GYAN VIHARA CULINARY INSTITUTE
Culinary Institute session at Kinkara, Costa Rica — a destination opened by the Harmony Project in 2018
To engage the gastronomic arts, food permaculture, and moderate our consumption thereof in the most mindful way, the Gyan Vihara Culinary Institute uses the Buddhist model of the Eight Fold Path, the fourth of The Four Nobles Truths, as a template for cultivating a lifestyle that supports the practice of meditation, contemplation and application of realized wisdom. Such practices are enhanced through Modernist Cuisine, consuming clean, vital, well-prepared food that can be provocative as a pathway to Food as Medicine.
The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings: the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path that leads to the end of suffering. Following this formula and acknowledging that (1) we all suffer from less than perfect health at times, that (2) our food choices can be the cause of suffering, that (3) we can make better choices and (4) we can take a path to better health when given reliable information and means to access our own inner wisdom, we create a sound, sustainable foundation for a path to better health and well-being. As an implicit part of the Eightfold Path, Food as Medicine is a path with better choices to be made through wisdom and information to assist with relief.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1) Observing - Seasons, altitude, seeding to harvest, wild forages, the sweetness of water, the moods.
2) Understanding - Culinary science and art, tools and equipment, healing principles, food as medicine.
3) Accepting — Knowledge without condition, people without preconceived notion, food with reverence, spirituality with and without religion.
4) Researching — Supporting and nurturing curious minds, multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to health and wellbeing (physical, mental, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual).
5) Applying — Providing platform to seekers to realize their full potential, sojourners and resident menus, farming, foraging, the creation and maintenance of a sustainable food system by building connections with suppliers and taking on broader advocacy initiatives.
6) Embracing the Science and Art of Cooking — We do not just teach students; we provide them with a tool for research, and for employing their knowledge and skills in the world to become life-students, how to continually explore and demonstrate the Five Elements and nature, Five Senses and Six Tastes to optimally nourish & heal.
VIDEO: Kuntal teaches that Ayurveda describes Kadha/ Kashayam as a decoction of herbs and spices boiled in water for a length of time, allowing all of the medicinal benefits to be extracted. Kadha is especially helpful during the change of seasons when allergies can appear.
VIDEO: Kuntal decodes Ayurveda, the ancient science of healing, and enhancing body immunity in a series of videos about Ayurveda and its relevance to you in daily life in part one above, and two below.
Holistic Nutrition, Culinary Arts & Science
The main challenge of any education stream is its effectiveness and practical approach in daily life. It should be more than the hopeful vision. We aim to share a platform to combine ideology, holistic learning, scientific approach, and artistry. We will lead the way in educating future culinarians, thinkers, and creators in the holistic nutrition and culinary arts professions, unifying the concept of renewal and inventiveness.
It can be a welcome challenge to pilot a project that seeks to open new opportunities beyond the comfortable topics and space of what has already been established. Our students will be provided with an advanced understanding of food science, art, mindfulness, nutrition and research that teaches critical thinking and yields better understanding of healthy eating and cooking.
With curricula that blends the science of ancient wisdom and wholesome nutrition with the art of restorative cooking to guide students in their learning, our sojourning students will leave with an in-depth knowledge of whole-foods nutrition.
Resource for Life — We seek to create an institution of thinkers, doers, healers and artists, in relation to food. Learners shall not only be technically trained, but spiritually trained as well to foster the spirit of contentment, kindness and humility.