Zen Style Vegetable Cooking - Shojin Ryori #1 Rice, Miso Soup, Simmered Daikon, and Kombu Tsukudani

What is Shojin Ryori?

Shojin Ryori (精進料理) is the Japanese term for Zen vegetarian cooking. "Shojin" means devotion, "Ryori" means cooking or cuisine.

Traditionally, Shojin Ryori is cooked without meat, fish or seafood, eggs, or dairy products. Shojin Ryori also excludes strong smelling plants such as onions, garlic, leeks, and chives, collectively known as the "gokun", in their ingredients. This is because these pungent foods are believed to excite senses and disturb the peacefulness of the mind that Buddhists seek to attain.

Dogen Zenji who is the founder of Soto Zen viewed meal taking, indispensable to our daily life, as an extremely important act. In “Tenzo Kyokun” ("Instructions for the Zen Cook"), he describes the responsibility and the necessary attitude of those who prepare meals. In “Fushuku Hanpo" ("The Dharma of Taking Food"), he explains the manner and state of mind for eating meals.

There are important virtues to cook Shojin Ryori in Tenzo Kyokun. The "three virtues" ("santoku") of food are: (1) light and soft, (2) pure and clean, and (3) in accordance with the rules, i.e. the dietary restrictions that pertain to alcohol, meat, alliums, etc. The "six flavors" ("rokumi") are (1) bitter, (2) sour, (3) sweet, (4) hot, (5) salty, and (6) bland.

Since we receive the precious lives of animals and plants as food, we should eat in a way that we can make the very best use of them.




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Soto Mission of San Francisco, Sokoji 日米山桑港寺

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