrogantly. If we act out of arrogance then we are not far removed from children or harlots.” [19] The upper part of the bowl is to be regarded as stainless [20] and the lower part as touchable. [21] The thumb should be facing in towards the body with the index and middle fingers spread [22] with the last two fingers folded out of the way. Keep the fingers like this and pick up the Buddha bowl with the palm facing downwards, raise it with the palm underneath. [23] If we look for the Buddha's way of doing this in India, the Thus Come One [24] and his disciples ate their food by rolling boiled rice into balls with their right hands and did not use spoons or chopsticks. As Buddhists it is good to remember this. Emperors, world rulers, [25] and nobles also ate by rolling their food around with their hands. You should know that this how the noble ate. In India only sick monks used spoons. Everyone else used their hands. Chopsticks were never seen or heard of there and their use only occurred in China and east of there. So it is only due to local custom that we use them now. As the descendants of the Buddhas and Awakened Ancestors we should follow the forms practiced by the Buddha. However, the custom of taking food up in one's hands has long been out of use and there is no one that the correct forms can be learned from. And so we now use spoons and chopsticks together with the bowls. [26] In taking up and putting down the bowls or in using the spoon or chopsticks do not make clattering noises. Don't eat by poking and stirring the rice around in the Buddha bowl. Except in the case of illness no special requests should be made in regards to rice and soup. Don't try to receive more of some side dish by covering it over with rice. [27] Do not annoy each other by looking into anyone else's bowl. Just eat, being mindful of the bowl. Rice shouldn't be made into a large ball of stuff to put in the mouth all at once. Nor should rice be made into little balls that are popped into the mouth. Don't gather up food that has fallen on the floor and eat it. Do not make sounds when eating. Don't slurp at the food or stick your tongue into it. The Buddha said, “You should not extend your tongue and lick your lips or mouth.” Understand? Do not wave the hands about. Do not draw up your knees between your elbows and eat. Do not eat with your hands and flick food about. The Buddha said, “You should not scatter rice cakes or boiled rice around by eating with your hands like barnyard fowl picking at seeds and scattering them.” Do not eat with dirty hands. Do not poke at it or sip at it violently. The Buddha said, “You should not pile your food into a heap like a grave mound.” Do not eat wet food in the Buddha bowl or pour soup over the boiled rice in the Buddha bowl. Do not mix the soup and side dish with each other or with the rice in the Buddha bowl. Do not eat by stuffing a huge bunch of rice in the mouth and sit there chewing at it with a face like a monkey. Do not be too fast or too slow but coordinate your eating with what is going on around you on the right and left of the seating platforms; avoid eating too quickly and then looking around at everyone else with “folded arms.” Do not fiddle with the bowls or lick your lips waiting for the server [28] to announce “SAISHIN” or seconds. [29] Do not just leave the rice in the bowl and ask for more soup or a side dish. Don't pick or scratch at your head and drop scruff into the Buddha bowl or the other bowls or soil your hands. Don't twitch, hold onto your knees, squat and pull up one knee, yawn or blow your nose loudly. (If you do happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with one hand. If something is stuck between the teeth, again, cover your mouth before trying to extract it.) If you find seeds or nasty bits in your vegetables put them behind your bowls so as to not distract anyone else with it. [30] Don't help anyone else to finish what is in their bowls. Don't ask the servers to use fans in the Hall even in summer heat; if fans are used and your neighbour is chilled you may ask the servers to stop. If you yourself have a cold then you may take meals outside of the Hall after receiving permission from the ino. If we need to communicate anything it is best to do so unobtrusively with gestures rather than with a loud voice. If there is anything left remaining in the bowls you must finish eating it from the cleaning stick. Do not scoop spoonfuls of rice into your mouth, spill rice into the other bowls, or let the spoon become smeared with food. The Buddha has said, “Don't stretch your mouth open, waiting to put food into it.” Do not speak with your mouth full of food. The Buddha said, "Do not try to get more of something by covering your vegetables over with rice or your rice with soup or vegetables.” Understand? The Buddha said, “Do not make click the tongue, lick your lips, or blow on your food to warm or cool it.” Be careful of this. When eating congee, scrape up any remainder with the cleaning stick. In picking up a morsel of food, first move the spoon or chopsticks three times gently to correspond with the Buddha's statement, “In taking meals make balls of rice that are neither too large nor too small.” Bring the bowl of the spoon directly to the mouth so as to not let any food fall. Do not let salt, grains of rice and so on drop onto the lap cloth. If there is any food fallen onto the cloth, gather them and give them to the server. [31] If there are any unhulled grains one can peal the husk and eat it; don't leave unhulled grains