Eat Sleep Sit tells the story of the author's year at Eihejii, Japan's strictest and most revered Zen monastery. Translated from the original Japanese, the descriptions of daily life in the monastery are often too detailed and dry. I skimmed quickly over some sections and was tempted to skip others altogether. However, there are moments of stark beauty and spiritual insights. That combined with a rare look into a completely different way of life made the book worth reading. ( )

[Eat, Sleep, Sit: My Year at Japan’s most rigorous zen temple] describes the writer’s time as trainee monk at Eiheiji, the main temple of S�t� Zen Buddhism. As an American, I think of Zen as calm and gentle. I knew from past reading that our Western version of Buddism is very different than Eastern Buddhism—this book really reinforced that. Life at Eiheiji is harsh, mean, and based on an obsessive-compulsive system of living, set out by Dogen, who founded the Soto school of Zen in 1200.
The trainee monks are berated, struck, and knocked down the stairs when they don’t follow the intricate rules correctly. They are also basically starved, and many become sick. The author describes in great detail the rules of the monastery. There is a whole chapter devoted to how to use the lavatory. (I ended up getting bored, and skipping through many of these details.)
The author states that “by allowing no latitude for personal feelings whatever, but forcing us to fit ourselves body and spirit into an unforgiving, constricting mold, the experience obliged us to give up all attachments. “ He sees this as mostly positive, but to me it seems very cult-like.
The thought provoking part of the book for me was the fact that the author clearly gained a lot from this experience. He describes that I have become capable of tears. Once I told someone “A man who can cry is a lucky man�. I never could, before. I used to think what a relief it must be to let yourself go and cry, but I just couldn’t. Now I can cry in great gulping sobs. “ ( )

As the English subtitle suggests, Eat Sleep Sit chronicles the author's year as a trainee monk at Eihei-ji, the main temple of S�t� Zen Buddhism.

The book is bound to shatter any naive preconceptions one might have about Zen monasteries. This is not a peaceful and serene process for the initiates; it's much closer to military boot camp. In fact, it may surpass boot camp, as--unless I'm mistaken--drill instructors are not usually allowed, encouraged, or required to beat on their recruits.

There's an interesting contrast at play between the beautiful surroundings and the harshness of the training. I suppose the trainees would feel that contrast much stronger than the reader, if they had a moment to notice it. ( )