Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple Paperback – September 1, 2015

After reading this excellent book, you will probably not want to become a Zen Buddhist monk at Eiheiji in Japan. It is eye-opening to read all the difficult situations that the monks are put in. The monks have no time to think about their selves at all. It made me wonder if Dougen, the founder of Eiheiji really would be happy with the way the monastery is run today. Dougen brought Zen Buddhism from China to Japan in the year 1227. If you have a good idea of what Zen Buddhism is, this great book will give you pause. I highly reccommend this book.

Fantastic book, exactly what I was looking for. Excellent account of a monk's life and the perspective shifts that came with it.

(Disclaimer: I'm a Zen priest in the Vietnamese Lam Te lineage, practicing at a temple where our Roshi is ordained in both Soto Zen and Lam Te)We've consumed this book like a Halloween candy grab - highly enjoyable and, at least for us, an addictive read. The author is very honest, looking back at his year in training at Eiheji Monastery. I'm not sure I read the same edition that the reviewer who was displeased not to know why the author chose this path; there's a preface to the paperback edition (found in the back of my book) that gives the context of the decision. But his past and "future" are only frames; it's really about the immediate experience as a trainee. The discipline is brutal - both figurative and literal, but the author makes clear the path, his journey and his understanding of the destination. It does sound like relentless repetition and "tedium" lead to his decision to leave after a year - a valid, if somewhat disappointing choice. I didn't find the descriptions of the daily life at various stages to be boring, in the least. The writing was clear and, seemed to me, quite accessible. It's not a self-help or how-to book, but a unique memoir. I suspect that an understanding of Japanese Buddhist culture (or at least knowing about the hereditary temple system) and, in general, not idealizing Zen or the Zen practitioner (of whatever stripe) may help to avoid disappointments. *grin*I read it in a couple of gulps and was glad to have found it.

Think of the minute details of the tea ceremony...now apply that level of precision detail to the simplestuff of daily life like brushing your teeth... gave a whole newinsight into the meaning of mindfulness... it is remembering thesequences, the precise hand position... even when going to the toilet!None before took the reader inside the novices learning experience.And the emotionally rigorous demands ... Basic training on steroidscomes to mind.

I expected to like this book, but I did not expect to gain any enlightenment from it. But I was surprised.As I was reading it, I started to grok the purpose of the precise rituals: to FORCE one to be in the present moment.Furthermore, the book is very well written.

This is not an easy read. The author, experiencing an early midlife crisis goes off to the toughest Zen monastery in Japan for a year. Like the subject, the writing is austere and deliberately lean. Pages, indeed whole chapters are devoted to the description of how a monk should brush his teeth or conduct himself during a meal. This is spiritual boot camp and I can tell you, I wouldn't last a week in such an environment. The author is subjected to emotional torment and even beating as he bumbles his way through the labyrinth of arcane rules and regulations, memorizing prayers and rituals that include the striking of various drums, bells and gongs in an exact order and timing throughout the day. Everything is regulated and deliberately uncomfortable. Rigorous does not begin to describe the life these men must endure. Everything from the way they wear their robes and wash their faces is proscribed down to the finest detail.Does the author learn something in his year at Eiheiji? Its hard to say. On reflection, he says he thinks twice about killing an insect. He no longer eats more than necessary. He has become capable of tears. All good and useful things. He does seem to come away with an appreciation for the preciousness of each moment. This is golden wisdom. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what the Buddha himself would've thought of this extreme training designed to strip a person of his ego but in such a brutal way. Would the Awakened One see this as faithful to the Middle Way he espoused?This book maddened me, frustrated me and several times I grew impatient with it. How could this calculated and systematic breaking down of a man actually lead to freedom? They say there are many paths to the top of the mountain. I suppose this is one, but if so it is for a very select few.This book ,like monastic life, is not for everyone. In the end, a worthwhile read for some, though to tell the truth, in my impatience I skipped some of the detailed accounts of cleaning the bathrooms and washing one's face: clearly I would never have made it at Eiheiji!

Wonderfully insightful and honest. Truly a glimpse of the spirituality and depth and vigor of the zen tradition which is too often overlooked or oversimplified in the West.

A very easy, mostly uneventful read regardless of your Zen Buddhism knowledge. I close the book with an appreciation for the author’s experience but wish he had included more opinion, more personal insight throughout his story.

Livro muito legal. Mostra como funciona Eiheiji, as atividades diárias, as dificuldades de um monge em treinamento. Livro gostoso de ler.

Fascinating description of a young man's year at Eihei-ji. I wonder if it is still like that there, 30 years on? I hope the violence inflicted on the new recruits by the senior trainee monks has been replaced by care and compassion, as is the Zen way. Dōgen didn't tell his monks to beat the crap out of the new monks, or to feed them so little that they get beriberi (vitamin B1 deficiency) from gorging on rice. It's sad how humans always mess things up. But don't let that put you off the book, which is extremely readable and enjoyable. I wish Nonomura would write a follow-up, letting us know how his life panned out and how his temple experience affected him in the longer term.

It's not just another one of those biographical stories about a temporary stay as a layperson, but a real insight into the reality of Japanese training monasteries. So on one hand this book is a great ressource for everybody who wants to get a detailed report of the duties of a monk in training. On the other hand it shows, that beatings by senior monks, and strict rules for literally every daily task are still common.So if you know somebody with some romantic fantasies about becoming a monk in Japan, this book will be a total cure. Especially how much the trainees have to do before tey even knock at the gate will give them a second thought about their dreams.

You can certainly tell that this book was written over several years of recall of details of the author's induction and stay at the Zen temple. The detail is crisp to the extent where I could almost feel my presence in the temple with him. I expected to have read more of Zen teachings but this book describes more of life, practices and discipline one experiences at this prestigious monastery.

I was expecting more from this book considering it is a bestseller