
Originally Posted by
Kyrillos
Oh wonderful, my favorite mantra....Yum!
So then when we eat the apple, we become the apple, we are the apple, we partake of appleness and not only experience appleness but also become what appleness is. Is the apple sweet just sitting there, or when it is being eaten. As I experience apple, do I become sweet, apple itself. What a fortunate example and wonderful autumn experiment.
This past week, I was at my Abbey which has an apple orchard. I was wandering the Abbey grounds and walked through the orchard. Most of the trees had already been picked for the seasons produce to make dried apples, apple sauce, apple butter and such. A few rather withered apples remained on the trees for the migrating birds to peck at. Then I saw one lone, whole round apple that had been missed, just within reach of a wandering monk. I picked it, washed it and ate it while I enjoyed the brisk air carrying the scent of burning leaves, the maples bright red over the hill.....Yum!
Gassho,
Seishin Kyrill