Book Review - Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple by Kaoru Nonomura
Category Book Review Kaoru Nonomura Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple
From Amazon Vine, I received a review copy of the book Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple by Kaoru Nonomura. I expected to find a story about how the writer came to find himself in the peace and serenity of a Buddist temple. Not so much... Yes, he did learn much about himself in the process but it was far from peaceful and serene. Cruel and brutal is closer to the truth.
Nonomura decided at the age of 30 that he was at a dead end in his life. Although he had a job, girlfriend, and family, he struggled with who he was and what meaning his life should have. In a surprising move to many, he decided to join the Eiheiji template to become a Buddist monk. Eiheiji is known as the most extreme and severe of the Zen temples, and Nonomura wasn't sure what to expect, other than the fact that his life would be changing. How much he'd change wasn't something he imagined beforehand...
He arrived in February on the steps of the temple, waiting to be admitted. After waiting in the cold and snow for days, he endured the start of what would be a brutal existence over the next 12 months. Screaming, beratings, beatings, and sleep and food deprivation became his hourly reality. Absolutely everything done in the temple, from sleeping to eating to cleaning, even going to the toilet, is ritualized with exact motions and chantings. Even the smallest violation earned the offender beatings and humiliation at a level we'd expect from a deranged cult leader. But through it all, Nonomura endured and found freedom and peace in the smallest moments in life, learning to just exist rather than to strive to win in life. After being there for a year, he decided he didn't want to continue the training as it didn't hold any long-term purpose for him. But he took those lessons and attitude changes back into society and shares them here for others to see and understand.
In terms of telling his story, Eat Sleep Sit does an excellent job in going behind the walls of a monastic experience to show what it really means to lead the life of a Zen Buddist monk. I was amazed at the beauty and history of the traditions, while also being repulsed at the violence and apparent meaninglessness of it all. While I don't believe in this particular philosophy, it was good to read in order to examine my own life for meaning and purpose. Sitting and staring at a wall for "personal enlightenment" doesn't do much to improve the conditions of others.
From Amazon Vine, I received a review copy of the book Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple by Kaoru Nonomura. I expected to find a story about how the writer came to find himself in the peace and serenity of a Buddist temple. Not so much... Yes, he did learn much about himself in the process but it was far from peaceful and serene. Cruel and brutal is closer to the truth.
Nonomura decided at the age of 30 that he was at a dead end in his life. Although he had a job, girlfriend, and family, he struggled with who he was and what meaning his life should have. In a surprising move to many, he decided to join the Eiheiji template to become a Buddist monk. Eiheiji is known as the most extreme and severe of the Zen temples, and Nonomura wasn't sure what to expect, other than the fact that his life would be changing. How much he'd change wasn't something he imagined beforehand...
He arrived in February on the steps of the temple, waiting to be admitted. After waiting in the cold and snow for days, he endured the start of what would be a brutal existence over the next 12 months. Screaming, beratings, beatings, and sleep and food deprivation became his hourly reality. Absolutely everything done in the temple, from sleeping to eating to cleaning, even going to the toilet, is ritualized with exact motions and chantings. Even the smallest violation earned the offender beatings and humiliation at a level we'd expect from a deranged cult leader. But through it all, Nonomura endured and found freedom and peace in the smallest moments in life, learning to just exist rather than to strive to win in life. After being there for a year, he decided he didn't want to continue the training as it didn't hold any long-term purpose for him. But he took those lessons and attitude changes back into society and shares them here for others to see and understand.
In terms of telling his story, Eat Sleep Sit does an excellent job in going behind the walls of a monastic experience to show what it really means to lead the life of a Zen Buddist monk. I was amazed at the beauty and history of the traditions, while also being repulsed at the violence and apparent meaninglessness of it all. While I don't believe in this particular philosophy, it was good to read in order to examine my own life for meaning and purpose. Sitting and staring at a wall for "personal enlightenment" doesn't do much to improve the conditions of others.
| Permalink |