uneaten, instead peal the husk and eat it. The Discourse on Three Thousand Manners [32] states, “If you find something inedible, do not eat it, but do not bring it to the attention of others or spit it out.” Do not gather up leftovers from the bowls of your neighbours. [33] Anything that is left over should be given to the servers. When you have finished eating know that this is enough and do not go drooling after more. Whenever you eat, use this as an opportunity to contemplate the actual nature of things and do not waste a grain of rice either in its ultimate or relative mode. [34] Do not noisily scrape the Buddha bowl or other bowls with the spoon and chopsticks. Do not let the finish of the bowls become damaged because once the finish is lost smears and stains are difficult to remove even through washing. After receiving hot water and drinking from the bowl's rim try not to be noisy about it. And do not spit water from your mouth back into the Buddha bowl or anywhere else. Do not use the lap cloth to wipe your face, head, or hands.
As to the standards for cleaning the bowls and utensils. First, tuck up both sleeves in order to avoid their brushing the bowls. Receive water (nowadays, hot water is used) [35] in the Buddha bowl and use the cleaning stick to scrub smoothly and carefully in a clockwise manner thus removing any smears of food. Transferring the water into the second bowl, hold and turn the Buddha bowl with the left hand over the second bowl and clean the inside and outside of it with the cleaning stick in the right hand. [36] After cleaning it properly, hold the bowl in the left hand and take up the wipe cloth in the right. Drape the wipe cloth across the bowl and then turning clockwise wipe it dry. [37] Leave the cloth folded in the bowl without letting it stick out over the rim and place the Buddha bowl down on its stand. Wash the spoon and then the chopsticks in the second bowl and then dry them by running them through the wipe cloth without removing it from the Buddha bowl. [38] After drying the spoon and chopsticks with the cloth place them in the utensil case and put the case back in its place behind the second bowl. [39] The second bowl is washed in the third bowl. Using the left hand to hold both the cleaning stick and the second bowl, [40] raise the second bowl slightly and put the third bowl in its place with the right hand. Transfer the water from the second to the third bowl and wash the second bowl. [41] If a fourth bowl is used then repeat this procedure to wash the third bowl. None of the utensils nor bowls should be washed from water held in the Buddha bowl. Wash the Buddha bowl first, then the spoon and chopsticks, then the second, third, and fourth bowls. Dry everything thoroughly and nest the bowls in the Buddha bowl. Then dry the cleaning stick and place it in the utensil case. [42] Do not fold the lap cloth yet and do not discard the water. Do not dump the cleaning water under the raised platform. The Buddha said, "Do not put any leftover bits of food into the water in the bowl." Remember this point. [43] When the servers comes with a pail to receive the water, bring the hands palm to palm and then pour the water into the receptacle. [44] Be careful not to spill water on the sleeves of the servers. Do not wash your hands in the water. Do not stain the ground with the water. As with the second bowl and so on, place this bowl in the Buddha bowl, holding it on the inside of the rim with pressure from the thumbs of both hands. [45] Pick up the Buddha bowl with the left hand, palm up, and place it in the centre of the wrapping cloth. [46] With the back of the right hand facing upwards take up the nearest corner of the lacquered mat, hold it near the body and fold it up with both hands, and place it over the mouth of the bowl. Now take up the corner of the wrapping cloth facing the body and bring it up over the mouth of the Buddha bowl and cover it and then the corner that is hanging over the edge of the platform. [47] Put the utensil case on top of the lap cloth. In the old days the cleaning stick was placed alone on top of the lap cloth but now its is put into the utensil case along with the spoon and chopsticks. Now cover the utensil case with the wipe cloth. [48] Now, pick up the left and then the right corners of the wrapping cloth using the left and right hands [49] and tie them so that the corners hang towards the body. One reason for this is so that you will know which way the bowls should face and another is that it makes the set easier to untie. Now that the bowls are wrapped bring the hands palm to palm and sit in silence until the mallet strikes the block to signal the descent from the Hall. The attendant to Manjushri will strike this. [50] The attendant to Manjushri is seated in the outer hall next to the Abbot's [51] attendant. To strike this signal the attendant rises from the seat, descends the platform, bows, enters the hall with the hands held palm to palm, and enters the Hall. Bowing to the Manjushri altar and passing the southern side of the incense offering table, the attendant reaches the western side of the mallet and block and then stands waiting with hands clasped before the chest until the Abbot and the assembly have finished wrapping their bowls. [52] The attendant strikes with the mallet once and then replaces the crepe cover on the mallet and block and bows. Now, I think at Kissho-ji [53] the ino begins the Shosekaibon chant [54] at this signal. This is the old way established by Abbot Yojo [55] and so we follow that tradition now.
