From The Zen Kitchen To Enlightenment : Refining Your Life

Rating:
Summary: beginners best look elsewhere
Review: 'Zen Kitchen' is two bits: a short letter from the famous 13th century Japanese zennist Dogen Zenji who traveled to Chinese monasteries, and a longer commentary of Uchiyama, a zennie in the 1950's, on the importance of this letter. In his travels the monk sees that in Chinese monasteries the monks take kitchen duty much more seriously than in Japan, and he sets forth to describe to his Japanese brethren the superior zen-like manner of the Chinese.

If you are on the path to learn or be zen in some sort of mindful and awake way, this book should most likely be pretty far downslope on your list of must-reads. The translation of the letter seems superior, even the footnotes are instructively excellent, but at the end of the day you can get most of this book by reading this sentence carefully: "Kitchen duty for the Chinese, the Japanese and for you, and even the most boring vegetables and tasks associated with it, is not to be despised or delegated, rather one must approach it with the same hands-on equanimity of spirit, mindful attitude, exactness, and joie de vivre as every other moment in the well-lived life. And it is not an excuse to stop meditating!'

Uchiyama's commentary, the majority of the book, is, ummm, more challenging, and my opinion disagrees with most of the other reviewers, who I hope will atleast consider not voting me off the page! While the commentary occasionally sparkles with insight, it emits atleast as much curmudgeonly whining about modern life in the 1950's: Bureaucrats, Over-Anxious Mothers, Lazy College Teachers, Profit-Oriented Architects, the lazy priesthood, and even nutritionists all fall pray to uchiyama's withering and basically insubstantial rants. The best parts of his commentary are just the direct quotes from the original letter. The ravings of an old crank liberal monk in 1956 Japan has its place, but its relevance to learning zen seems marginal to me, unless one were a particularly advanced practitioner of many years with some narrow historical interest.
Bottom line: Read suzuki's 'zen mind beginners mind' atleast 3 times, Kapleau's '3 pillars', and everything by Sekida, and even some of the Tibetan stuff, before you get to working on this one...
use the force wisely!

Rating:
Summary: This may be the only Zen book you'll ever need.
Review: REFINING YOUR LIFE : From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment by Zen Master Dogen and Kosho Uchiyama. Translated by Thomas Wright. 122 pp. New York and Tokyo : Weatherhill, 1983 and Reprinted.

'Refining Your Life' comprises two main parts. First we are given a lucid translation of Dogen Zenji's 'Tenzo Kyokun' - 'Instructions for the Zen Cook' (pp. 3-23). Then follows Kosho Uchiyama Roshi's insightful commentary, 'How to Cook Your Life' (pp. 23-97). The book also has an 8-page Translator's Introduction, and is rounded out with a section of Notes and a Glossary.

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Dogen (1200-1253). As one of the most powerful and brilliant minds Asia has produced - and it has produced many - his works should be viewed, not so much as a purely local and Japanese phenomenon, but as a supreme contribution to world literature. For all of us, he is, as Taizan Maezumi Roshi has said, an inexhaustible spring of wisdom.

If Dogen's 'Instructions for the Zen Cook' was simply a treatise on the rules and manners of the Zen kitchen, it would have little interest for us. Dogen, however, goes on to draw a parallel between preparing meals for a Zen monastery and 'cooking' or 'refining' our lives. The important thing to realize is that we cannot make things happen. Everything that comes, whether good or bad, is to be accepted as the Self, and life should be lived free of bias and on the basis of Self. Kosho Uchiyama writes:

"As difficult as it may seem to be, the highest, ultimate truth in life is grounded in the fact that there are no favorable or adverse circumstances, no fortune or misfortune. All there is, is the life of the Self" (page 78).

The present book can be recommended to readers who may be new to Dogen. At just twenty pages, the basic text is quite short. And Kosho Uchiyama's modern-day interpretation is an eminently readable guide to Dogen's thought. As such the book provides an excellent introduction to Dogen's other works, such as may be found, for example, in Francis H. Cook's selections from Dogen's 'Shobogenzo,' or in Kazuaki Tanahashi's 'Moon in a Dewdrop : Writings of Zen Master Dogen.' On the other hand, it may be the only Zen book you'll ever need - it's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Speaks to the heart
Review: Refining your Life is like drinking fresh spring water after you've been drinking tap water. It is an exquisite book. Way beyond a commentary on cooking it is a lucid, inspiring wake up call to live your life fully. Uchiyama's writing style is incredible. Beautiful, plain but not simple. I am moved by how engaging and honest he is about his personal questions and practice. this is a book about showing up 100% in your life.