My original idea about the location for tea ceremony is Hangzhou
My grandfather has a villa by the side of West Lake
My mother used to tell me often when I was a girl
That the West Lake is glamorous
When it comes spring, trees of various types turn green and bloom
11 year ago we held a tea ceremony at Lingyin Temple
And became acquainted with Master Jieqing
He invited us to do a tea ceremony at Jingci Temple
That pulled us closer to Chan
As Chan and tea share the same origin
Jingci was originally built about one thousand years ago
The temple is located opposite Leifeng pagoda and Su Causeway
And the compound itself houses the Nan-ping evening bell
This tea ceremony is themed a meditation tea ceremony under the Huiri Peak
The location is the Ji Gong garden
It’s a garden of Song-dynasty style
The atmosphere of the garden
Easily brings you back in time
The next minute you could be drinking in the Song dynasty
Having a tea ceremony in a temple
Necessitates a Kalpa Sutra of tea
Having tea is a ritual in the Chan school of Buddhism
As when practicing meditation, one can fell sleepy
Tea therefore becomes an important part in temples
Every one can do meditation and tea is a facilitating approach
That assists you in your practice
This time the tea part is held in morning
At dawn, flowers fell as the steam of tea rises
The sun rises and sets everyday
But modern life is largely confined in artificial lighting
We would put off the lights
Allow the practitioners to stay in dark
Enjoy a moment of tranquility within themselves
Sky turns hazy blue, light sheds on the ground
And we start preparing tea
This time we serve Taiwan high-mountain oolong teas
And Oriental Beauty Tea, and Baozhong tea
We listen to it and look at it
Then smell the scent of it
Taste it, feel the temperature on our tongue
Immerse yourself in such nature, it’s too good to break it with words
Before I was studying painting, and I knew little about tea
I really wanted to be a part of painting
Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Tang Bohu had many paintings depicting earthy life
The life of Chinese hermit literati
I contemplated on their life
The people in their paintings
Is he having tea, reading, resting or meditating
Later when I drink tea, I’d like to do it in their way
But we live in bustling metropolitans
So we choose to decorate our tables with plants
To bring nature in
The table plants are shrunk garden
Outdoor tea ceremony sounds romantic
But it’s challenging to organize one
Last night strong wind crossed by
It swept through our decoration including table cloths and centerpieces
Nature is unpredictable
We observe rather than try to control it
But to do exactly that is not easy
You have to be prepared for it, and it needs a soft and sensitive heart
One has to let go set concepts and habits
To adjust to changing circumstances
Now attention is increasingly paid to looks
But look is about appearance
The inner beauty of The Way of Tea is however expressed through the tea itself
Good presentation is far from enough
To convince people
Tea is the essence