The Abbot now leaves the Hall. When he leaves the Hall the bell is struck for practice recess. [56] The Abbot descends from the chair and bows to the Manjushri altar. The attendant will have withdrawn from beside the mallet and block and have gone behind the altar so as to not obstruct the Abbot. Next the practitioners stand up and each hangs their bowls on the hook. First, holding the bowls with both hands, stand and turn to face the nameplate. Holding the bowls with the left hand, place them on the hook with right. Bring the hands palm to palm, turn clockwise toward the edge of the platform and then descend. Step down onto the floor slowly, put on your sandals, bow to seniors and juniors. If the Great Tea Ceremony [57] is to be served, the procedures are the same as for this morning meal in terms of entering and leaving the Hall, ascending and descending the platform and so on. Next, place the cushion under the platform [58] and leave the Hall. If there is a recess from practice after the Abbot leaves the Hall then the bell is struck three times. If there is to be a morning teaching [59] then no bells are sounded. If a patron has requested a teaching by the Abbot in the Dharma Hall then the "ascending the Hall" [60] is struck even if the recess has already been struck. Following this the bell for release would be struck three times once again. Also if the Great Tea is served in the evening, the bell for "descending the Hall" [61] is sounded three times after the Abbot has bowed to the Manjushri altar and left the Hall. If the kann-in or shuso are going to have tea served then after escorting the Abbot, they return to the Hall, bow before the Manjushri altar and then to the upper and lower seats of the Hall. After all of the tea bowls are retrieved then the "descending the Hall" bell is struck three times before the assembly descends the raised platforms. In leaving and in entering the Hall dignity must be practiced. with each step being only half a stride and coordinated with the breath. This is walking in harmony. [62] This is as instructed in the Hokyo-ki. [63]
Appendix: Meal Chants
All: The Buddha was born at Kapalavastu, Awakened at Magadha, taught at Varanasi, entered signlessness at Kuchina. Now I open the Buddha Tathagatha's eating bowls. May donors, receivers and offerings be free of self-clinging together with all beings.
Leader: In the midst of the Three Jewels together with all beings we chant the Buddha's names.
All: I proclaim the pure Dharmakaya Vairochana Buddha, the complete Samboghakaya Vairochana Buddha, numberless Nirmanakaya Shakyamuni Buddhas, the coming Maitreya Buddha, the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions, the Mahayana Saddharma Pundarika sutra, Manjushri Bodhisattva Mahasattva, Mahayana Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, great compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, all Bodhisattva Mahasattvas, Mahaprajna paramita!
(breakfast only)
Leader: This meal arises from the labour of all beings, its ten benefits nourish bodymind and strengthens pure practice.
(lunch and supper)
Leader: We offer this meal of three virtues, six flavours, to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and to all life in all worlds.
(Gokan-no-ge: the Five Remembrances)
All: (gassho) This meal arises from the labour of all beings (bow with shashu) may we remember their offering. (hokkoin) Delusions are many, attention wanders, may we justify this offering. Greed arises from self-cherishing, may we be free in moderation. This offering sustains us, gives us strength, may we be grateful. We use this strength and attain the Way.
