Alchemy and the Dharma

Last night The Lady Alchemist made food for the Kadampa Meditation Center in SF.
Below are the recipes of the food served that evening.
Having the opportunity to nourish last night's meditators has led me to reflect on the importance the Kadampa dharma community has played in my life as well as how grateful I am to be a member of the community. I wanted to share with you my experience. 

Above is a picture of me in 2010 volunteering on the temple grounds at Kadampa in Glenspay, New York. This was when Kadampa buddhism entered my life for the first time. This experience back in 2010 contributes largely to The Lady Alchemist's core principals and is a big part of my life today. 

Back in 2010 I was in college enrolled in a Holistic studies and Integral Nutrition program. One day my professor came back from a retreat and showed me pictures of the temple grounds she had visited. I was like"This place is only a few hours from New Jersey.. get out!!" It looked like a magical palace, a paradice. She told me about her experience in a manor of peace and joy that made me feel both happy for her AND want some of what she's got!

On a college budget, I couldn't exactly afford the trip but with further digging on their website I saw that they offer room and board and classes in exchange for Dharma Work..whatever that was. I took my chances and sent in an application. I told them I was good with a knife and love to cook vegetarian. (the buddhists really dig their cruelty free veg meals) 

They accepted my application and off I went to live on the temple grounds. 

Upon arrival, my eagerness to combine my passions of cooking and self discovery were met with some disappointment. 

Hours of meditation, long periods of silence in the morning, people telling me that I was breaking rules, periods of fasting; this was not the paradise my professor had made it out to be. On top of it I wasn't even in the kitchen very much. I was doing task like washing and changing sheets, raking endless leaves and cleaning the bathrooms. grrrr

The first few days were hell!

Despite the achy hips (so much sitting on the floor) and the routine silent treatment, I continued to stick it out. Maybe it was because of my masochistic tendencies or maybe because my intuition felt that there was something more to it. 

All the people around me were happy and they were doing the same Dharma work as me,  the same meditation practices and in the same location. I thought.. "What's up,  why wasn't I 'drinking the coolaide" 

By the end of the first week the resident monk Gen Sempten's teachings began to steep in a little more. I sat with him at lunch and told him of my discontentment with the practices. He in turn talked about the principles of the teachings of the human mind grasping to fear. He asked what my mind was perceiving about the experience that was holding onto fear. 

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts, we make our world.

-Buddha 

Gen Sampten was right, my mind was scared. It was scared to be in a different state of mentality, to be with myself. I was scared and uncomfortable to be without mindless chit chat and to be engaged in repedtative tasks, to follow a schedule that was out of my control. Without TV, alcohol, Facebook and texting to distract me there weren't many places to hide. 

With no place to hide, I resorted to fear, fear brought me so far into my own self doubt and judgement it removed me from the present moment. The main thing I feared was the lack of control I had over the whole thing. My daily distractions gave me the illusion that I was in control. 

Gen Samten told me that control is a part of our suffering deluded minds, a sense of control is not truth. He said to me that only if one works with one's whole body, heart, and mind, has one truly living in truth.

I held in mind what he had said to me in the following meditation session and It dawned on me how I could start to apply this to my Dharma work. 

 Through the dharma work I learned how to bring the spirit of wakefulness to the activities of my life. I would make the beds and visualize their inhabitants having a restful sleep. I would chop the vegetables imagining their nutrients filling the bellies of their consumer and thinking of the earth that created them. I would dust the corners of the window sills imagining myself removing the dusty delusional thoughts I have accumulated over time. During the process of everyday chores I was beginning to receive great teachings and live in my whole body, heart and mind. 

In the silence I learned how to listen. I learned how to be with thoughts and desires rather then bring them into diologue and engagement with others as they came up. I learned to let them pass and dissolve back into the ocean of my thoughts. 

I know this may sounds a little granola, but it's a practice, and all practice drills are a little funny and different from the actual game play;keep that in mind. I remember in tennis some of the things my coach made me do felt pretty silly, but in the long run, it sharpened my game. 

When leaving the grounds, I had a new perspective on doing things. I had evoked intention over distraction. 

I'm not going to lie, its not like I left there enlightened. I just know that when we bring intention into life and stop trying to control it, it gets better. To this day I am as guilty as the next in mindless scrolling on Facebook but because I have the dharma community, It's times like cooking last night that remind me that there is refuge, a better way to live in less distraction and in more contact with truth. 

The Lovely Maria enjoying Green Tara Rainbow Kale Salad!

“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

The Recipes 

Buddha’s Hand Cauliflower Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked quinoa
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup of yellow cauliflower cut in small florets
1 cup of orange cauliflower cut into small florets 
1 cup of orange cauliflower cut in small florets
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 oz of fresh rosemary chopped
1  cup of olive oil 
1/2 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of cara cara orange juice (can substitute naval orange)
1 tablespoons of shaved buddha's hand (can substitute lemon peel or Meyer lemon peel)
1  teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt

Directions: 
1. Toss cauliflower florets in salt, peper, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and lemon juice. Place in baken pan and rast at 350f for 20 min. 
2. Cook quinoa and let cool slightly
3. Drain and rince chick pea
4. Marry the roasted cauliflower with the chickpea and quinoa, be sure to pour in juices from the baking pan. 
5. Toss mixture with fresh Cara Cara juice and buddha's hand. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Green Tara Rainbow Kale Salad

 Ingredients:

6 cup lightly packed raw kale, stems removed
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups carrots shredded
1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
2 cups of broccoli florets

Dressing: 

1/2 cup of tahini

1 cup  chopped parsley loosely packed 

1/4 cup olive oil 

1/2 cup of lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic 

3 dates pitted 

1 teaspoon of salt

Combine in a blender (I like the bullet) Blend until smooth.

Dharma Jewel Chia Pudding

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla almond milk(I made a raw sprouted almond milk: here's how you can too!)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup un-sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup sliced strawberries6 dates chopped fine/ or if you have a blender puree with 1/4 cup of almond milk and marry into batter
Sea salt to taste
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together almond milk and chia seeds. Add coconut flakes and strawberries and stir well until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Before serving, stir pudding again. Divide between bowls and top each with a 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired.

Gratitude To the Dharma Community 

New visitors to the temple enjoying the food and the dharma community!

Six years have past and I am on the other side of the country and I still have the support of the community and hold it dear to my heart. 

I am so greatful for the people who showed up last night.  Coming together through food and having the opportunity to nourishing others, nourishes me. Cooking for the temple provided me with a reminder of what I had forgotten. Truth is in community and connecting without fear or doubt. 

Alchemical change happens in our willingness to see gold potential in all things inside and out. It's a messy process, get your hands dirty! Make contact with your truth xo 

'Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we'd rather collapse and back away. They're like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we're stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are.'

- Pema Chodron