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• club o

i followed my colleague along to one of their communal zen meal sessions (禪食). it was a very interesting experience. i had a bit of a shock initially as there are no tables, only chairs, in the hall. you can sit wherever you like, though i'd recommend not sitting too near the speakers. before the meal starts, there is a short, 10-minute talk in cantonese. after that, volunteers go round the room distributing bowls and chopsticks, then ladle out soup as you hold out your bowl (you don't start eating till everyone has been served). when everyone has finished with the soup, they again work the room serving rice and veggies. after you're done with your food, volunteers will pour some water into your bowl for you to drink (so there is no leftover food and also making it easier for them to clean up later). the entire meal is eaten in silence except for muzak, and for the session i attended, at least, the speaker sat in front meditating throughout. the meal, prepared by volunteers, was simple yet filling and delicious. there was soup with lots of ingredients, rice, salad, tofu, tomatoes and potatoes. you can donate whatever you like at the end of the session. without a spoon, it took a bit of effort on my part to scrape up every morsel of the soup and eat the rice. i also had to get used to holding the large bowl in one hand. there are three zen meal sessions weekly: thu 6.30-7.30 pm sat 1.30-2.30 pm sat 6 - 7 pm my colleague advised me on going early, as they can get full, especially if there are activities in the hall before the meal and participants stay on. more info about club o in english here: http://www.club-o.org/contents/Vision-Mission.htm Updated from previous review on 2016-08-08