Shinzan Palma: Sesshin: The Ritual of Oryoki (Spring Practice Period 2022)

How can the practice of oryoki inform our everyday lives? Sensei Jose´ Shinzan Palma explores this question with us in this talk on the practice of formal eating known as oryoki. Oryoki translates to “just enough.” The practice, Shinzan explains, is all about learning to receive just the right amount—not too little or too much. And how much is enough in our daily lives?, Shinzan asks. How can we sustain ourselves without wasting the Earth’s resources? The practice of oryoki ritualizes the paramita of generosity. The giver, the receiver, and the gift  are all present and all inseparable. It is eminently clear in oryoki that one cannot exist without the others. In this sense, while eating oryoki or serving oryoki or cooking for oryoki, one can experience the boundlessness or interdependent nature of reality. Also, for anyone considering joining a sesshin, Sensei Shinzan begins this talk with excellent advice drawn from his many years of experience for sitting sesshin. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: SPRING PRACTICE PERIOD 2022: Making Visible the Invisible – An Exploration of Zen Liturgy