Tea and Zen: Brewing Tea, Observing the Mind

Back then, the Chen second Patriarch Hu Ke served his arm for Dharma, seeking peace of mind from Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma said, bring me your mind and I'll put it in peace. Hu Ke observed with wisdom, realizing the nature of mind and said, seeking the true mind is Bodhidharma said, I have put your mind in peace. This marks the beginning of Chan Buddhism spread in China. Chan in Chan Buddhism is the inner awakened mind within everyone. Studying Chan is to realize one's own awakened mind. Studying the Tripitaka and twelve divisions of Buddhist is also to awaken the mind. Chan practices addressing, eating, carrying firewood, fetching water, walking, staying, sitting, lying down, speaking, being silent, moving and being still. A true Chan master can instruct the disciples in daily life at any time, guiding them to understand and realize the true mind and to remain in the state continually. With the wisdom of Chan, drinking tea is also a way of practice. When brewing and drinking tea, we can maintain concentration and awareness. Seeing everything clearly and completely is the prerequisite for What's more, making good use of our minds and settling in this very moment of mindful meditation. First, by adjusting our body and mind, we calm our minds. The key to adjusting body is to adjust our posture by following the principles of being relaxed, settled, natural and comfortable. Adjusting the mind has three levels. First, choose an object to cultivate concentration and awareness. Second, bring the awareness into our daily life, maintaining it constantly and strengthening it continuously. Third, let go of awareness and experience a state of no mind. We choose the method of brewing tea as it's more suitable for the life in Chan monastery with a more Chan-inspired environment, rustic utensils and a purer space. Brewing tea and observing the mind, focus on mindfulness with no mind as support, training the ability to act effortlessly. So every tea ceremony is a meditation. We should devote our body and mind to this tea ceremony, just like the diligent monks in the Chan hall, dedicating their lives to Chan practice. Before brewing tea, first prepare the tea set, following the principles of simplicity and tranquility with nothing more, nothing less. The teapot with a heat-resistant mat is placed in the center with the fairness picture on the left. Put the lid holder at the upper right corner and the tea stove including the base at the upper right corner of the tea set for easy access. The tea screw and pin are both placed on the right side of the teapot. The tea cups are on the upper left of the fairness picture and arranged to the left in sequence. Place the candlestick at the upper left corner of the tea set and confirm the tea master's seat. To the right of the tea master, place a tray for storing tea utensils on the left a water bowl. On the right tray, tea canister, tea towel, charcoal tongs, stove fan, etc. The water storage vessel is placed next to the right tray with the spout facing outwards, not towards the guests. Next, let's practice brewing tea and observing the mind. Step one, greeting. The tea master enters slowly and takes a seat. Then adjust the sitting posture to maintain physical and mental balance. Perform the gesture of pressing palms together in respect with both hands forming the meditation mudra. Settle the body and mind relaxed and natural. Step two, preparing the tea set. Observe whether each utensil is in its proper place and adjust according to the sequence of the tea ceremony. Step three, warming the utensils and adding tea leaves. Warm the fairness picture and tea cups respectively. Then add tea leaves. Start by pouring the pre-boiled water into the fairness picture. Next, carefully pour the water from the fairness picture into the tea cups from left to right. Take the teapot off the charcoal stove and then add tea leaves. Place the lid on teapot, leaving a small gap to prevent the tea from spilling over. Put the teapot on the charcoal stove to brew the tea. Step four, brewing tea and observing the mind. From mindfulness to no-mind, mastering mindfulness meditation allow us to properly experience the state of no-mind. When brewing tea, listen attentively to the sound of boiling water. Observe the mind as it truly is without any expectations or preset conditions. Just feel everything clearly in the present moment with a non-abiding mind. Being aware of everything clearly and fully from all external movements to the inner workings of our minds. This is a characteristic of a luminous mind. The meditation of no-mind is to let go of any objects, all the intentions to do something with no focus. Just be aware of everything happening in the present and perceives everything inside us. We can feel the mind is as vast and limitless as the sky and earth. This is a characteristic of the emptiness of the mind. The first infusion of tea, attentively listen to the sound of the water triple boilings. Being aware of the subtle changes in the boiling sound, pour out the tea soup at the third boiling. Pour the tea soup into the finished pitcher, leaving at least one third of the soup in the teapot. The second infusion of tea, add warm water to fill two thirds of the teapot, then return the pot to the charcoal stove to continue brewing the tea. After boiling, pour the tea promptly, adjust the timing as per your experience to avoid any overly strong brew. The third infusion of tea is same as the second infusion. Step five, distributing tea evenly. Pour the waters and warm the cups into the waste water pot. Distribute tea evenly from the finished pitcher into the cups from left to right with one hand without supporting the wrist. Keep it relaxed. For the first cup of tea, we serve with both hands to show our respect. Step six, drinking tea. Drink the cup of tea mindfully. The tripitaka and twelve divisions are always in it. Don't judge the tea by its type, quality or cost. Instead, embrace the experience of drinking tea, understanding the pure mind of drinking tea at the moment. Step seven, originally empty. The fourth infusion of tea, add cold water to the pot, simmer slowly over a gentle fire. After sitting meditation for five to ten minutes, drink the fourth infusion of tea. If we continue to brew tea, add more tea leaves as needed. As brewing continues, extend the time properly through tea meditation to draw us back to the original mind. Our minds are inherently empty, possessing nothing like a clear sky without clouds, formless, colorless and boundless, but it still has the function of understanding everything clearly and completely.