(lunch only)
All: All hungry ghosts, I offer you this. This food will pervade everywhere. (bow and make seven grain offering)
All: (gassho) First, this food is for the Three Jewels. (bow, place spoon in fuhatsu) Second it is for our teacher, our parents, land,and all beings. Third for all beings of the six realms. (bow and raise fuhatsu) Thus, we eat this food with everyone. We eat to end wrong action, to practice purity, to liberate all beings, to accomplish the Buddhaway.
The water with which I clean these bowls tastes like nectar. I offer it to the various beings that they might be satisfied. OM MAKURASAI SOWAKA
(Eko) This is as the boundless sky, a lotus flowering above the water. Stainlessness is itself this mind; in this Awakening we stand exposed.
Footnotes [1] The abbot is regarded as the host, the monks as guests, and so as is the tradition of Asian hospitality the host is served last. [2] The left hand is to be held either in a modified gassho or shashu before the chest. [3] O-ryo-ki means “honourable,” “measure or amount,” “bowl.” So, “holds just enough” or “Honourable Just Right.” [4] When receiving food in the zuhatsu, hold the bowl level in the left hand using the thumb, index, and middle fingers and resting the fourth quarter of the bowl against the folded last two fingers and heel of the hand; the bowl is extended out towards the server away from the hattan or fukusa; the right hand is held palm up next to the zuhatsu, about two fingers width below its lip. When the desired quantity is reached smoothly raise the right hand to the level of the lip of the bowl and lower it again. [5] This strike is called henjikitsui (“the food is here”). [6] In most oryoki traditions the zuhatsu is not raised and held during the Gokan-no-ge as is instructed here. To do so, bow forward keeping the head and shoulders aligned. At about the halfway point of the bow the right hand circles down to pick up the spoon, thumb on top of the handle and index and middle fingers underneath. Raise the spoon and move it in a smooth arc into the zuhatsu with the handle facing straight away from the body. At this point the left hand grasps the zuhatsu with the thumb, index and middle fingers on the left side and the right hand does the same. Lift the bowl lightly and bring it in towards the tanden and then raise it up to just above eye level. By the time that the bowl has reached the tanden, bend the wrists in towards the bowl so that its bottom edge facing away from the body rests on the folded fourth and fifth fingers, the index and middle fingers are spread, and the tips of the thumbs touch in the centre of the side of the bowl facing towards the body. When the zuhatsu is raised to above eye level, the thumbs and the bottom edge of the bowl should create a triangular shape. Look at this shape in the foreground and the rest of the bowl and the whole visual field equally as the Five Rememberances are chanted. In some traditions the relationship between this triangle and the surrounding space is associated with mikkyo practices. [7] Gokan-no-ge. [8] In those traditions that do not raise the zuhatsu for the Gokan-no-ge the first line is chanted with the hands in gassho, the second involves a bow with the hands in shashu, the third with the hands lowered to the hokko-in of zazen until the end of the chant. [9] Saba. The hungry ghosts are denizens of a condition of experience based upon a fundamental sense of poverty which inhibits them from experiencing anything outside of this state. Everything that is experienced is rearranged by the parameters of the state to be either consistent with it or excluded. This is symbolized by the image of hungry ghosts being unable to quench their thirst because as soon as they lift fresh water to their mouths it becomes transformed into festering ooze and by their possessing mouths no larger than a pinprick, unable to ingest even so much as a grain of rice or barley to fill their enlargedstomachs. The offering of saba is a gesture of reminding ourselves of the misfortunes of those who live in the midst of the inconceivable richness of experience and yet live out the craving and miserliness that arises from the narrowness of self-image and of offering richness not in the grains of rice lad out but through them. [10] Before placing the offering the hands are held in gassho and the Saba-no-ge (or Shussan-no-ge ) is chanted: "All hungry ghosts, I offer you this. This food will pervade everywhere". [11] Don't just make a lump of stuff and drop it on the setsu handle; be mindful and precise. [12] Hansen. [13] Zuhatsu or fuhatsu, The largest bowl at the extreme left of the set. [14] Hattetsu. A traditional zuhatsu is rounded at the bottom in imitation of the classical Indian iron alms-bowl and so needs to be placed on a stand. [15] Time to eat. Often gomasio (sesame salt) is served as a condiment for the congee and would be received in the san-kun (third bowl). The gomasio would be sprinkled onto the congee before the procedure described in this