Vegetarian Meal for Zen Monks

Wednesday, March 27

"Chestnuts" made of sweet potato and tea noodles

Kangaan

Nami-san

     Nami-san, our Japanese tutor last year, took us for a lunch meal at a small Zen temple, Kangaan.  It is a special kind of vegetarian meal served for monks, Fucharyori, comprised of many small preparations of vegetables, all beautifully presented and some made to resemble raw or grilled fish.  The sweet at the end of the meal is a soup of sweet azuki beans.  Here is the meaning of the meal as presented to us in English:

          Five Preaching Messages
1. Think of the good deeds you have done and think how you could achieve it
2. Think of good deeds you have done and have meal as you deserve them
3. Don't be greedy but be satisfied with simple food
4. If you believe it is good for your health, it should work as you believe
5. You should have this meal to achieve the Buddhism virtue

     Afterwards, we went back to the University to hear a lecture on "super ego" by a visiting German psychoanalyst, Dr Tomas Plaenkers.   It is always interesting to consider these sorts of ideas from a cross cultural perspective, and of course there are big differences but incomplete understanding...We went with a few students for a drink afterwards but peeled off in order to meet some old friends for dinner: Emmanuel Delille, Filippo Nuccio, Peter Kassian and Nicholas Dasonville.  Only Giovanni was missing as he is back in Italy.  We went to a Kakatori place (Saeyura) near Hyakumanben and had a lively and very late evening.  This leaves us one more day...

Love to all