What is 展鉢の偈 (Tenpatsu-no-Ge)?: A Declaration of Letting Go of Attachment in Zen Practice

展鉢の偈 (Tenpatsu-no-Ge): The Meaning in Zen Eating Practice and a Declaration That Changes Eating into Training in Buddhist Practice

What is 展鉢の偈 (Tenpatsu-no-Ge)?: It is a chant in a Zen training temple. Monks say it when they eat a meal. It is said when they open and set up a set of bowls called 応量器 (Oryoki), which are wrapped in cloth.

Key Point: Tenpatsu-no-Ge is a chant that is said in a Zen training temple when monks eat a meal. It is said when they open and set up a set of bowls called Oryoki, which are wrapped in cloth. This chant confirms the full process of the Buddha’s life from birth to entering nirvana and his teaching. It is a declaration to begin eating as Buddhist practice while keeping body, speech, and mind (身口意) in order and removing attachment to them.

Tenpatsu-no-Ge is a chant in a Zen training temple when monks eat a meal. It is used when they open and set up a set of bowls called Oryoki, which are wrapped in cloth.

• 仏生迦毘羅 (Buddha Birth in Kapilavastu): “仏生” means that the Buddha is born into this world. 迦毘羅 (Kapilavastu/Kapira) is the home of the Shakya clan, and it is the place where Shakyamuni Buddha was born. Therefore, “仏生迦毘羅” means that the Buddha was born in Kapilavastu and appeared in this world.
• 成道摩揭陀 (Enlightenment in Magadha): “成道” means to complete awakening. 摩揭陀 is the place where Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Therefore, “成道摩揭陀” means that practice was completed and awakening was established in Magadha.
• 説法波羅奈 (Teaching the Dharma in Varanasi): “説法” means to speak and explain the content of enlightenment to others. 波羅奈 (Varanasi/harana) is the place where the first turning of the Dharma wheel is said to have taken place. Therefore, “説法波羅奈” means that enlightenment was shown in words to others in Varanasi, and the teaching began to spread.
• 入滅拘絺羅 (Passing into Nirvana at Kuchira): “入滅” means that physical life ends and complete Nirvana is entered. 拘絺羅 (Kuchira) is the place of this final end. Therefore, “入滅拘絺羅” means that Shakyamuni Buddha’s teaching activity in this world has come to an end.

• 如来応量器 (Tathagata Bowl of Proper Measure): “如来” means a being who comes from Suchness (Tathata). It also means “thus gone, thus come.” It is a being who is unmoved in 真如 (Suchness) itself, but appears in the world of suffering in forms according to the capacity of living beings.
  “真如 (Suchness)” means the true nature of all things as they are. It is free from all delusion and attachment. It is also free from all impurity. It is the basic law that fills all things in the universe.
  “応量器 (Oryoki)” means a bowl used by a practitioner. It is a bowl that receives food in the proper amount according to need.
  Therefore, “如来応量器” means that the teaching of the Tathagata is not a fixed form, but appears according to the capacity of living beings.

• 我今得敷展 (Now I Open and Spread the Bowl): “我今得敷展” means that I open the bowl now.

• 願共一切衆(Vow to Be Together with All Beings): “共一切衆” means to be with all living beings. Therefore, “願共一切衆” means the wish to practice together with all beings, without dividing self and others.
• 等三輪空寂 (Equal to the Emptiness and Stillness of the Three Wheels): “等三輪” means the Wheel of Body, the Wheel of Speech, and the Wheel of Mind. In other words, they are the three actions of body, speech, and mind (身口意).
  According to大蔵法教 (Daizo Hokyo, Dharma Numbers from the Tripitaka), they are called “wheels” because a wheel can crush and break things. In the same way, the Tathagata uses the actions of body, speech, and mind to remove the delusions and afflictions of living beings. Through the body, the Buddha appears in the world. Through speech, the Buddha teaches the Dharma. Through the mind, the Buddha understands the capacities of living beings. For this reason, they are called the Three Wheels.
  The Three Wheels also mean the giver, the receiver, and the gift itself. “三輪空寂 (The Emptiness and Stillness of the Three Wheels)” means that the giver and the receiver do not produce attachment, dislike, expectation of reward, or personal preference toward the act of giving.
  Therefore, “等三輪空寂 (Equal to the Emptiness and Stillness of the Three Wheels)” means a state in which there is no attachment to the giver, the receiver, or the gift itself. It refers to a state that is free from all attachment (Reference: Jakusho (Ed.) (1899). Daizo Hokyo: Ichidai Kyoryu Ronshaku Hokyo, Vol. 1 [Dharma Numbers from the Tripitaka: Numerical Categories of the Sutras, Vinaya, and Treatises, Vol. 1]. Komeisha.).

This verse is a declaration to begin eating as a Buddhist practice—confirming the full journey of the Buddha’s life from birth to entering nirvana along with his teachings, while keeping body, speech, and mind (the foundation of Buddhist practice) in order and remaining free from attachment to them.

The core

• Tenpatsu-no-Ge is a declaration for beginning a meal as a Buddhist practice. It reviews the whole life of the Buddha, from birth to Nirvana, and his teachings. It also aims to regulate body, speech, and mind, which are the foundation of Buddhist practice, while letting go of attachment to them.
• Tenpatsu-no-Ge is a verse chanted during meals in a Zen training monastery when practitioners open and arrange their Oryoki bowls from a cloth wrapping.

My Experience: A Redefinition of Oryoki in the Modern Age

Key Point: Traditional Oryoki bowls are wonderful examples of Japanese craftsmanship. However, it is also possible to create an Oryoki-style set with inexpensive nesting bowls that are easy to store. I would like to continue taking my meals with the wish of regulating 身口意 (body, speech, and mind), which are the foundation of Buddhist practice, while letting go of attachment to them.

How much do you think an Oryoki set costs? A traditional lacquered set can cost between 50,000 and 100,000 yen. This made me wonder why Zen Buddhism, which is often associated with simplicity and poverty, uses such expensive items. Not only Oryoki, but also 網代笠 (Ajiro-gasa/an woven hat) and 袈裟(Kesa/a Buddhist robe) can cost many tens of thousands of yen. I thought about this question for a long time. In the end, I came to see in these items a visible expression of authority within an institutionalized religion.

In the time of the Buddha, all monks were mendicants who lived by alms. Therefore, anyone could become a monk regardless of wealth or social status, as long as they had a simple 鉢 (hatsu/begging bowl).

However, as Buddhism spread through India, China, and Japan, the lives of monks gradually became connected with state-supported religion. Monastic institutions and formal rituals developed over time.

In Japan especially, the government and the aristocracy built temples and enriched Buddhist implements and robes with ornamentation. As a result, a culture developed that sought to express the dignity of the Buddha-Dharma through visible forms.

Because of this, becoming a monk came to require training within a temple, and temples themselves needed a stable economic foundation. Over time, ordination became associated with a more privileged social position.

From the Edo period onward, the temple system became more fixed, and becoming a monk began to require money.

By this stage, the spirit of simplicity and poverty had already changed within the religious institution.

As a result, many Zen practitioners in the modern period have once again asked the question, “What does it truly mean to leave home and become a monk?”

Therefore, I think that traditional Oryoki sets, which can cost many tens of thousands of yen, are wonderful as works of traditional craftsmanship and art. However, it is also possible to create a similar set through simple ingenuity. If you combine nesting bowls by yourself, you can make an Oryoki-style set that is inexpensive and easy to store.

I would like to continue taking my meals with the wish of regulating body, speech, and mind, which are the foundation of Buddhist practice, while letting go of attachment to body, speech, and mind.