passage begins. In some traditions the gomasio would be sprinkled pinch by pinch with the fingers as one eats. Others would consider this to be outrageously decadent and insist that the gomasio should be added by picking up the san-kun with the right hand brining it with a smooth arc towards the tanden and then around to over top of the zuhatsu and then sliding the gomasio into the congee. Others would regard the use of any condiment added to food already served as a self-indulgent distraction from the oryoki process itself and a grave insult to the skill of the tenzo (chief cook) in working to prepare food appropriate ro as many people's tastes as is possible. It might be noted that some monasteries or Zen centres actually hand out condiment trays bearing shoyu (soy sauce), vinegar, salt and pepper, chili sauces, and ketchup. [16] Well, not really. [17] As the Buddha bowl (zuhatsu) represents the Buddha's own alms-bowl which has merely been lent to the monk to use, it is considered vile and rude to put lips or tongue to the edge of the bowl or to risk spilling anything down its side wheras this is quite acceptable and necessary in drinking soup from the ni-kun (second bowl). Since congee is quite wet, it is difficult to eat it without some risk of spilling and so the congee is transferred to the ni-kun. Some traditions of oryoki disregard this and use the zuhatsu for congee anyway. Others eat congee from the Buddha bowl but make the congee firmer to prevent spillage or needing to drink the remainder from the zuhatsu. [18] Hou. [19] Although I am unable to locate the source of this quote in the classical Vinaya there are numerous rules concerning conduct in regards to food there. These range from monks not being allowed to get the nuns to beg food for them, not consuming beings who are still alive, and not eating more than two or three bowls of barley gruel, to not making disgusting sounds (ie. “chuchu, sursuru, shulushulu”) or annoying each other with food, to how to go amongst the laypeople for arms in a manner which conveys the dignity of the practice and the Dharma. Some of these are raised by Dogen further on in the text. [20] Jo. [21] Soku. [22] So that the whole acts as a tripod to support the bowl. [23] The thumb, index, and middle fingers of the left hand grasp the zuhatsu from the top left side and lift it from the mat; steady it with the same fingers of the right hand and smoothly rotate the left hand underneath the zuhatsu. [24] Tathagata. [25] Chakravartin. [26] It was always of concern to Dogen that his teaching be understood not as something new imported from China or as a particular school or sect but rather as simply the continuation of what the Buddha had practiced and realized and was the actual essence of practice, the Original Dharma or the Shobo. [27] Since food is never mixed from bowl to bowl this would be impossible to do in oryoki practice. It is more a reference to one of the Buddha's teachings for monks eating from alms-bowls in which anything and everything gathered is mixed together. Nontheless, Dogen repeats this instruction further on in the text. [28] Kasshiki-anja. [29] In some styles of oryoki only a single serving is practiced. [30] This is of course leaves the question of just what to do with it when cleaning the bowls to put the set away. Add it to the hungry ghosts offering which will be put outside for the birds, insects, and other animals. Or if there is no hungry ghost offering made, place it inside the koromo and dispose of it later unobtrusively. [31] Again, add it to the hungry ghosts offering. [32] Sanqian weijing; Sanzen-igi-kyo. [33] The text uses the term “joza” which means “senior seat,” a term for a monk of twenty years ordination. [34] The last part of this sentence is a Dogen joke. Get it? [35] Plain hot water (josui) is usually used but some traditions a tea made with any rice that has burned on the bottom of the cooking pot called koto is used at the noon meal. Some monasteries even use bancha. [36] In some oryoki traditions the Buddha bowl is held on the left knee resting on the left hand's thumb and first two fingers and cleaned with the setsu in the right hand. As the Buddha bowl is never brought to the lips and one is mindful of every part of it but the very bottom of the bowl as stainless (jo), there is never any spillage or smearing on the outside of this bowl. Therefore it is not only unnecessary to clean the outside of the Buddha bowl (unless the entire set is being gently washed, clothes and all on a cleaning day) but this would dishonour the oryoki process. [37] The wipe cloth is picked up with the right hand by one corner so that it falls open into a triangle, draped over the bowl so that the flat base of the triangle is to the left and the top point to the right. Then the point closest to the body is folded into the bowl three times. During this the Buddha bowl is held level in the left hand by the thumb and first two fingers. Once the cloth is folded into the bowl it is held in place by