By: Eihei Dogen
I shall now take up the work of the tenzo (cook) covering a period of one complete day. After the noon meal the tenzo should go to the tsūsu and kansu to get the rice, vegetables, and other ingredients for the following morning and noon meals. Once he has these, he must handle them as carefully as if they were his own eyes. Renyong of Baoneng said, “Use the property and possessions of the community as carefully as if they were you own eyes.” The tenzo should handle all food he receives with respect, as if it were to be used in a meal for the emperor.
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….preparations for the next morning’s meal may begin. You must not leave the washing of rice or preparation of vegetables so others, but must carry out this work with your own hands. Put your whole attention into the work, seeing just what the situation calls for. Do not be absent-minded in your activities, nor so absorbed in one aspect of a matter that you fail to see its other aspects.
From: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment: Refining Your Life, by Dogen and Uchiyama. This volume is a translation of and commentary on Dogen’s Tenzo Kyōkun (Instructions to the Zen Cook).