Simple Meals in Five Senses

How many of us really taste what we eat? I know I sometimes tear through a meal so fast that I forget what I ate a few minutes earlier. Sometimes I eat and read; eat and work; eat and think about other things than eating. Not living in the present. Not present.

The Food Focus Factor

When we sit down and eat and focus on eating, it makes the whole experience more memorable. If we actually focus on the smells of the food while it’s being prepared, we preempt the digestion process—“gentlemen start your digestive engines.” Food focus—like the process of focus in general-- allows the food to taste better and our stomachs to digest better.

Living in Japan

While living in Japan, we became well acquainted with the art and culture of oriental eating, with its refined utensils, distinctive serving and eating etiquette, and its many courses; the Japanese have truly made dining distinctive and engaging.

We learned this was only one level of the playing field. If this were the regular league of cuisine, what was the all-star game of oriental eating like?

Simple

The answer is simple.

Eiheiji Temple is nestled in Fukui Prefecture on the western, jagged-edged coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu. It was founded in 1244 by Master Dogen Zenji and continues the practice and philosophy of the Soto Sect of Buddhism. It inhabits close to 150 adherents on a beautiful property, comprising more than seventy structures.

The atmosphere is peaceful and sedate: monks going about their rigorous, daily chores in earnest quietude. Seven-hundred-year-old cedars in natural, aged majesty mingle with buildings that have matching age and human workmanship. Also seen and heard in this majestic place are streams flowing amidst moss-encrusted walls of channels around temples; the tolling of bells signaling daily activities. All this serene substance fuses daily with the modern tourists and pilgrims who flood this sacred space, armed with equal amounts of i-gadgets and curiosity for this old and different way of life.

The monks here have a very rigid (they would call it freeing) regimen, and the partaking of meals is no exception. Quiet, simplicity and order are at the heart of these meals. Simple, seasonal ingredients (usually mountain vegetables) are combined with a brown rice and barley gruel and miso soup with a piece of fried tofu, eaten in a sitting position, in silence. Simple tastes tie together the heart of the meal: no meat, no special sauces, no clutter.

Called Shojin Ryori in Japanese, this meal has attained a very revered place in the Japanese culinary culture. Although the monk repast is truly minimalist, a traveler visiting a monastery or a person visiting a traditional Japanese restaurant will be wooed with an amplified version of the tone- down elegance of true Shojin Ryori.

It was a blessing to experience the refined food culture of Japan.

Taste with All Five Senses

So how can we translate the Buddhist mentality to western tradition and get more out of our eating experience? Here are some ideas to truly soak up the sensation of eating with all five senses:

• One night a week, eat a monk-like minimalist meal. Focus on the taste of simple brown rice. It does have a truly unique and elegant taste. What do you think it tastes like? Describe it.
• When you eat, pay attention to the way the food rolls around the senses. Can you hear food? What does it sound like? What is the tactile sensation of Nori (seaweed sushi wrap)? Describe a meal to someone or write it down in a journal. Write with your senses.
• Eat a meal with someone you love…in silence.
• Try to drown out thoughts that market for our attention. Focus on the meal.
• Add a change-up component to one of your meals. Eat with different utensils, or eat something totally new in the manner of the culture that eats it. Chopsticks anyone?

When we sit down and focus on the food, we have a more dimensional experience with the senses and our health. Itadakimasu!

Can you build in one of these simplicity exercises into your weekly meal? Do you feel like it would add a different dimension to your meal time?

Image provided by bee-sides(s)