the right first two fingers while the left hand is turned at the wrist so that the Buddha bowl is turned 180 degrees into a half-moon shape. The cloth has been pressed against the bottom of the bowl during this and so has absorbed excess water that might have otherwise dripped. Sweep the cloth four times clockwise around the bottom of the bowl. Leaving the cloth in the bottom of the bowl, straighten it and hook the left thumb and then the right inside the rim. Place the Buddha bowl smoothly onto the lacquer mat or wrapping cloth base. [38] Pick up the spoon with the right hand, bring it around the bowl to the left side to about the centre of the bowl, transfer it to the left hand. Pick up the cleaning stick (setsu) with the right hand and scrub the bowl of the spoon pushing outwards four times. Turn the spoon over in the left hand, scrub the bottom of the spoon four times pushing outwards. Put the setsu back down in the second bowl so that its cloth tip faces the body and its handle points to 12 o'clock of the outer rim. Bring the spoon around to the left side wiping cloth in the Buddha bowl by describing the bottom edge of a circle horizontal to the body with the gesture. Bring the spoon around to over the wipe cloth, find a loose corner with the right hand, fold it over the spoon's overturned bowl. Turn the bowl of the spoon with the left hand in the corner of cloth held by the right hand until its handle faces away at 12 o'clock and then begin to push the spoon through the wipe cloth. When its is three quarters of the way through, bring the left hand around to receive it just above the bowl of the spoon or at the base of the handle. Pulling it all the way free of the cloth, transfer it to the right hand. Without picking up the utensil case slide the spoon so that it fits into the open flap of the case. Repeat this process for the chopsticks (hashi) except for the following. Once the hashi are transferred to the right hand so that the tips of the hashi are pointing to the left, straighten the back and bring the right elbow back so that the hashi are held to the right side of the torso, tips still pointing left, right hand palm up. Bending forward, pick up the folded utensil case with the left hand (holding the spoon firmly in place) and bring the case up so that it rests at heart level, the handle of the spoon pointing straight out. Bring the hashi tips in a smooth arc of the right hand and forearm to the left side of the spoon inside the open fold of the case. Ensuring that the hashi and spoon are held firmly, the right hand holding the the handles of both now, shimmy the case up over them with the left hand. When they are fully enclosed by the case bring the left hand out away from the body so that the case is no longer pressed against the chest and close the flap with the right hand. The thumb of the right hand is held under the case with the palm facing away from the body, fingers on top. Bring both left and right hands so that the case is held parallel to the chest with the thumbs of each hand on the side of the case facing the chest, fingers outwards, palms down. Place the case straight down so that the hashi and spoon inside are pointing to the left knee, the closed flap to the right. [39] Some traditions group the spoon and hashi together with the setsu (cleaning stick) as utensils and so clean and dry them together just before the water offering is drunk from the third bowl. [40] The thumb faces in towards the body, the index and middle fingers are spread so that the setsu is held between them against the rim of the bowl. [41] The second and third bowl are washed while leaving them placed in the centre of the base cloth. The only difference in the procedure for drying is that since the outside and inside of these bowls are washed, once the folded wipe cloth is draped in a triangle over the bowl, the right and left thumbs hook the bowl and cloth together, the bowl is turned so that its bottom faces way from the chest and then is turned within the cloth using both hands clockwise four times. Then the bowl is placed on the thumb and first two fingers of the left hand and the right hand folds the wipe cloth into the bowl and the rest of the procedure follows. [42] The process with this is almost exactly the same as for the spoon except that the tip of the handle of the setsu is placed into the flap of the utensil case and then the flap is folded down once more so that the setsu rests on top of the case but held in place by the flap. [43] In monasteries where the water is collected, any grains of rice or whatever that are left are to remain in the bottom of the bowl along with a small portion of water which is then drunk. [44] This is only the case if the water offering (sessui) is not drunk entirely from the bowl as at Zazen-ji. At most monasteries the following chant is practiced: "The water with which I clean these bowls tastes like nectar. I offer it to the various beings that they might be satisfied. OM MAKURASAI SOWAKA." [45] The bowl that