Go and Drink Your Tea
To the one who had come before and the one who had not, Zhaozhou said the same: "Go and drink your tea."
Do I believe I can only live once I know the answer, while postponing the very cup of tea before me?
📝Reflection
A practitioner came to Zhaozhou, who asked, "Have you been here before?" "I have." "Go and drink your tea." Another came; he asked, "Have you been here before?" "I have not." "Go and drink your tea." A puzzled disciple beside him asked why the same words for opposite answers. Zhaozhou called him over and said the same: "Go and drink your tea." This koan gives no answer. It only asks: why do you assume your reply must differ? Whether you have come before or not, whether awakened or not, the tea to be drunk now is equally warm. We are forever weighing qualifications — "I have earned this much, so I may enjoy it." Zhaozhou topples that discrimination with a single cup. Right here, right now: drink your tea.
🌱Apply It Today
If you postponed a small rest today saying "I may only rest once I've earned it," set the weighing aside and simply have your cup of tea (or a brief pause).
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
