SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

80 Sōtō Zento the boat to buy some Japanese mushrooms. D‡gen invitedhim for a cup of tea and asked many questions about howBuddhism was practiced in China. Then becoming morepersonal, D‡gen asked him to stay longer; the chief cookreplied: ÒI am afraid that is impossible for, should I stay longer,who will do to-morrowÕs cooking?Ó ÒSurely in a temple as bigas Ayuwan-shan someone else is capable of cooking food? Icannot believe that the absence of one Chief Cook could causetrouble,Ó D‡gen said. ÒAlthough I am old, I, as the Chief Cook,am in charge of cooking. Since this is the training of my oldage how is it possible for me to give such duties to others? Itmust also be remembered that I did not get permission to stayout for the night,Ó was his reply. ÒSurely it would be better foryou to do Zazen or study k‡ans,Ó D‡gen said. ÒWhatever is theuse of working so hard merely at the duties of a Chief Cook?ÓHe laughed heartily when hearing D‡genÕs comment saying,ÒMy good foreigner, you have no idea of the true meaning ofBuddhist training, nor of its character.Ó [Zen is Eternal Life,1999, pp. 152Ð153.] D‡gen felt deeply ashamed and realizedthat his thinking had been erroneous. Because of the words ofthe old cook, for the first time he came to know the meaning ofBuddhist training.Religion is not something confined to the church ormonastery. Nor is it limited to invoking the name of the Buddha