Nearly 30 People Gather at Sydney Chapter during Spring Festival to Experience Tea Meditation

On February 2^nd, 2025, the fifth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) Sydney Chapter held its first "Spring Festival Tea Meditation" event. Nearly 30 people gathered together to experience tea meditation and feel the peace of mind and joy of bringing in the Lunar New Year.

First, the facilitator led the participants to relax and settle down the mind, guiding them to experience the temperature of the tea cups and the aroma of the tea, as well as the sensation of the tea flowing down their throats. Through the tea meditation, everyone practiced living in the present moment by focusing on sipping a cup of tea.


Master Sheng Yen, the founder of DDM, once said that we can apply the method of Chan practice in our daily life. One participant expressed the realization that many things in our lives can be let go for a while to allow more time for ourselves. When we put down our mobile phones and focus on the present moment, it is a good opportunity to slow down and enjoy life. Another participant shared that the slight bitterness of tea is like our own affliction. When hot water was added to the tea cup over and over again, the bitterness of the tea became lighter and lighter, which is similar to our afflictions becoming manageable through applying methods of spiritual cultivation. 

Echoing DDM's annual theme for 2025, "The Power of Great Aspiration," Sydney Chapter elaborately decorated an Aspiration Wall, inviting everyone to develop aspirations, write their prayer cards, and hang them on the Wall to pray for themselves, their families, and the world. In the end, everyone prayed for the Sydney Chapter to find a venue as its new Dharma center soon.


For more information about Sydney Chapter's upcoming activities, please refer to Sydney Chapter's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ddmsydney). We sincerely invite you to join our events with your friends and family.



Photos and original Chinese text / Dharma Drum Mountain Sydney Chapter
Translation / Li Siang-ling
Editing / Keith Brown, YKL