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sunday tea
Aug. 9th, 2009 03:22 pmThis morning we had a different teacher for meditation class. I was running late, due to track work delaying the trains, and came in just at the end of the t'ai chi exercises. We did some sitting meditation for a while, with the om mani padme hum music playing. I found it a little hard to concentrate today, probably due in part to having rushed to get there, but also i think from trying to make my breathing follow the music. Last week i'd noticed my breath tuning in of its own accord, but this week i found myself consciously altering it, which was too distracting. Best to try not to think about it.
After that, we learned about drinking tea as meditation, with a very simple tea ceremony. The teacher brought out some tiny cups and tea pot and explained that they are so small and delicate in order to make you hold them gently and take care not to break them (rather like cleaning the altar relics at Upwey). She then scooped out some tea ('dragon ball' variety) into a cup and passed it around for us to smell. I found it had a very leafy, natural smell to it. She then put the tea into a pot and added the water, letting it stand for a couple of minutes while she explained some symbolism behind tea - water standing for purity, including the pure, calm mind we are trying to develop for a time, while the tea comes from a leaf, picked from a tree which grew from a seed, under the influence of all the conditions of soil, sun, water etc (dependent origination, in other words). When the tea was poured, Lillian gave us each a cup, which we held with two fingers and thumb, smelled first to take in the aroma (much like a jasmine tea) and then tasted in three small sips. The teacher had spoken about the six senses and how they affect our mood, how easy it is for us to have thoughts of like or dislike, such as preferring Chinese or Western tea, grabbing at what we like or rejecting what we dislike. I didn't quite follow how this related to the tea dinking itself, other than perhaps taking in the aroma and taste as it is, without overlaying any judgement or preference onto it. As for the meditation aspect, i guess that would also come back to being fully mindful of what you're doing, like anything else.
As she was slowly going through all the different actions, rinsing the tea pot, scooping and placing the tea balls, arranging the cups etc, i recognised that it was similar to how the tea had been prepared and served at one of the Chinese restaurants in Incheon. I hadn't realised that it had been a tea ceremony as such at the time (having only heard about the more heavily ritualised Japanese version) but it was quite obvious now in hindsight (and made me cringe a little more than i did at the time at how rowdy our group of Aussies had been as it was being performed).
The teacher said she'd see us next week, so i guess Rev. Man Ching won't be taking the class again. I've really enjoyed these lessons. It'll be a shame when they're over.
After that, we learned about drinking tea as meditation, with a very simple tea ceremony. The teacher brought out some tiny cups and tea pot and explained that they are so small and delicate in order to make you hold them gently and take care not to break them (rather like cleaning the altar relics at Upwey). She then scooped out some tea ('dragon ball' variety) into a cup and passed it around for us to smell. I found it had a very leafy, natural smell to it. She then put the tea into a pot and added the water, letting it stand for a couple of minutes while she explained some symbolism behind tea - water standing for purity, including the pure, calm mind we are trying to develop for a time, while the tea comes from a leaf, picked from a tree which grew from a seed, under the influence of all the conditions of soil, sun, water etc (dependent origination, in other words). When the tea was poured, Lillian gave us each a cup, which we held with two fingers and thumb, smelled first to take in the aroma (much like a jasmine tea) and then tasted in three small sips. The teacher had spoken about the six senses and how they affect our mood, how easy it is for us to have thoughts of like or dislike, such as preferring Chinese or Western tea, grabbing at what we like or rejecting what we dislike. I didn't quite follow how this related to the tea dinking itself, other than perhaps taking in the aroma and taste as it is, without overlaying any judgement or preference onto it. As for the meditation aspect, i guess that would also come back to being fully mindful of what you're doing, like anything else.
As she was slowly going through all the different actions, rinsing the tea pot, scooping and placing the tea balls, arranging the cups etc, i recognised that it was similar to how the tea had been prepared and served at one of the Chinese restaurants in Incheon. I hadn't realised that it had been a tea ceremony as such at the time (having only heard about the more heavily ritualised Japanese version) but it was quite obvious now in hindsight (and made me cringe a little more than i did at the time at how rowdy our group of Aussies had been as it was being performed).
The teacher said she'd see us next week, so i guess Rev. Man Ching won't be taking the class again. I've really enjoyed these lessons. It'll be a shame when they're over.
