For many years I’ve expressed my experience of the Monastery as “heaven on earth” for the unconditional love and compassion that is reflected in how everything is done. So when I had the opportunity for a month-long stay at the Monastery last year, one of the things that caught my attention was conditioned mind questioning the daily practice of reading aloud the kitchen guidelines before the morning food preparation. How was this a compassionate practice? Was it really necessary to repeat this each day? Like everything in practice, paying attention revealed so much. I noticed that, as I really listened, something “new” from the reading was almost always brought into awareness. It was as if there were hidden gifts of information waiting to be recognized and understood. I also saw how the repetition of the kitchen guidelines, that had been so carefully and thoughtfully composed, was a reminder that repetition is a foundation of practice. Just as the Daily Recollection reminds us of all this practice encompasses, the kitchen guidelines remind us how to be present in caring for the food, equipment, and cooks. Everything and all are considered and included.
The example of the kitchen guidelines reflecting care and kindness for all was especially helpful, given a conditioned process I had become aware of months earlier. I had seen how things both large and small were often dismissed as “not important” or “not important enough.” This process of dismissing had gone undetected for a very long time. The care and compassion for everything, exemplified in the daily reading of the kitchen guidelines, exposed the process of dismissing all the more for the separation and suffering it causes. What a privilege to be in a place where EVERYTHING matters, from how you chop carrots to washing an iron skillet, all is considered. When this level of care and presence is required, the habits and processes of conditioned mind stand in stark contrast, exposed for what they are.
There is huge gratitude for all that’s been revealed through the practice of presence with the daily reading of the kitchen guidelines. As a result, the care and compassion it represents are clearly reflected in everything and everyone.
Gassho,
Jan