Work Practice at Shao Shan Temple
by Rev. Kenzan Seidenberg
One of the practice opportunities available at Shao Shan
Temple is Work Practice. Like sitting
meditation, walking meditation, and chanting practice, work practice is an
opportunity to be in the present moment – actually experiencing “what is the
reality of this moment.” In Zen, we are
encouraged to enter into each moment and each activity fully and
wholeheartedly. To be fully present with our activity is a moving
meditation. In Zen monasteries, carrying
objects with both hands assists us to bring our whole mind together – the
opposite of multitasking! Sometimes there can be the idea that to work
mindfully means to work slowly, but this need not be the case. Sometimes the situation calls for working
slowly, and sometimes it calls for working with the energy appropriate to
We may notice internal dialogue while working, especially if
it is a job we do not like! This is an opportunity to repeatedly return our
attention to the task at hand. For example, when washing the dishes we are
aware of the physical sensations of scrubbing the pot, the shine of the portion
already completed, and the warmth of the hot soapy water.
One of the surprising aspects of life in a Zen monastery is
that the ways in which everything is done
is considered important. Every activity is an opportunity to express our Buddha
Nature and to express our innate awake nature of caring and goodness. Whereas
we would usually think that cleaning the altar is much more important than
cleaning the outhouse, we are encouraged to see each activity as valuable in
and of itself. Dogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen in Japan, taught
extensively about work: both the details of how tasks were to be done and the
kind of mind to be maintained while doing them. One of his best known teachings
on work is the Tenzokyokun (Instructions for the Cook). In this he emphasized the importance of
careful attention to detail and how the preparation of food can be an
expression of the teachings. Dogen points out that respect and
nondiscrimination are vital even in the smallest details:
Do
not be careless with poor ingredients and do not depend on fine ingredients to
do your work for you, but work with everything with the same sincerity. If you
do not do so then it is like changing your behavior according to the status of
the person you meet; this is not how a student of the Way is.
Also in the Tenzokyokun,
Dogen writes:
When
we train in any of the offices of the monastery [any work practice] we should do so with a joyful heart, a grandmotherly
heart, and a vast heart.
Work practice at Shao Shan Temple is also an opportunity to
interact with other sangha members, an opportunity to be with one another with
a joyful heart, a grandmotherly heart, and a vast heart. We suggest keeping the conversation only to
the task at hand rather than talking about personal history or hopes and
dreams. Talking about such things are
the usual ways of getting to know one another. However, it can be surprising how much we can
get to know about a person by the way they hand a piece of firewood or the way
they carry the other side of the tarp.
Shao Shan Temple is alive through your presence, your being,
and your actions. Through your work the cushions are clean, the grounds are
free of fallen sticks, the garden produce is processed, and dishes are shining
spotlessly cleaned.
You are welcome to come join us for work practice – to drop
off your usual identity of self – to be the life and breath of Shao Shan
Temple.
