The Travails Of Trying To Eat Like Korean Buddhist Monks

What is the most challenging part of trying to eat like a Buddhist monk?

a. Do nothing but eat
b. Eat in silence
c. Eat V- - E - - R - -Y ......................S- L – O – W – L - Y
d. Eat everything in your bowl
e. Drink the water used to clean the bowls
f. All of the above.

Personally I’d have serious problems with the first one. I’ve to break a lifetime habit of multitasking at mealtimes – I’d be catching up on news and rushing through breakfast simultaneously, gulping down lunch while Googling on the office desktop and socializing time, either with family, friends or the idiot box, takes place over dinner. I honestly can’t remember the last time, if ever, when I simply sat down and ate without the company of a book, magazine, radio, TV, mobile phone or human being. The notion of simply eating without talking, reading, listening to music or surfing seems like some alien norm from a galaxy far, far away.

So why on earth would I want to eat like a Korean Buddhist monk?

First of all, it’s green – with the emphasis on organic ingredients and no wasting of food to the extent that you’re expected to take only what you can consume and you’re even supposed to drink the water used to clean the bowl and slurp down each tiny morsel remaining in the bowl.

Next, it’s healthy –temple meals are wholesome, high in protein and low in calories. There’s no meat and no alcohol. Instead of using highly processed ingredients such as white rice and chemical additives like MSG, vegetarian dishes are prepared with natural condiments such as shitake powder and kelp powder. Fermented ingredients which can lower cholesterol and inhibit cancer are widely used in temple recipes. Modest portions are also encouraged instead of super-sized meals.

Third, I can feel virtuous meditating while chewing my cud. A typical pre-meal chant goes like this:

“Where has this food come from? My virtues are so little that I am hardly worthy to receive it. I will take it as medicine to get rid of greed in my mind and to maintain my physical being in order to achieve enlightenment.”

The dining experience is to the sunims, a sacred ritual and an opportunity to appreciate and reflect on the interconnectedness of life. While I won’t go so far as to meditate on the virtues of the farmers and the middlemen who played their part in bringing the tchigae to the table, it’s better than mindlessly stuffing my mouth while being distracted by various things that have nothing to do with the meal. I don’t expect every mealtime to be the “very moving experience” described by environmentalist and chimp expert Jane Goodall who took part in the food ceremony during her visit to Korea in 2006 but hopefully like her, I’ll be able to appreciate the value of the food while “chewing the food slowly and thinking about where it had come from”.

But honestly, the main appeal is that I can bid annyeong to the kilos more effectively if I were to adopt the slow-eating habits of the sunims. Slow food, Korean-Buddhist style is not simply the slow-food as envisioned by Carlo Petrini, the founder of the original “slow food movement” in the mid-80s as a reaction against the MacDonald-isation of global food. Instead, it means adjusting one’s pace of eating to the others around you –not too fast and not too slow - all in the name of moderation and harmony.

Am clueless as to how long the usual balwoogongyang temple meal is but I’d like to imagine that mealtime is an unhurried affair without being languid. And that’s what I think will be the most difficult aspect to emulate though clearly there are good reasons for not rushing through meals. One scientific study suggests that if you take a longer time, like half an hour, to chew on your food ( or chew each small bite “15 to 20 times”) and take many pauses between bites to complete a meal, you’re more likely to feel fuller and actually consume fewer calories.

But in a 24/7 world with pressing deadlines, where restaurants and cafes try to outdo each other by the number of TV screens lit up in their dining areas and by their wi-fi accessibility, how does one stop multi-tasking and just literally watch what one eats?


sources:
http://issuu.com/hikekorea/docs/kfs_booklet_final_standard_size
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=7,3489,0,0,1,0
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/02/08/dining/20120208-MINDFUL.html?ref=buddhism
http://koreantemplecuisine.net/blog/?paged=2
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=7,1469,0,0,1,0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_temple_cuisine
http://eng.templestay.com/board/board.asp?bt=9&idx=129&cid=21
http://jentrinque.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/
http://mingkok.buddhistdoor.com/resources/get/c8128cf9ec4137dba476c10334da59541d365c65/241/0

Balugongyang - Formal Dining In Korean Buddhist Temples

Have to confess that the idea of vegetarian food appeals to my head and heart more than to my tongue and stomach. It would be nice to have a clear conscience and be environmentally-friendly by abstaining from meat but I’m not ready to give up my “go-gi” ( meat) as yet.
During my visits to Korea, my stay at any temple never lasted more than two nights – partly perhaps because my faint-hearted stomach couldn’t stand a vegetarian diet for so long. Moreover, I’ve never participated in any formal templestay program so I have yet to experience “balu-gong-yang” ( the traditional dining etiquette in Korean Buddhist temples). However, from what has been gathered from the web, I should start adopting some of the practices for a more healthy lifestyle.

The term according to meaning “Four Bowls Containing Food” OR ‘Balugongyang’ means people gathering together and eating a proper amount of food served in one bowl. “Gongyang” refers to the “serving of food to monastics but can also be used when presenting them with clothing or other materials useful for their monastic life.” One source declares the word ‘bal-woo’ means a bowl while another source maintains it literally means “the four bowls containing food”, a reference to the Four Heavenly Guardian Kings who offered meals in stone bowls to Sakyamuni. Whatever the number, “Balugongyang” now refers to the formal meal in Korean Buddhist temples particularly for the Jogye Order.

