THE MEDITATION HALLAND THE MONKS LIFE
English sense,isno breakfast. TheZenmonkissupposed to
havenoeveningmeal,buttheclimaticnecessitybeingimpossible
toignore,hehasamealafterafashion,buttoeasehisconscience
hecallsit"medicinalfood".Thebreakfast,whichistakenvery
earlyinthemorningwhilestilldark,consistsofricegrueland
pickledvegetables.Theprincipalmeal isatabout tenin the
morningandconsistsofrice(orricemixedwithbarley",vegetable
soup,andpickles.Intheafternoon,atfour,theyhavewhatwas
leftfromdinner,andnospecialcookingisdone.Unlessinvited
out or givenanextra treatmentat home by some generous
patron,theirmealsareasdescribed above,yearin,yearout.
Povertyandsimplicityistheirrule.
Weought not,however,to concludethat asceticism isan
idealoflifeforZenmonks;forasfarastheultimatesignificanceofZenisconcerned,itisneitherasceticismnoranyotherethical
system. Ifitappearstoadvocateeitherthedoctrineofsuppres-
sionorthatofdetachment,itismerelysoon thesurface,for
ZenasaschoolofgeneralBuddhism inheritsmoreorlessthe
odiumoftheHinduascetic discipline.Thecentralidea, how-
ever, ofthemonk'sUfeis not to wastebut to makethebest
possibleuseofthings asthey aregivenus, whichisalso the
spirit of Buddhism everywhere. In truth, the intellect, the
imagination,and all theother mentalfacultiesaswell asthephysical objects that surround us, ourown bodies not being
excepted,aregivenfortheunfoldingandenhancingofthehighest
fxjwersp)ossessedbyus,and notmerelyfor thegratificationof
individualwhimsanddesires,whicharesuretoconflictwithand
injure theinterestsand rightstobeasserted byothers.These
aresomeoftheinnerideasunderlyingthesimplicityandp)overty
ofthemonk'slife.Atmeal-timeagongisstruckand themonkscomeoutof
jhcZendoinprocessioncarryingtheirownsetofbowlstothe
dining-room,butdonotsituntil theleaderrings abell.The
bowlswhicheachbringsaremadeofwoodorpaperandarewell
lacquered;theyareusuallyfourorfiveinnumberandfitinto
oneanotherHkeanest.Thesutra{HridayaSutra)andthe"five
meditations"arerecited,andthenthemonkswhoareserving
aswaitersservethesoupandrice.Theyarenowreadytotake
uptheir chopsticks,butbeforetheyactually partakeoftheii