Going Against Its Nature: The Anti-temple Food that Brings Me Calm

What works for one might not work for others. When we consume so much online and follow people we admire, it’s essential to retain who we are and what brings us joy. Most recently, this lesson came in the form of food. While I loved learning about temple foods from a Buddhist monk, I realized temple food meant something else to me. It meant connection and roots.

Everyone calls it temple food, the monk said. Secular food is focused on creating dynamic energy, but temple food is meant to keep the mind calm, she said. Temple food cannot use pungent ingredients like onion, garlic, scallions, chives, and leeks. Too much of it prevents a monk’s mind from achieving a state of calmness. It is a distraction to meditation. 

Temple food is flavored with nature,’ she says as she chops the lotus root in perfect circles. She arranges them in a wooden basket and washes them. She then prepares sauces in separate bowls with soy paste, soy sauce, and chili paste. She soaks the lotus roots in each of those bowls, and in the next scene, I see three different varieties of pickled lotus roots laid out on a flat white tray. The beautiful background music picks up the pace as if to showcase a grand finale. 

As I watched “Jeong Kwan’s episode from Chef’s Table, I remembered thinking I wanted to try some of that. Why was I so captivated by it? It could be the music or how Jenong Kwan carried herself. She handled each ingredient with so much care and respect.

I didn’t just crave her food but her presence of mind and calmness. She was serious, yet there was some playfulness in her.

As much as I wished for this temple food and the magical qualities they possessed, my mind kept returning to the words: no onions, prevents calmness and distraction. 

You see, I have a strong attachment to onions. If I think of any food that connects me to my mother, it would be the mighty onion. Growing up, she used them in everything. They would be the base of every recipe she prepared in my childhood home in India. Once she is done, she sometimes garnishes it with slices of onion on top. 

So when someone speaks of avoiding onions because of bad breath, I can’t relate. I didn’t know any different growing up. My mind goes back to my mother’s words: ‘An onion does as much good as a mother does, if not more.’ I heard this over and over at various points in my life. 

So how could the onion I have known as my well-wisher not bring a sense of calm? It is my temple food, bringing me a mother’s comfort in my adult life.

While some things may not work for others, they may be meaningful to you. Do you have foods from different stages of your life that connect you with loved ones in your life? What are your temple foods?