Buddhist nun treats 100 students to lunch, emphasizing mindful eating

Buddhist nun Seonjae, renowned for her temple cuisine, personally prepared and served lunch to over 100 university students at Yeonhwasa Temple in Seoul's Dongdaemun District on Tuesday. This event was part of 'Youth Rice Power,' a program initiated three years ago to offer warm meals to students grappling with the pressures of academics, job searching, and housing.

Seonjae revealed that she was the one who initially proposed the idea. "Three years ago, while having a meal with a professor from Kyung Hee University at Yeonhwasa, the suggestion came up to offer similar meals to students," she explained. "We decided to start it then, and I proposed it to the temple."

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I was the one who first initiated this. Now, I've come to repay my debt of gratitude.

Yeonhwasa Temple, located adjacent to Kyung Hee University, began offering free lunches every Tuesday in the second semester of 2023. The program now serves around 100 students weekly, attracting not only students from Kyung Hee University but also from nearby Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Korea National University of Arts. Students were seen studying and waiting for lunch during their exam period, with some international students also present.

Despite a packed schedule following her appearance on the Netflix show 'Black & White Chef,' Seonjae prioritized this event to reconnect with the spirit of 'Youth Rice Power' and encourage the students. She mentioned turning down numerous advertising offers, stating, "It was more important to consider how young people and university students can healthily protect our food culture and carry on traditions."

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It was more important to consider how young people and university students can healthily protect our food culture and carry on traditions.

Seonjae, along with about 40 fellow monks and practitioners involved in the Jeongbeopdan group, researches and educates on temple cuisine. For the event, they prepared dishes using homemade soy sauce, doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and gochujang (red chili paste). The menu included carrot noodles, lotus leaf rice, tofu stew, zucchini pancakes, eggplant pancakes, black sesame-dressed cabbage salad, and cucumber salad, with a fruit and perilla leaf punch served for dessert.

Before serving, Seonjae offered words of encouragement. "We shouldn't just swallow food," she advised. "This carrot noodle dish I made has no sugar, but it's sweet. Carrots endure the hot sun for us. We can't eat soil, but carrots withstand the wind and rain in the soil. I believe eating such food gives us the patience to endure hardships."

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We shouldn't just swallow food. This carrot noodle dish I made has no sugar, but it's sweet. Carrots endure the hot sun for us. We can't eat soil, but carrots withstand the wind and rain in the soil. I believe eating such food gives us the patience to endure hardships.

She emphasized that "food shares our hearts and shapes our minds." Seonjae suggested that consuming salty and spicy foods can make one impatient, while temple food, prepared with mindfulness, can bring peace and wisdom. Her reflections extended to environmental consciousness, noting, "If the land is polluted, the carrots suffer, and eventually, we get sick. The life of nature is not different from our lives." She urged gratitude, stating, "Bees don't harm flowers when they collect nectar. Shouldn't we be better than bees? We must eat with gratitude."

The temple's chief priest, Myo-jang, affirmed the program's purpose: "'Youth Rice Power' is not just about filling stomachs; it's about soothing the emptiness in young people's hearts and touching their minds." The temple has opened a passage connecting directly to the university campus to facilitate student access. Do-ryun, the head of the Jogye Order's Social Welfare Foundation, mentioned plans to expand the 'Youth Rice Power' program to other cities like Cheongju and Busan starting in the second semester.

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Food shares our hearts and shapes our minds. Eating salty and spicy food can make one impatient, while eating temple food prepared by monks can bring peace and wisdom.