In Bernard Glassman's book,
Instructions to a Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons on Living A Life that Matters,
the author proposes that a life well lived consists of five aspects and that these five
aspects constitute a zen life.
I define a zen life as a life of well being.The five aspects are:
Spirituality
Study and Learning
Livelihood
Social Action and Change
Relationships and Community
In elaboration...
Spirituality
*helps
us realize the oneness of life
*provides
a still point at the center of all our activities
*consists of certain spiritual
practices, such as prayer, meditation, singing, taking walks, spending time
alone, spend time with others, reading, listening, discussing,
creating, anything that reminds of the oneness of life
Study and Learning
*provides
intelligence and wisdom
*before
you begin things
*never
merely abstract
*practical
application to our lives
Livelihood
*sustains
us in the spiritual world
*work
and business-the meat and potatoes
*taking
care of ourselves
*making
a living in the world
Social Action and Change
*grows
naturally out of spirituality, study and learning, and livelihood
*once we begin to take care our own own
basic needs, we become more aware of
the needs of the people around us
*realizing
the oneness of life
*reaching
out to people
Relationships and Community
*brings seemingly separate parts of our
lives together into a harmonious whole
*the aspect that brings all of the
other aspects into a joyous gathering of people
To paraphrase Glassman, all the aspects
make up the supreme aspect of all our lives: well being. It is not question of of trying to
arrange our lives so that we have equal amounts of each aspect. We all need different parts and
different amounts at different times in our lives. We have to look at our situation and find out how much of
each aspect is needed at any given moment.
