Tenzo Kyōkun

I think of Dogen's early journey to China in search of a true teacher, of his previously being enamored by books and letters, not having found yet what is at the heart of each moment.

Early on in the Tenzo Kyokun, Instructions for the Cook, Dogen describes his encounter with the tenzo, who is buying mushrooms and has to get back to cook dinner.

In Dogen's telling, I experience him as so young, so raw in his misunderstanding of Zen, and I can feel Dogen's gratitude for this encounter [sneezing] eventually led him to find his teacher.

Dogen is so poignantly honest, so human, so just like us.

And frustratingly complex and difficult to stay in the present moment, because to me, this is what a lot about what we're talking about.

Those of you who are familiar with Domio's podcast on the Tenzo Kyokun, in the second of the two, that's instructions to the cook, in the second of the two, she lists things that Dogen is telling us.

And I've been working with them one by one, and I just got finished working with, um, refused to be pushed about by our judgments and feelings.

I don't know if I'm saying that correctly.

When we let go of our ego-driven desires, Dogen teaches that instead of viewing joy as something to chase after, he taught that joy is actively realized through the standard rhythms of daily work, meditation, and continuous practice.

In his famous text, the Tenzo Kyokun, or Instructions to the Cook, Dogen outlines three minds.

three minds required of the practitioner, particularly of the tenzo, but this is, of course, true for all of us.

Magnanimous mind, daishin, kind mind, doshin, and joyful mind, tishin.