The Cook

When standing at the edge of Bryce Canyon we see its vast emptiness and spaciousness right in front of us. It is also who we are. It is Big Mind. Big Mind is limitless, having no birth and no death, no beginning and no ending. We are all that and yet we are limited, we are born and will die, we have a beginning and end, we have likes and dislikes, preferences for one thing over another thing. Both are aspects of who we are, both are perfect. The juxtaposition of the limitless and the limited are captured in the photo, the vast expanse of nature, and the human - limited in time and space.

In “Instructions for the Cook," Dogen Zenji recognizes three states of mind, Magnanimous Mind, Parental Mind, and Joyful Mind. "Magnanimous Mind” “is like a mountain, stable and impartial. Exemplifying the ocean, it is tolerant and views everything from the broadest perspective.” It is also called Big Mind according to Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, whose commentary on Dogen’s “Instruction" is titled “How To Cook Your Life.”  

Magnanimous mind or Big Mind is the mind of impartiality, equality in all beings. Parental mind is the mind of caring for whatever and whomever we encounter. Joyful mind is the mind of gratitude, non conditional service to others. These are the aspects of the Cook (Tenzo), the one who prepares food for the community (Sangha) during Zen retreats. Yet It is also our life, it is who we are. It is the functioning of the relative and the absolute, of caring and impartiality. When embracing and including both caring and impartiality, joy arises in serving others. It is the way of the Bodhisattva.