Introductions to the Cook
By Bernard Glassman and Rick Fields

"A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life That Matters"

My friend lend me this book, so I thought I should post some cool advices every now and then. I'm not sure if I could keep it up though.

FROM HELL TO HEAVEN

There is an ancient Zen scroll that shows heaven and hell. In hell, the hungry ghosts are all sitting at a great banquet table filled with all kinds of delicacies, trying to feed themselves with very long spoons. But no matter how hard they try, they cannot reach their mouths.

In heaven, the hungry ghosts are sitting around the same banquet table. But these hungry spirits are feeding each other with their long spoons, so that they all can eat.

This is the way to transform out world from a hell to a heaven. Only when we offer a portion of our food to our fellow hungry ghosts can we satisfy out own deepest hunger.

ZEN WON'T SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS

Zen can help you find your head, but it won't necessarily solve all your problems. I remember hearing a Zen master say, "Zen will never get rid of your problems. The best it can do is to teach you how to deal with them."

My mother-in-law happened to be in the room at the time, and she said, "Why get involved, then? what good is it if you're not going to get rid of your problems?"

The Zen cook doesn't believe in utopias. Problems will always arise, both in our individual life and in society. It's the Zen cook's job to cook a meal and then clean the dirty dishes. Some people might say that cleaning the dishes is solving the problem of dirty dishes. But it's not, because you are going to eat another meal. The work of the Zen cook is cooking meals and cleaning dishes. It's an endless process.

The basic problem, actually, is how to get rid of the idea that we're going to get rid of our problems.

Only then can we relate directly with the real issues of our life.