A for Adrian

Three Cups of Tea

When I studied in Japan, I did not feel comfortable attending chanoya, the Japanese ritual of tea ceremony. The Japanese "chado", meaning the way of tea, has evolved through a long history. Every tea ceremony is based on four rules, including harmony, respect, purity and tranquility, and seven principles, including tea amount, tea quality, tea temperature, amount of heat used, charcoal used, location of fire pit and flower arrangement. The process of making tea, serving tea and drinking tea has made chado a social event for conveying the Japanese's self-possession, and I felt a bit awkward in attending the ceremonies during the old days.
 

The Chinese consider having tea as an enjoyment. They believe after a day's hard work, one of the most terrific ways of relieving the stress and tiredness is to have a cup of tea with their family and friends around the fire for a light chat. The quiet quality time is refreshing to everyone's mind.

In recent years, I gradually got to understand the art and essence of having tea. Let me make some tea, and share with you three stories about it: How to have a quiet mind like the stillness of tea in face of adversities in life?

A woman kept getting angry and lost her temper easily over trivial things. She knew too well that it was no good to herself. Hoping to become more open-minded, she asked a Buddhist master to offer her Zen teaching. After knowing her purpose, the master led her into a Zen room, locked the door and left. The woman was so angry that she kept shouting for a long time, but the master simply ignored her. The woman then started to beg him for releasing her, and the master remained silent. The woman soon became quiet. The master came to the door and asked, "Are you still angry?" The woman said, "I only blame myself for coming over here to experience all these hardships." "How can you have a mind like still water if you even cannot forgive yourself?" The master turned away.

After a while, the master came and repeated, "Are you still angry?" "No." "Why not?" "Anger does not help," said the woman. "Your anger is still with you. It is suppressed in your mind only. Your emotional outburst will be destructive." Then he left again.

The master knocked at the door for the third time. The woman told him, "I am not angry any more as it isn't worth doing so." "But you still care about it, so anger is still rooted in you," the master smiled.

Facing the master's back at sunset, the woman asked the master, "What is anger ("qi" in Chinese)'?" The master replied as he poured a cup of tea onto the ground. The woman turned her gaze to it, and awakened. She kowtowed and thanked the Buddhist monk before leaving.
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Harnessing our adversities by making a cup of tea

A young man experienced lots of adversities in life, and asked a Buddhist master what the meaning of life was. The master put some tea leaves, poured warm water into a cup silently, and passed the cup to the young man. "Please have some tea, sir." The young man took a sip, and shook his head, "What kind of tea is this? There is no tea aroma at all." The master smiled and replied, "This is the well-known Oolong tea. It has a good aroma."

Then, the master took out another cup, put some tea leaves inside, and poured hot water in. The young man bowed his head, and saw dozens of leaves floating and sinking in the cup. The air was then filled with an aroma of freshly brewed tea. The young man could not wait and lifted the cup for a sip. The master smiled and said, "Please wait, sir." Then, the master lifted the kettle and poured water into the cup again. He repeated this step for four more times. The young man looked at the cup again. The tea leaves became more scattered, and the whole room was filled with tea aroma.

The master finally explained, "The floating pattern of tea leaves is different at different water temperatures. When warm water is used, the tea leaves just float on the surface without sinking. The aroma would not be rich without floating and sinking. When we brew tea with hot water repeatedly, the floating and sinking of the tea leaves brings richness in flavour and aroma." The young man was enlightened and left.
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Three cups of hot tea make an educational dream come true

In a failed attempt to ascend Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain and one of the most dangerous climbs, for honouring his deceased sister, Greg Mortenson wandered lost and was injured. Luckily, he was saved by the villagers from a small Pakistani village of Korphe, and was sheltered for seven weeks.

In order to save his life, the villagers offered him their best food they had, and let him have the best blanket. They offered him three cups of tea, and told him: "The first cup of tea, you're a stranger; the second cup, a friend; and the third cup, you're family. And for the family, we're prepared to do anything for protecting you." While recovering, Mortenson witnessed the local children writing on the ground with sticks. He promised the villagers that he would build a school for them in return, and started his long quest to build schools and promote education in the area.

Mortenson was befriended by villagers through three cups of tea. He kept his promise and committed himself to fund raising and building more than 60 schools in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tibet in more than 10 years. He also wrote Three Cups of Tea to inspire more people.
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A senior told me the art of having tea is all about slow drinking by appreciating the tea colour, aroma and flavour. We can grab a handful of tea leaves and exhale slowly to them. They will give out a unique aroma due to the heat. The longer the aroma lasts, the better the tea leaves are.

It is inevitable for us to encounter pressure, unfairness and adversities in daily life. Many of us easily become angry, disappointed and indifferent. Life is like having a cup of tea. The flavour can be strong or mild, and it all depends on your choice. These three stories about tea are very inspiring, aren't they?
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http://www.threecupsoftea.com