Tastes of the sacred: food, ritual, and community in buddhist centers in Argentina

Abstract

This article explores food practices in Zen Buddhist centers in Argentina, analyzing their ritual, symbolic, and communal significance. Based on an ethnographic approach, it examines elements such as the role of the tenzo (kitchen manager), the preparation of guenmai soup, and communal eating rituals like oryoki. The study highlights how food, beyond its nutritional function, operates as a spiritual technology that embodies Zen values such as mindfulness, moderation, and interdependence. It also addresses the tensions between ethical discourses promoting vegetarianism and concrete practices that include meat and alcohol during festive occasions. The research shows how, in these settings, food plays a key role in shaping religious identities, reinforcing community life, and articulating the relationship between the sacred and the profane in the process of adapting Buddhism to the Latin American context.