The Dining Hall

Dining Hall

Mt. Baldy Zen Center's Dining Hall

Dining Hall

Inside Mt. Baldy Zen Center's Dining Hall

Shika Dokan Martin with traditional bowl set

Mt. Baldy Zen Center's Shika Dokan Martin inside of the dining hall with traditional bowl set

"There are some temples in Japan that have a dining hall, but really that's our invention. There is a ritualized practice called Oryoki—that tradition exists in pretty much all the versions of Zen in China, Korea, and Japan. It's a ritualized way of eating where there's a bowl set that you have with 3 main bowls, a chopstick, and a spoon, and there's chanting that you do as you open up the bowl set and they have to be arranged just so and there's a way of interacting with the servers to let them know how much food you want that doesn't require any speaking. The meals are conducted in silence." - Shika Dokan Martin