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Tassajara Stories Bulgaria
Mike Daft was head cook for the day. He'd come in before morning zazen to get started with the bread for lunch, enough for eight loaves. Whole wheat with some rice flower. It was practice period so there was oryoki lunch in the zendo. We cut some steaming slices straight out of the Wolf oven. Awful. Yuck! What's that? Oh - he realized he'd put in cups of salt instead of tablespoons. There was a zazen period at eleven that was just ending. The brief noon service would start in a minute. It was time to serve up and be ready to hit the lunch han and bring the serving pots and baskets out to the back table as black and grey-robed students took their seats, sat on their zafu in the zendo to chant and receive served by other robed students . Mike wondered if he should announce that lunch would be served without that course. But there were three bowls to fill. It seemed it had to be served. I was on the lunch crew that day and had a suggestion. Mike thought then nodded. In the silence of the zendo, after the first part of the meal chant but before the servers walked down the isles, Mike bravely announced, "Today's lunch features Bulgarian Salt Loaf." Extra Hain Cold Pressed Margarine and unsalted sesame butter were served. Later there were no complaints. Bulgarian Salt Loaf was, however, never served again.
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