The Secret History of Zen and Tea Copyrighted material for tour members only. Do not reproduce or alter without permission.
Three Swords Tea and Art House, Xingtai
Tea Culture Basics The tea plant is the same species as the camelia flower. In China, camelias are called the shan cha hua, or Mountain Tea Flower.. All tea varieties come from the same plant Camellia Sinensis.
Tea Processing in China White, green, oolong, and black teas are derived from the same tea plant, but are different based on where and when the leaves are picked, and how they are processed. The darker teas indicate a more oxidized or fermented leaf and longer aging process. White and green teas are heated or cooked soon after picking to arrest the oxidation process.
Modern Chinese Tea Ceremony (Kongfu Tea) What has recently been regarded as the Chinese Tea Ceremony or Kongfu Tea, is done with oxidized teas only. White or Green tea is normally served in a glass. Kongfu Tea
Tea Origins Ascribed to the Mythical Shen Nong- circa 2700 BCE According to tea tradition, Shen Nong sampled one hundred plants and found seventy-two of them to be poisonous. He found that the tea plant alleviated the poisons.
Bodhidharma First Zen Ancestor circa 500 CE Taught on the Nature of Mind Legend says he cut off his eyelids, threw them on the ground, tea plants sprouted from them.
Mt. Tai
Lingyan Temple
Zen Master Xiang Mo 降魔 of Lingyan Temple on Mt. Tai ( circa 713 AD) prescribed tea to help his Zen practitioners, saying 学禅务于不寐 The task of Zen study doesn t sleep
The Feng Records (Tang Dynasty) 封氏闻见录 泰山灵岩寺有降魔师, 大兴禅教 务于不寐, 又不夕食, 皆许其饮茶 人自怀侠, 到处煮饮, 从此转相仿效, 遂成风俗. At Mt. Tai s Lingyan Temple there was a Zen master named Xiang Mo. He widely spread Chan teachings. [The monks] hardly slept, and were allowed to drink tea. They each carried their own tea utensils and everywhere they went they brewed and drank [tea]. From this the custom became widespread.
Tea and Zen Flourished Together Xiang Mo was disciple of Shen Xiu, the National Teacher of Three Emperors. He taught during Zen s rapid expansion in popularity during the first half the eighth century. Subsequently the wide use of tea lead the government to levy a tax on it around the year 780. Tributary teas were sent to the court. Zen Master Shen Xiu
Jiashan Ethereal Springs Monastery 灵泉寺院
An ape embraces its infant and returns to the mountain, Birds drop flowers on the Blue Cliff Spring. Shanhui s Enlightenment Poem
Story of the 4 th Ancestory and Zen Master Oxhead
Ox Horn Tea
Zen Master Foguo Yuanwu Keqian abbot of Ethereal Springs Monastery in Song Dynasty Compiler of the Blue Cliff Record
Painted a scroll Tea, Zen, One Taste
The ordinariness is likened to Signlessness and is representative of Zen and Buddhism s most fundamental teaching. This theme is found in works that can be categorized as Zen Art. 无相
By Old Man Ke By Gukei (Jap.) By Liang Kai
Scroll by Foguo was transmitted by his disciple Dahui to Mt. Jing, where it was kept for three generations. Jiashan Mt Jing
Wanshou Temple on Mt. Jing
Zen Master Faqin and Luyu, Author of the Tea Classic Wanshou Temple established by the Zen Master and National Teacher Faqin. He also planted tea seeds and cultivated tea at that place. At about the same time, the author of the Tea Classic Luyu stayed at Twin Creek, a stream by Mt. Jing. He composed the classic at that place. Luyu author of the Tea Classic
First and important Tea/Zen Contact with Japan was through the Monk Myoan Esai who visited Mt. Jing. The Japan tea tradition s tea ancestor Myoan Eisai came to China where, on Mt Jing, he studied Foguo s Zen and tea. In 1187 he took tea seeds, a copy of the Blue Cliff Record, and Foguo s treasured caligraphy Tea, Zen, One Taste back to Japan. 日本茶道 茶祖 荣西高僧来中国学习圆悟禅师的禅道与茶道, 公元 1187 年, 他将茶种 圆悟克勤的 碧岩录 著述及 茶禅一味 手书墨宝带回岛国, 积入住中国 24 年之心得, 弘扬茶禅, 于 1191 年写出日本著名文化发轫之作 吃茶养生记, 成为日本禅宗和茶道的开山祖师
Myoan Eisai (Senko Kokushi 1141-1215) Upon his return to Japan, Eisai also introduced tea drinking, initially as an aid to monks sitting in the formal practice of meditation. He also believed that tea was generally health-giving, and so he wrote Kissa Yojoki (Drinking Tea for Health), which advocated tea as a general restorative:
Seiich Kokushi, fellow disciple with Mu Qi (Mokkei) under Wuzhun Shifan, returned to Japan with tea utensils plus works by Mu Qi.
茶宴 or 茶礼 became 茶道 Tea Banquet or Tea Ceremony became The Way of Tea
1. Present the tea 2. Smell the tea 3. Observe its color 4. Sample its taste 5. Discuss its qualities 6. Engage in conversation
An Important Song Style was Mocha (ground tea)
Teaware Styles of the Song
Jian Ware The Tian Mu Tea Bowl (Japanese Tenmoku)
Hare s Fur Glaze
Black Glaze with Rusted Iron Flowers
On China/Japan Tea Culture A founding patriarch of Zen/Tea culture in Japan, Murata Shuko ( 村田珠光 ; 1423-1502) transmitted tea down to Sen Rikyu. ( 千利休 1522-1591), who brought it to a level of high culture. Daitokuji Temple is repository of Rikyu s tea utensils. Murata Shuko Sen Rikyu
Cypress Grove Monastery
Zen Master Zhaozhou 师问新到 : 曾到此间么? 曰 : 曾到 : 师曰 : 吃茶去 又问僧, 僧曰 : 不曾到 师曰 : 吃茶去 后院主问曰 : 为甚么曾到也云吃茶去, 不曾到也云吃茶去? 师召院主, 主应喏 师曰 : 吃茶去 Zhaozhou asked a newly arrived monk, Have you been here before? The monk said, I have. Zhaozhou said, Go drink tea. Zhaozhou asked another monk, Have you been here before? The monk said, No. Zhaozhou said, Go drink tea. The head monk asked Zhaozhou, Why did you tell the one who had come before to go drink tea and also tell the one who hadn t been here to go drink tea? Zhaozhou called out Head monk! The monk said, Yes! Zhaozhou said, Go drink tea.
Zhaozhou s Pagoda
Chinese Tea The End