Chan in the Aroma and Color of Tea

Original Chinese text / Lin Jung-wen (林鍾妏)
 

Tea drinkers have likely all experienced this: as the boiling water is poured into a teapot, the aroma of tea instantly fills the air. With a gentle sip of the warm tea, a feeling of warmth and happiness fills our heart.

Some say that the characters of East Asians are just like tea, representing an inclination to purity, reason, and humility. It's difficult to find another beverage that can reflect the characters of East Asians as thoroughly as tea. It is best to drink tea with a calm and tranquil mind to attain a sense of purity and clarity without being disrupted by scattered thoughts. Such a mental state is the essence of "Chan" in Buddhist teachings.


Photo credit: Lin Jung-wen (林鍾妏)

During the Song dynasty, Chan Master Yuanwu Keqin (圜悟克勤, 1063 – 1135 CE) created a calligraphy piece, "Tea and Chan are of one and the same taste" (茶禪一味), capturing the subtle relation between tea and Chan. Meanwhile, "Chan" has indeed become an essential quality for East Asians to understand the Way of the Tea. For example, the four principles of "harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility" advocated in Japanese tea ceremonies have been developed in the spirit of Chan.

For the same cup of tea, each person has different experiences after tasting it. Some people hastily guzzle down the tea while others savor it with gratitude; some find the tea bitter while others find it sweet. Through this simple, everyday act of drinking tea, we can observe our mind while experiencing the state of purity and tranquility.


Tea Chan, a lifestyle and an art

The so-called spirit of tea Chan is closely connected to daily life. It is arguably an attitude towards life. For East Asians, drinking tea not only brings many pleasures of life, but people's fondness for it has also elevated it into an art.

Tea savoring brings us great pleasure and joy to our sight, smell, and taste. Such rich sensations cannot be replaced by any other beverage. Hsu Kuo-hsi (徐國璽), who has long researched the art of tea, indicated that, behind the simple act of drinking a cup of tea, there is much to learn in terms of savoring its aroma, taste, and color. In addition to sensory perceptions, the art of tea drinking also places emphasis on the serving etiquette and grace, the pace, and the compatibility of the spatial arrangements and the atmosphere. Participants not only observe their mind through tea drinking, but also contemplate the environment by being aware of their body and mind, feeling the serenity and peace in the harmony between people and the surroundings.

Photo credit: Fan Lee (李東陽)
In the state of Chan, the mind is not distracted by thoughts and is detached from defiled attachments. When the mind is free from attachments, all the daily activities such as walking, standing, sitting, and lying down constitute Chan practice. When drinking tea mindfully, tea drinking can become an art to calm our body and mind, and an expedient Dharma approach for practitioners to contemplate the mind. Countless Chan masters throughout history have gained insights on the realization of Chan through tea drinking, and yet such realizations are hidden in the most ordinary daily activities.

Therefore, Chan is everywhere in daily life, such as drinking a cup of tea. For modern people living in the hustle and bustle of life, the seemingly simple Chan practice of tea drinking is an accessible and highly beneficial way to practice. The next time you drink tea, why not give yourself a bit more time to settle your mind and have a taste of Chan by mindfully savoring a cup of tea!


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Related articles:

The Taste of Chan in Tea

Chan in the Aroma and Color of Tea

Tea Regimen

Things to be Aware of when having Tea for Recreational or Medicinal Purpose

Tea and Buddhist Monasteries

Go Have Some Tea – A Gong'an about Tea

The Art of the Tea Ceremony

How to Brew Chinese Tea?



Resource: Issue 291 of Humanity Magazine (November 2007), Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Translation: Li Siang-ling
Editing: Keith Brown, Glen