( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – VII )
… yet sincerely and carefully doing one’s best to make it good
**(Before the noon meal, the tenzo conducts a service in the kitchen for Soko Shinsai, a Chinese folk deity and the guardian spirit of the oven who came to be enshrined in Chinese Zen temples, later brought to Japan.)
When you have finished,think about the ingredients for the next day's meals. First, pick over therice. If there are any insects, green beans, hulls or pebbles, carefully pickthem out. While picking over the rice and vegetables, the postulants should chantsutras and dedicate the merit to the kitchen god. ** Next, select the ingredientsfor the vegetables and soup and cook them. Do not argue with the store officersover the amount of ingredients you have received. Without worrying about theirquality, simply make the best of what you have. It is prohibited to show yourfeelings or say anything about the amount of ingredients.
From: Tenzo Kyokun - Instructions for the Cook by Eihei Dogen - Translated by Griffith Foulk
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