Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 29, 2004 Shasta Abbey monks serve advice on eating, life By Christy Lochrie Record Searchlight It's not about the end result. It's about the path you take to get there. That applies even when it comes to seemingly simple things, like cooking, said the Rev. Daishin Yalon, a Buddhist monk from the Shasta Abbey in Mount Shasta. Yalon, the abbey's chief cook for about 20 years, was seated at Village Books in Mount Shasta on a recent evening. About 40 people had gathered to listen to him talk about eating and cooking from a Buddhist perspective. But along with bits of culinary wisdom, Yalon, who joined the abbey 30 years ago, also dished out advice for living. Andreas Fuhrmann | Record Searchlight Revs. Kodo Kay (left) and Bridin Rusins labor over a cooking pot for an upcoming meal at the Shasta Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Mount Shasta. Rev. Daishin Yalon, the chief chef for the abbey will be in Ashland Sunday at the Unitarian Church. "It's better to be gentle, to be kind and respectful," said the bespectacled Yalon, 53. He was dressed in a burnt-orange robe. His shaved head glistened in the light. Along with the discussion, several members of the abbey's congregation had prepared vegetarian and vegan dishes featured in "Cooking with a Gentle Heart Vegetarian Recipes from the Buddhist Monks and Friends of Shasta Abbey." The cookbook, which includes several of the abbey's most-requested dishes, was published to raise money for new housing at the monastery. The 13-room building, which will house 13 monks, is under construction. It will cost about $500,00, Yalon said, but they still need $70,000. All cookbook proceeds go directly to the abbey, said Marie Mitchell, a member of the congregation who also helped write the cookbook. Some 400 of the 1,000 cookbooks have been sold since December, Mitchell said. Deborah Hiple was the cookbook's editor. She and other congregation members spent much of last summer combing through the abbey's food-splattered master cookbook. She said creating the cookbook serves two needs: One was as a fund-raiser for the construction project. The other was to satisfy the requests for recipes. "It's been my experience at the retreat that people always want recipes," Hiple said. With a grin, she added that the abbey's apple pie is one of her all-time favorites. Yalon said the secret to the abbey's good cooking is no secret at all. "It tastes good because of the care you put in it," Yalon said. He backs away from calling abbey food gourmet. But the secret to good food, as in good living, is love, gratitude and generosity, he said. Being reverent and respectful of the food and people who help create dishes is what makes the experience and the meal good, he said. Conversely, he said an elegant and gourmet meal is unpalatable when the people creating it are angry and don't enjoy the experience. "You can taste their anger," Yalon said. Yalon never told his listeners what to do or not do. Rather, he offered examples of what he has learned and invited others to ask questions and speak. "Respect and gratitude are very basic Buddhist principles," Yalon said. "If you are ungrateful, all you see around you are problems." Some asked philosophical questions. Others shared their experiences with abbey meals. Anthony Guarnieri, cautioned against doubling the Mushroom Barley Soup recipe. I had tons; it (the barley) expanded, Guarnieri said. But not all was bad for the 53-year-old child psychologist who splits his time between Mount Shasta and Berkeley, where he works. Its kind of a nicely spiced soup, he said. Guarnieri, a practicing Buddhist, became a vegetarian 20 years ago. He heartily recommends the cookbook. I think if you ate from this cookbook, youd feel really good, Guarnieri said. The cookbook, which sells for $22, is available through Village Books in Mount Shasta (926-1678 or www.villagebooks-mtshasta.com) or through Buddhist Supplies (800-653-3315 or www.buddhistsupplies.com). DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams