Zen is a Japanese doctrine that includes an entire philosophy of life. Beyond being understood as a religion or indigenous variant of Buddhism, Zen teaches lifestyle habits that can be very healthy. Among its precepts is the value of small things, the magnificence of the simple, minimalism as a value not only aesthetic but also vital.
Instead of overfeeding ourselves and loading ourselves with thoughts or worries, it is about purifying and reducing to a minimum, to live light of burden. It is the art of austerity done well. Minimize noise to see what is essential. Knowing how to be in the present and surrender to life in a spontaneous, flexible and intuitive way. Its great medicine is meditation or zazen, which teaches us to focus the mind and slow down, but Zen, like other disciplines, is clear that we are what we eat. That is why your diet is based on bases that help to achieve inner peace.
Since Buddhism believes in the law of karma or cause-effect law, a vegetarian diet is established. This way we avoid eating tamasic foods or foods from dead animals. Likewise, everything that is heavy on our body is avoided. Hence, the diet is light, based on fresh dishes, with seasonal products and moderate quantities. One of the big crimes we commit, even in our healthy Mediterranean diet, is eating more than we need. We have an excessive concept of satisfying our appetite: first course, second course and dessert. Zen advocates a plate or bento tray that contains the nutrients we need. Always a base of rice, vegetables, tofu and miso soup as a closing.
If we think in a strict and purist sense, Zen nutrition avoids fish, although today the spectrum has opened up and sashimi can be found on some of its menus. For those who think that Zen or vegetarian is a boring diet, there are recipes like yuba that demonstrate great creativity and surprise for the palate. It is a kind of fine soy paste or cream with a very fine flavor. Fresh can be a meat breast, a mille-foil or even a pasta dish.
Beyond the food itself, Zen food encompasses other important aspects. For example, the spirit and state of mind with which we cook. Preparing food for others is a very important task. Among monks, it is done by one who is pure and free from hatred or mental agitation. Cooking from a bad mood or ambition is contagious in food. This figure is that of the tenzo, within a Zen community, a monk of exceptional qualities who measures quantities, chooses ingredients and cooks. He is also responsible for ensuring that the six flavors are understood and in balance. Bitter, sour, sweet, spicy, salty, umami (the mix of all of them).
Food should follow the precepts of Zen and be soft, as well as clean and fresh. There is an art in the East on how to clean rice or avoid heavy digestion. Food should give us the essential nutritional contributions without burdening us. Lightness is the condition of flexibility, both physical and mental. You don't have to fill up.
Likewise, another fundamental condition that explains why there are no obese people in Japan is the time with which food is ingested. Eating with chopsticks makes eating much slower and in small quantities. The stomach digests better, it has time to process and the body appreciates it.
Zen food provides us with foods that give peace because there is no attachment or ambition in the act of cooking, nor negative emotions in the process. The ingredients are fresh, and also healthy. The preparation methods do not manipulate and seek to present the food as it is.
The path of Zen is based on purifying to get to the essentials. Without further ado. What is, is what is. If we ritualize the act of eating and pay more attention to eating less and how we eat it, we will enter one of the best kept secrets of wise Japanese culture.
A diet based on fresh, natural and healthy foods, such as fish, tofu, rice, vegetables, seaweed or green tea, helps keep the body healthy and slim. There are no saturated fats or excess calories.
The size of the portions we eat should be moderate. Reducing the dish to 20% less than what we usually eat is usually more than enough. We must avoid gluttony and not be satiated. In Japan the dishes are smaller as shown by the vento tray menus, just a few dishes with the essential ingredients for a balanced diet. Rice, vegetables, fish.
Eating consciously, slowly, taking care of the presentation and aesthetics of the food, modifies the habit of fast food or eating in any way.
The appearance of the dish, worked from order and harmony, helps to avoid eating hastily. Tofu soup is a good ending that helps digest. Form and habits can be as important as what we eat.
High consumption of fatty fish such as salmon or tuna provides a lot of omega-3 that benefits cardiovascular health and weight loss. A diet overloaded with meat and fried foods is not the same as raw or grilled fish. The only risk is sea pollution. Therefore, raw fish must pass the freezing point before being eaten.
Green tea or matcha is a stimulant similar to coffee, but it is released more slowly in the body. Provides sustainable energy and helps control appetite. In addition, it is a great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Matcha tea burns fat. It can be taken with oat milk, in hot water, in smoothies or as a condiment in desserts.
It is essential to pay full attention when eating. Therefore, do not do it by watching television, having a discussion or reading a newspaper. When we eat, we eat and nothing else. Silence and focus on tasting what we eat. It is about putting body and mind in relationship. Do not dissociate, without knowing what we eat or doing it compulsively. Enjoy food and be in the present. Mindfulness has tools such as raisin meditation, which consists of eating this food for ten minutes, paying attention to the entire process from the five senses.
Physical activity is essential to burn fat and keep the body healthy. Walking is better than running, as a way to avoid the sedentary lifestyle typical of all those jobs that glue us to a screen. Going from the chair to the sofa is the worst favor we can do for our body. Zen monks even meditate walking to compensate for long hours of zazen (sitting meditation). We must include any type of physical activity in our daily routine to complement good eating habits.
In Japan there is the habit of hot baths. Its geography is rich in thermal baths of natural origin. This has led to the popular custom of immersing oneself in hot water at the beginning or end of the day. Dedicating time to the body to relax helps control stress and this directly affects how we process food, as well as our level of well-being.
Eating healthy is eating harmoniously and it helps if we incorporate other habits that are along the same lines. We are what we eat, the product of our actions and the consequence of our state of mind.
