Eat Sleep Sit

Born in 1959, Kaoru Nonomura traveled widely in Asia as a university student, and upon graduation began to work as a designer in Tokyo. At the age of thirty, he decided to put his career on hold to spend a year as a trainee monk at Eiheiji, a monastery famed for its rigid discipline. Twelve months later, he returned to his design job, and it was during his daily commute on a crowded train that he began to jot down his recollections of his Eiheiji experience. These notes eventually became Eat Sleep Sit, the author's only book.

CONTENTS

PART ONE    The End and the Beginning

    Resolve   11
    Jizo Cloister   17
    Dragon Gate   25
    Main Gate   29
    Temporary Quarters   34
    Lavatory   38
    Facing the Wall   46
    Buddha Bowl   47
    Evening Service   53
    Evening Meal   56
    Night Sitting   61

PART TWO    Etiquette is Zen

    JMorning Service   69
    JMorning Meal   74
    JCleaning the Corridors   81
    JDignified Dress   84
    JWashing the Face   89
    JVerses   96
    JNoon  97
    JStick   101

PART THREE    Alone in the Freezing Dark

    JEntering the Hall   111
    JMonks’ Hall   115
    JCommon Quarters   120
    JWake-up Bell   129
    JBell Tower   133
    JSelf-reflection   143
    JFood Server   150
    JMonks’ Food   153
    JShaving the Head   159
    JDaikan   164
    JHunger  169

PART FOUR    The Passage of Time
    JEscape   177
    JRegistration Ceremony   180
    JFirst Bath   185
    JBeginning Intensive Training   189
    JManual Labor   195
    JPenance   201
    JMain Lecture   207
    JTransfer   211


PART FIVE    The Source of the Warmth of Life
    JNew Job   219
    JSales   223
    JDistribution of Goods   229
    JGuest Pavilion   233
    JInspection   238
    JWashrags   242
    JEnding Intensive Training &  247

PART SIX    The Colors of the Peak, the Echo in the Valley
    JAttendant to the Director   253
    JConference Room &  256
    JIn Attendance   259
    JMorning Session   263
    JIncense Bearer &  267
    JPreparations for Winter   271
    JIntensive Sitting   275
    JYear-end Cleaning   280
    JNew Year’s Day   283
    JNew Arrivals   286
    JJust Sit   290
    JDeparture Survey   294
    J Leaving   300

Afterword to the Japanese First Edition   311
Afterword to the Japanese Paperback Edition   315
Notes   323