Zen teaches the enjoyment of sense pleasure! The taste of a ripe pear, the warmth of a hug, the beauty of autumn leaves, the smell of apple pie in the oven, the sound of a Mozart piano concerto. Zen teaches how to be fully present to delight. In fact, the deeper you go into meditation, the more your senses become finely honed to the exquisite beauty of each moment, to the rhythm and beat of life as it lands on the doorstep of your body and mind.
Perhaps the ancient Buddhas are rolling in their graves at the notion of Zen and pleasure, but on the other hand, maybe they are snapping their fingers and toes. If you want to have the deepest experience of pleasure and not be run by the insanities of desire and greed, which can manifest as driven compulsions in all areas of life from food, sex, relationship, exercise, and money,....'the candy is dandy but liquor is quicker' view of Ogden Nash,...then you need restraint and good judgment and detachment as your internal guidance system in the world of sense desire. Zen and Buddhism are not about the denial of pleasure or of any human experience.
In America, and perhaps the whole Western world if not the world at large, we are caught between the Victorian denial of pleasure plus the guilt and sin model of many religions, and the pornographic and hedonistic impulses of a marketing society bent on reprogramming our brain stems with the 'I deserve to have it now' mantra. Desire sells and pleasure can be a short term balm for suffering. The nature of being human is the same now as it was 2,500 years ago: people are confused about how to deal with their own suffering and desires, the powerful forces of pleasure and pain that are the DNA of human experience.
Zazen creates balance between peace and pleasure. We can see our greed while allowing ourselves complete equanimity and balance. Why chase a mouse when the you are a purring like a cat?!
Drinking tea
I close my eyes
As the sun warms my face
Sweet Pleasures
