Tenzo Kyōkun (Instructions for the Cook)

Text

Dōgen's 1237 essay on the vocation of the monastery cook, drawing on encounters with two old tenzos he met in China. Although the surface subject is kitchen work, the text develops Dōgen's account of how attentiveness in everyday tasks is itself the unfolding of practice — and is widely read today outside the monastic context.

tr. Sōtōshū Shūmuchō, Sōtō Zen Text Project — Tenzo Kyōkun

license: fair_use

Original language

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Dōgen

Lineage: Sōtō

By Dōgen

• How to Sit (Fukanzazengi, opening)practice-instruction
• Not Aware of Enlightenmentproverb
• Continuous Practiceproverb
• Flowers Fall, Weeds Springproverb
• Firewood and Ash (Genjokoan)sermon

From Tenzo Kyokun

• Instructions to the Cook

Sources

• contentSōtōshū — Global Sōtō Zen Network

  Sōtōshū Shūmuchō

  Sōtōshū canonical texts index

  Tenzo Kyōkun is one of Dōgen's most widely read short writings. It treats the role of the monastery cook (tenzo) as a complete ground for practice and realization.