Eat, Pray, Love

6. 먹고 기도하고 사랑하라

6. Eat, Pray, Love

Seongakwon, which is located among private residences on the road to Dobongsan Mountain, has a name that means “achieving awakening at the sound of cicadas.” The monk Wongong lives there as part of his rambling pilgrimage between winter and summer retreats.

I was on the way there to visit him because he had once invited me. He came down to greet me for fear that I might lose my way. He also presented an offering of ripe kimchi.

Not knowing how to respond to this unexpected attentiveness from the Buddhist monk, who was now in his 70s, I stood close by his side and, in a slightly joking tone, asked him, “Do you not eat meat?”

“Go ask a cow that,” he retorted, and let out a pleasant, hearty laugh.

He went on to say that whether or not one ate meat was beside the point; instead, I should focus on the churning fixation that drives us to do so. It is commonplace for a practitioner to lose sight of their vow to achieve Buddhahood by falling to the burning desire for others’ flesh—sexual desire— when one is a low-level practitioner.

While the Jogye Order of Buddhism prohibits any consumption of meat, Won-Buddhism permits it under limited circumstances; chicken and fish may even be presented as offerings. The reason that different practices may manifest from a single tradition has its origins in mendicant priests, who must not be picky about the food they are offered as alms. Sakyamuni Buddha said that we must not kill, but he did not declare that we must not consume meat.

Three times a day, we are greeted with delectable offerings, neatly presented mixtures of flavor and color produced with fresh ingredients. Even the most committed vegetarian cannot deny the shadow of death that lurks behind what we see on the plate, so perfectly attuned to our eyes, noses, and tongues. All living creatures, including plants and animals, possess value without discrimination. It is my unavoidable destiny to carry on my life by taking yours.

What turns your death into my life is metabolism, which our bodies have evolved to depend on. Thus, all life is premised upon death; death and life lie hidden within our bodies. This fact does not change even when we say we cannot bear to eat meat or that we will only eat food that we have not killed ourselves so that we do not see the slaughter or hear the agonizing screams.

We stand in the gap between the teaching that we must not end another’s life and the fact that we cannot live without eating. Is there no way for us to live lives of greater value without doing harm to the meaning of death? Whether we realize it or not, death sustains our lives.

The path that the Buddha shared with us is a fourfold one: recognizing that we cannot live without each other and showing grace and love to others without asking for anything in return; reaching out to help our neighbors when they are faced with difficulties; aiding one another; and practicing what is right.

When a person follows the words of the Buddha, the reason they eat is to sustain their body as the most precious asset for cultivation—it is no more and no less than that. While we may enjoy the pleasure of eating, we should also give thanks for each offering out of respect for the lives that have enabled us to be who we are today.

We should vow to follow the path illuminated by the Buddha and work to ensure that all of our daily activities show grace to all the beings that surround us.

As I look upon my offering today, I once again say a prayer and vow to achieve Buddhahood. I vow not to forget that my today is someone else’s long-dreamed tomorrow; I vow to fix my mind on the truth of Il-Won, to exert myself without thought, and to never let go for a second of the standard adopted by my practicing mind.

May I properly understand that all dependent arising and every object I encounter exists in a relationship of grace in which we cannot live without the other, and may I live with the awakened mind of gratitude.

Palms together.

Who can look upon Nothing as his head, upon life as his back, upon death as his rump?—Zhuangzi, Chapter 6, "The Prime Master"