Tea or coffee?

[Adamantine]

a double expresso please .

coffee doesnt do any harm...
lots of lamas,teachers...drink strong cofee....

Lots of Lamas watch T.V. or drink alcohol, I know one who smokes --they may do all kinds of other things I might like to do but if they are deserving of the title Lama than I don't think they are relating to it or being affected by it in the ordinary way an average person would. So it is not a good indicator that it is a good habit for *you*.

[Chaz]

tea is certainly a drink used by countless Buddhist practitioners worldwide-- vast cauldrons of butter salt tea in the Tibetan monasteries, green teas in the temples of China and Japan.. it seems often a useful tool to aid in meditative alertness during drowsy times of day, as well as general health.

Coffee however is like a hamfisted potent drug that agitates the nerves-- in other words I find it a caffeine overdose. And I have heard from some Lamas that it is bad for the subtle nerves, though there are other Lamas that drink it too. Regardless, the universe of tea is vast and exquisite, the flavors and effects vastly diverse but generally enriching and not depleting -- whereas coffee certainly can deplete the adrenals.

Here is a great book about the rich history of tea and the tea ceremony called simply The Book of Tea http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tea-Kakuzo-Okakura/dp/0486200701

and here's a great place to source fantastic varieties of rare teas http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/

This reminds me of when the Karmapa came to Boulder in 2008. He was speaking at Mackey Auditorium. The session I was fortunate enough to attend was marked by His Holiness coming out on stage with a Venti coffee from Starbucks (just a block from the auditorium). The crowd's approval of his choice of beverage was raucus to say the least.

Personally I drink lots of coffee and had done so for the best part of 40 years - hot strong and black. In recent years I've taken to drinking alot more decafinated coffee though.

I cannot, for the life of me, really get into tea. I do like the occaisional gen mai chai and if I have to drink tea and feel like slumming it, Constant Comment is a fave. My practice instructor likes to meet at an English-style tea house and they offer a delightful pearl Jasmine tea that I rather like.


Maybe I like tea more than I think I do

[Adamantine]

. The crowd's approval of his choice of beverage was raucus to say the least.

skillful means?

[Chaz]

. The crowd's approval of his choice of beverage was raucus to say the least.

skillful means?

On who's part? Karmapa's? It could be he just wanted a cup of coffee and his attendant or driver went to the Starbucks near the auditorium.

When he sat down to teach, he picked up the coffee that had been set there for him, held it up and arranged the cup so the logo faced forward and gestured to it, smiling.

The crowd went nuts.

We should remember that this occurred in Boulder. These people aren't what you'd call "reserved". Many of them were students of the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and still have a certain late-60s attidtude. When His Holliness' host, Ponlop Rinpoche, came out to introduce him, the crowd when wild. Total Rock Star reception - bic lighters, whistles, hoots, etc.. Rinpoche is well known in Boulder - he taught at Naropa. He is also much loved, so Rinpoche coming out to introduce the Karmapa was as if one of Boulder's favorite sons came on stage. The ovation went on for nearly five minutes.

The ovation for His Holiness went on much longer

He then commenced to teaching.

There's a picture circulating that was taken a few days later in Seattle where His Holiness is holding up a cup of Starbuck's coffee. Just google "Karmapa Starbucks".

So, I guess if Starbucks' coffee is good enough for the 17th Karmapa, I guess it's good enough for me.

It might also be of interest to pass along that His Holiness' host on the 2008 tour, Ponlop Rinpoche, lists Coke as his favorite beverage.

[Adamantine]

I hope they're getting some kickback for product placement!

[Chaz]

I hope they're getting some kickback for product placement!

Doubtful

[David N. Snyder]

Tea or coffee?

Both!

But mostly tea, jasmine that is.

[Kunzang]

Growing up in the US South, iced sweetened tea was a common beverage. Coffee was for grown-ups but everyone, kids and grown-ups, drink iced sweetened tea. Until I was a senior in high school, I don't think I even knew anyone that drank hot tea. Then, that year I tried different kinds of teas (hot) and fell in love with hot tea and have had a love affair with it for many years. I have enjoyed coffee very much too, but never as much as tea.

Back in the 90s to 2000 I hosted Drepung Loseling's Sacred Music Sacred Dance three times. The first time, the organizers requested that I get loose-leaf Darjeeling tea and half-and-half when I asked what food and beverages should I get. I already had some Darjeeling, but it was just some small amount of a single estate gold tip, not enough for a dozen monks, so I bought a 450g box of Lipton's Darjeeling. Over the course of three days they nearly finished that whole box; that's a lot of tea.

I was fascinated to watch how their head lama made tea. He was an elderly Rinpoche who couldn't speak English (Jampa Rinpoche was his name, iirc), that made tea immediately upon their arrival. He searched my kitchen and found a big pot and put a smallish handful of tea leaves in boiling water. He lowered the boil to a simmer and then after a few minutes, he added half-and-half and simmered it a while longer. The tea was a tan color when he was finished. He personally served everyone that was present in our house. It was absolutely the best tea I've ever had in my life.

The next time I hosted a few years later, about half of the monks only drank coffee, but the others still drank tea, but only a few were making it by boiling and adding half-and-half, the rest were using tea-bags. The final time I hosted in 2000, most drank coffee, the ones that wanted tea used tea bags (not Darjeeling, they preferred regular Lipton), and about a third preferred Coca-Cola.

tl;dr: Tea.

[tobes]

Don't you think it's time, given that Buddhism is a living tradition, that we compose a coffee sutra?

"Thus have I heard. At the time of the full moon in the Spring, the Bhagavan acquired some beans from the island of Java......

[Adamantine]

.

The next time I hosted a few years later, about half of the monks only drank coffee, but the others still drank tea, but only a few were making it by boiling and adding half-and-half, the rest were using tea-bags. The final time I hosted in 2000, most drank coffee, the ones that wanted tea used tea bags (not Darjeeling, they preferred regular Lipton), and about a third preferred Coca-Cola.

tl;dr: Tea.

Degeneration times indeed!