How to Cook Your Life (2007)

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.

Director:

Doris Dörrie

Writer:

Doris Dörrie

Stars:

Edward Espe Brown, Doris Dörrie

Cast

Cast overview:
Edward Espe Brown	...	Himself
Doris Dörrie	...	Herself

Storyline

Doris Dörrie's camera greets Edward Espe Brown when he arrives in Australia to give a class on cooking, Zen, and meditation. We see him back home in Northern California as well. Brown, for forty years a Zen cook, demonstrates cooking as well as commenting on topics including anger, quiet, gleaning and waste, battered pots, and how he found his vocation. A focus of his is to demonstrate how to bring one's self to cooking and to others simultaneously. He quotes often from two masters, with several examples of Zen wit. The camera takes the occasional trip to fast food restaurants to provide contrast to Brown's approach and results.

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Plot Keywords:

zen | cooking | california | buddhism | meditation | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

10 May 2007 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Jak ugotowac swoje zycie

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,741, 26 October 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$84,097, 9 March 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Megaherz TV Fernsehproduktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Delightful film on cooking as a spiritual practice

I enjoyed this film very much. Food and cooking have always made an excellent vehicle for the earthy, practical wisdom of Zen. Edward Espe Brown comes across as a very genuine teacher, and humble too--unafraid to share his own human emotions, his own work on himself. I appreciated his stories and sense of humor, as well as his gentle reminders of how profound and sacred our relationship to food really is, and how far we have lost this in the contemporary world. This is a contemplative and uplifting film with a lot of heart that made my hectic mind slow down and relax...

An added bonus is some rare video footage of the great Suzuki-roshi, author of "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind".