Westerners inhale their food! While we devour our meals, the TV blares, the smartphone vibrates, and we nervously yammer through our full mouths to dinner companions that barely acknowledge us.
EMPTY HOLE!
Hopefully, you enjoyed our slow silent eating exercise. Even if it drove you crazy, it certainly should have made you think. Do you:
- eat slowly?
- turn off all stimuli?
- eat in silence?
- savor your meal?
I TRY to do these things, but it’s hard! Modern life lends itself to speed and efficiency even when it comes to eating. What a pity!
For this prompt, we are going to produce and consume a conscious Buddhist meal. If preparing a meal for the rest of your family is too cumbersome, create a delightful snack. But please don’t just pull something out of a bag! At least…make a sandwich. Regardless of whether you dine alone, or have others join you, complete the following:
- Describe your meal. Indicate why you chose it. (10 points)
- Turn off ALL potential media disruptions.
- Chronicle the meal prep. This could be done with images, video, drawings, or voice recording. (10 points)
- Compose a paragraph which describes the experience. Focus on the experience, but also how it might influence future actions. (10 points)
Last spring, I created a Jainist meal. SAY WHAT???? I called it a Jainist meal because it was vegitarian. When I’m not dining with wife and offspring, I’ll often go vegan or vegg. One of my primary missions was better prepare TOFU. I was pleased the result.
I started with a block of extra firm tofu:
To many…tofu represents the end of Western Civilization
The key to making epic tofu is moisture extraction:
No kitchen should be without free weights
Sure…tofu is bland. It’s much like a dry sponge which allows it to assume the flavors of its partners! YUM…or perhaps YUM!
I like to fry tofu to a golden brown. I pour olive oil in a frying pan, chop the brick into small squares, coat the squares with corn starch by shaking them in a zip-lock bag and then fry them up:
ZIP IT!!!!!
I paired my fried tofu with spinach and rice noodles. But what really frosted my gourd, was this amazing Indian simmer sauce called Tikka Masala:
The only non-vegan part of the meal…BUT JUST SLIGHTLY!
Check out this tasty masterpiece:
Shut up…I’m eating!
I dined alone, slowly, and in silence.
My dining partner was upset by the silence
I ate a lot less than normal. I tasted each bite. After the meal I felt great. I did not feel like I had overeaten. Mahavira would have been so proud. It was a spiritual experience!