contained the water is dried before placing it with the other bowls and the wipe cloth is kept folded up tightly in the right hand. [46] Or the set of bowls is picked up with the left hand palm down, the thumb at five o'clock, the index and middle fingers spread at the top of the edge facing away from the body. [47] The text omits to mention taking care of the lap cloth. Pick it up slightly with the left hand at its centre near the belly, slide the right hand palm up underneath and grasp the bottom edge with the thumb underneath and the tips of the index and middle fingers on top. Flip the clothby bringing the right hand in towards the body and the left hand away. Fold it in half horizontally and then fold it in three vertically by bringing the right hand in towards the left. Holding the top edge with the right hand, bring the left hand smoothly down the left side from the top to the bottom. Move the right hand to top centre and the left hand to bottom centre. Place the folded cloth down on the covered bowls with the left hand moving away from the body so that the bottom edge becomes the top and right coming towards the body so that the top becomes the the bottom. In this way there will be an open edge at the upper left hand side of the folded lap cloth that can be picked up with the left hand and allowed to simply fall open when the orioki set is next opened for use. [48] The wipe cloth has been held crumpled up in the right hand until now. Find a corner with the thumb and index finger (the cloth should have been placed in the right hand with this already in mind so that a corner is easy to find). Open the other fingers and palm and allow the wipe cloth to hang from this corner. With the left thumb and index finger pick up the corner opposite to that held by the right hand. Pull the corners away from each other sharply (there can be a slight snapping sound but it must be very slight) to smooth out the cloth. Now bring the corner held by the right hand over to the left hand. Grasp this corner with the left hand and release that previously held. With the right hand pick up the new corresponding corner. Repeat this process until the cloth has been rotated once through all of its corners. If the seamed edge is facing towards the body then flip the cloth up as it is placed down over the set that this edge is now facing downwards. If the seamed edge is facing away from the body then simply place it down. This is the process used at Zazen-ji. If a larger wipe cloth is used then it must be folded in half before placing it down. This is done by moving the hands down from the top edge of the wipe cloth to its centre and then letting the cloth fall into a fold, turning it 180 degees and then setting it down on the set. [49] Place the left hand palm up on the centre of the set. Pick up the left corner with the right hand and thread it over the palm but under the thumb and fourth finger of the left hand. Now the right hand picks up the right corner and places it between the index and middle fingers of the left hand. The right hand grasps the corner held betwen the third and fourth finger of the left hand which is then released by the left hand. The left hand pulls towards the body while maintaining hold of the corner held by the index and middle fingers. The left hand brings this corner up and moves down towards the base of the strip of cloth holding it near the tie already made. With the right hand brought in towards the body, tie this corner up and over that held by the left and then tuck the tab into the knot while moving the left hand up to pull its corner taught. This will leave the left hand's corner longer than that of the right and the right hand's corner folded into the knot. Fold the projecting corner down towards the body and to the right. [50] This sentence is an insertion into the original text. [51] Docho. "Head of the Hall." [52] Everyone should have finished at the same time, juniors matching the pace set by seniors, seniors accomodating the pace of juniors. [53] This portion of this sentence is an insertion. Kissho-ji means Eihei-ji. [54] The " Song of Living in This World ": "This is as the boundless sky, like a lotus flowering above the water. Stainlessness is itself this mind, thus we bow to the Buddha." [55] Eisai. [56] Hosan This sentence is an insertion into the original text. [57] Daizo-chato. The Abbot or a senior office holder sometimes sponsors the serving of tea or some other drink to the practitioners while they are seated in the Monk' Hall. [58] In most monasteries the zafu are placed in the closets (kanki) behind each monk's seating space instead of under the tan. [59] Sosan. [60] Jodo or shindo. This would be signalled by wooden blocks (kaishaku) being struck outside the Monks" Hall and all of the other buildings of the monastery complex. [61] Ado . [62] Zanmai. [63] Hokyo-ki: Hokyo (Baojing) Era Journal. A journal kept by Dogen during his first year of study under Tiantong Rujing.
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