Product Description

Instructions To The Cook is a distillation of Zen wisdom that can be used equally well as a manual on business or spiritual practice, cooking or life. The hardcover edition was featured in every major Buddhist magazine. "Be nourished and inspired! Magnificent work!"--Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95616 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-01
• Released on: 1997-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Based on a 13th-century Japanese manual of the same title, this guide to modern-day Zen practice also details the history of Glassman's work in the world. An abbot of Zen communities in New York City and Los Angeles, Glassman is also the founder of the Greyston Mandala, a network that includes a commercial bakery, apartments for the homeless and other not-for-profit community development projects in Yonkers, a suburb of New York City. In Zen Buddhist tradition, the preparation of a meal is used as a metaphor for leading a meaningful life. Glassman and Fields (coauthor of Chop Wood, Carry Water) detail the five main "courses" of life: spirituality, study, livelihood, social action, and relationship and community Most widely recognized of the Greyston ventures is the successful bakery. Besides being a teacher of Zen and a noted social activist, Glassman is a pragmatic businessman. His description of how he and others who work with and for the jobless and homeless of Yonkers dealt with government agencies, banks, suspicious residents and the vagaries of the marketplace will satisfy the appetites of readers whose interest is as much in business practice as in Zen practice. In setting out his guidelines for conducting business, e.g., establishing self-directed management teams and sharing success with the community, Glassman occasionally strikes an imperious tone (reflecting the authority invested in Zen leaders), but the menu he offers is fresh, appealingly presented and thought- provoking. First serial to Tricycle magazine; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Midwest Book Review
Glassman's long years of Buddhist practice and business experience blend in a title which uses the kitchen as a metaphor for life. Recipes for success are shared, insights on living life to the fullest are revealed, and Glassman serves up a palatable plate of Zen wisdom which is practical to everyday endeavors.

Review
"Both a manual for spiritual transformation and a call to action." New Age Journal

"Taking the Path of Zen and Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind have introduced scores of Americans to Zen Buddhism in the last two decades. Now, these two mini-classics are joined by a new book that promises to be an even more meaningful introduction to Zen--as well as the growing 'socially engaged Buddhism' movement." --Donn Fry, Seattle Times

"A delicious confection made of down-to-earth Zen wisdom and a deeply heartful demonstration of compassion in action." --Ram Dass

"Instructions is stimulating and insightful precisely because it is so well grounded in the fundamental teachings of Dogen Zenji and others--exceptionally practical teachings, moreover, which chart a course for the development of that 'social-action Zen' (led most forcefully by Roshi Glassman) which promises to become the Way of Zen here in America." --Peter Matthiessen

"A recipe for an enlightened life, Instructions to the Cook speaks volumes about finding nourishment in a voracious world, where so many things--from consumerism to unemployment--can create hunger, and where contentment can seem tantalizingly remote, an aroma from someone else's window." --Deborah Jerome-Cohen, New York Daily News

"A more authentic teaching by a more authentic person than Bernard Glassman, we are not likely to see in our times. He not only teaches all this, he has done it all." --Thomas Berry

Customer Reviews

Buddhism and entrepreneurism can mix!
Enjoyed the taped version of INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COOK, written by Bernard Glassman and Rick Fields . . . subtitled A ZEN MASTER'S LESSONS IN LIVING A LIFE THAT MATTERS, it is actually
an autobiography that tells how Glassman took his beliefs
and used them to set up a Zen Center (with a successful
bakery) . . . I had previously thought that Buddhism and
entrepreneurism were terms that didn't even belong in the same
sentence; however, this book proved me wrong.

In addition, it confirmed for me the fact that PR-type folks sometimes
don't know what they're talking about . . . when coming up with
a name for the bakery, many advised against any mention
of the Zen tie-in . . . Glassman disagreed, though, because
he felt that to hide the fact would be not consistent with his
value system . . . he fortunately won out.

My only criticism: I would have liked to have seen a few
more actual lessons; i.e., suggestions that I could apply
to my daily life along the lines of the following one that
I did recall:

As with time, there's almost always enough money to
start the process [of starting a business or virtually
anything else].

Not a lot of Instructions...
I'm a little disappointed with Glassman Roshi here. Its useful if you're considering a new endevour in business, but as far as personal practice it's not. It's more a bio on Glassman ans his successes, tooting of the horn , I feel. The "instructions" were vague an dalmost always applied only to business or corporate functioning. If you're not in this world, don't expect too much.

Combining Zen and Activism
I liked this book because it combined Zen and activism, a rare combination in our culture (unfortunately). Almost as soon as he hit the streets of New York to set up his Zen Center, Glassman was intent on helping the homeless in a meaningful way. What I enjoyed the most is when he focused on Zen principles in doing his activism. When a dilemma arose, he recommended that people meditate to find a possible solution. In the bakery he set up to employ the unemployed and homeless, he erected a meditation center so that people could meditate, if so inclined. I think his merging of spiritual practice, hard work, and activism is probably a good reason why his projects were successful. He realized that business without "more" is not fulfilling, and that spirituality needs to help the community we all live in, as its purpose is not simply to help our individual souls. A most worthwhile book. The only criticism: although he discussed himself, I would have liked to have learned even more about his background, how he came to the place of combining Zen and activism.