Welcome to Day 3 of our 7 Day Gratitude Practice
"You must not leave the washing or rice or the preparation on vegetables to others, but must carry out this work with your own hands."
--from Instructions To The Cook, by Dogen Zenji
Begin the morning with your grounding practice (taking refuge in the True Self) at your Centering Space.
Sit 5-10 minutes (or longer) silent meditation, undisturbed.
Oryoki Meal:
"Just enough"
Oryoki is a contemplative form of preparing, serving and consuming food. In traditional Zen monasteries, this meal is highly formalized and ritualized, in fact, another form of meditation.
We don't have to live in a monastic community to practice Oryoki--allow yourself to view Oryoki today as a means to cultivate mindfulness and gratitude, and to consider the myriad ways in which your food has been brought to you.
Today, plan, create and consume a meal from beginning to end, with family/ friends or in solitude, using Oryoki as a guideline. Find a recipe, shop for the ingredients, prepare mindfully, eat just enough.
Have fun and share!
Before your meal, please recite aloud the Meal Prayer below:
Meal Prayer (Gatha)
Let us give thanks for the 48 labors that brought this food to our table,
And for the life that has been given so that we may live.
Let us always be mindful of those who have less than we,
And always work so that all my be fed.
May it be so.
Finish the day with your grounding practice at your Centering Space. Meditate 5-10 minutes (or longer) in silent meditation, undisturbed.
Continue your journaling practice:
For tonight, ask yourself,"How much is enough?" Write whatever comes to mind, without edit. List 5-10 things for which you are grateful, different from yesterday.
Finally, offer yourself loving-kindness for your day, using the Metta prayer from Friday.
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