Aside from the four matching bowls ( for rice, soup, side dishes and water) spoon and pair of chopsticks, here are the other things used during “balu-gong-yang”:

a. Bal-geon- the covering towel: it covers the bowls and is also a kind of dish towel.
b. Mu-reup-su-geon- the knee towel: it protects your clothes from stains when you eat and is also a kind of napkin.
c. Si-jeo-dae- the pocket: it contains the spoon and chopsticks.
d. Bal-u-tu-geong- the cap: it is the lid of the biggest bowl.
e. Bal-u-dan- the cloth mat: at the beginning of each meal, you put bowls on top of it.
f.  Bal-u-bo- the covering cloth: it wraps the bowl containing other small bowls.

There’s a sequence of actions but I won’t go into that. Suffice to say that at the end of the meal, you wash all the utensils, wipe them clean and tie them together in the cloths before returning them to the cupboard.

The following are some of the principles and practices of “balu-gong-yang” are:
1. Frugality – “ out of respect for the gifts of nature”; take only what you need within the allotted time for meals so “not even a grain of rice or scrap of kimchi should remain in the bowls”

My comment – Clearly a very environmentally-friendly and healthy practice to curb wastage and pigging out. Trouble is, how do they determine the portions when one person may be bigger and used to larger portions while another monk may eat like a bird? Or are all portions standardized in the name of communality and fairness of allocation with no regard for individual appetites?

2. Communal dining – chant together to focus on the notion of living in harmony but no chatting; wait for others before and after eating.

My question – are the non-Korean participants given translations so that they know what they are chanting?

3. Meditative – eating in silence as you sit in the lotus position; no slurping etc. Treat the meal as a daily opportunity for “expanding and deepening our awareness” of the energy or gifts of nature that we take into ourselves for instance. At the very least, while eating, we should consider the effort of the farmers, the financial contributions of those who sponsored the meal and the skills of those in the kitchens.

A reminder to myself – It’s not about counting calories but one’s blessings!


Check out this blogger's templestay!

Want to make a reservation?

Sources:http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2926079
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2922529
http://eng.gg.go.kr/1290
http://www.koreataste.org/lang/en/en/columns-en/test-temple-food-full-of-natures-goodness
http://theothersideofthemoon2009.blogspot.com/2010/08/guinsa-temple-stay.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/08/293_72067.html
http://www.korea-fans.com/forum/showthread.php?mode=linear&tid=39945&pid=1244933
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/170660.html
http://aaaalexsadventuresinasia.blogspot.com/2010/04/beomosa-temple-stay-in-which-i-act-like.html
http://eng.templestay.com/Reservation/find_templestay.asp?cid=23
http://eng.buddhapia.com/_Service/BUDDHAPIA/0000000871/

Lotus Roots, Lotus Leaves

Long before Tupperware or cardboard boxes for take-away lunches, Koreans carried their home-cooked meals in lotus leaves when they had to go on the road. Yeonipbap or yeunipbap ( 연잎밥) was made from wrapping a mixture of glutinous rice, sorghum, millet, ginkgo nuts, jujubes, chestnuts and even diced lotus rhizomes in layers of lotus leaves and then steaming the securely-tied bundle.

Pumpkin slice as garnishing to lotus leaf rice

This nutritious and substantial meal preserved well by the lotus leaves, is still common in Korea, China, Vietnam and Chinese communities elsewhere. It probably comes closest to Middle Earth’s “lembas” which fortified those in the Fellowship of the Ring on their long journey. Just as the elvish bread had its own virtues, steamed rice in lotus leaves has long been regarded as a wholesome dish with some medicinal properties.

Pretty in pink - Sliced and pan-fried lotus root or rhizomes

The 16th - century Chinese Compendium of Materia Medica identified different parts of the lotus plant ( Nelumbo nucifera ) which were believed to address different ailments. For instance, lotus leaves and stems were used to treat people suffering from heat stroke in summer. Today, there are various kinds of on-going research to study the anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, etc. properties of the lotus –from the seeds, leaves, rhizomes and even stems.

Grilled lotus roots or rhizomes with mushrooms on a bed of pine leaves

The lotus leaf alone can appear in other forms, aside from functioning as a food wrapper. You can drink it as herbal tea. Lotus leaf wine is served to one’s ancestors during family rituals by members of the Yean Yi clan of Oeam Village, Asan, Chungcheong-nam-do. Lotus leaves are even crushed into powder before sprinkled onto rice served with vegetarian meals in temples as Buddhists regard the lotus not merely as a symbol of enlightenment, but also as nature’s medicine to purify the body.

The Koreans have produced lotus leaf tea; question is - How can they market it?

So if you’re looking for some virtuous cuisine in Korea, you might want to check out the following places. One blogger recommends Mulmaegol (713-5486, 019-696-5486), in Jeju which offers yeonipbap. The restaurant serves the dish with various banchan ( side dishes) “including tofu sprinkled with cilantro, mushrooms, and fermented radish leaves. Gamrodang is another restaurant which offers vegetarian dishes in Seoul ( Jongno-gu Hwa-dong 87-1). Or if you fancy going the distance, join the templestay program in Daewonsa in Boseong, Jeollanamdo which offers cooking lessons for lotus leaf rice.

 Not temple cuisine but the lotus leaf rice is on the left

sources:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=45,9314,0,0,1,0

http://eng.gg.go.kr/entry/Gungwon-Hanjeongsik-Gunpo-si-Gyeonggi-do-korea
http://www.cj100.net/english/sub06/?menucode=06_05
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2914067
http://www.koreana.or.kr/months/news_view.asp?b_idx=558&lang=en&page_type=list
http://img.kisti.re.kr/originalView/originalView.jsp?url=/soc_img/society//ksabc/OOSMBK/2006/v49n2/OOSMBK_2006_v49n2_163.pdf
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=349112
http://www.watergardenersinternational.org/journal/3-4/daike/uses_page1.html
http://jejulife.net/2008/10/19/vegetarian-restaurants-by-jenie-hahn-jeju-south-korea/
http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com/newsletters/lotus2.html
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2923841