Java Enso

At breakfast on Day 5 of sesshin, not sencha or oolong tea, but coffee! Having weaned myself from java to avoid caffeine withdrawal (a pounding headache for 3 days is a serious impediment to zazen), this small change in the breakfast routine aroused my senses in a microsecond. All beans without number, I vow to liberate! Ah....the aroma, the taste, each sip savored, the java makyo that roared into my zazen. It was a much appreciated, tiny thing to a tired body and no-mind. Grasping the cup....and trying not to grasp. What a lession in imperminance (once I drank it all). And the irony of it was, it was pretty bad coffee!

Cup of Mu

After sitting at the zendo early in the morning, I usually indulge in coffee at the local cafe. It is an attachment that I enjoy, and thus has become linked to one part of my practice. I have tried to wean myself from this attachment, but it is strong. Cup of java, cup of Mu! Wondering if I should unchain myself from this pleasure, or take it as it is...