{"podcast":{"title":"Japan Eats!","slug":"japan-eats-1057505","podcast_index_feed_id":1057505,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/japan-eats","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/japan-eats","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/b1/b9/39/df/b1b939df-f9d3-4e3f-8ac9-c01f06a22d6f/d71d772385f13981ed0fd766aaf9ce609f4eaad970206963b4b24c13f939d817616d90b50eb28fae3a68246daae8ba5677c477864cc1542ca6ae992806f709da.jpeg","author":"Heritage Radio Network","episode_count":395,"summary":"What is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!","last_synced_at":"2026-09-11T00:20:32.758708+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/japan-eats-1057505"},"episode":{"title":"Food Is The Foundation Of Our Mindfulness: Zen Monk Masaki Matsubara","slug":"food-is-the-foundation-of-our-mindfulness-zen-monk-masaki-matsubara","published_at":"2026-02-20T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/japan-eats-1057505/food-is-the-foundation-of-our-mindfulness-zen-monk-masaki-matsubara","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/japan-eats-1057505","url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/16a435c2-9d52-4f03-a897-b37f3624fbda.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/16a435c2-9d52-4f03-a897-b37f3624fbda.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara, who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and impressive. Following his Zen monastic training in Heirinji Monastery in Japan, he moved to the US in 1999 to study at Cornell University, where he eventually earned a PhD in Asian religions.  Since then, he has taught Buddhist studies at prominent institutions, including U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University, Cornell University, Brown University and the University of Tokyo.  Also, Rev. Matsubara is the head abbot of Butsumoji Zen Temple in Chiba, Japan   Reverend Matsubara joined us in Episode #377 in September 2025 and discussed important ideas underlying Japanese society, such as the true meaning of Zen and the difference between Zen and mindfulness.   Now, he is back to talk about food in Zen practice.  Generally speaking, in business organizations, the lower level of the hierarchy tends to be in charge of food matters.  CEO’s would not choose and order lunch items for their employees, for instance.    However, in Zen practice, preparing and serving meals is a very important part of training and the cook is called Tenzo.  The idea of prioritizing meal preparation, as much as meditation and studying Buddhism, came from the classic book  Tenzo Kyokun,  written by the Japanese Zen Buddhist master Dogen in 1237.  The book is old and sounds aloof from our daily lives, but there are many valuable lessons for living mindfully in our modern lifestyle.    In this episode, we will discuss why food is essential in Zen practice, the precious lessons in the book  Tenzo Kyokun , how you can practice a mind…","meta_description":"Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara, who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and imp…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2994,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/japan-eats-1057505/episodes/food-is-the-foundation-of-our-mindfulness-zen-monk-masaki-matsubara/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/japan-eats-1057505/food-is-the-foundation-of-our-mindfulness-zen-monk-masaki-matsubara.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}