Why Buddhism is closely related to tea

May 30, 2022 No Comments Chinese tea culture, Knowledge, tea and chinese culture, tea stories ctma

Since ancient times, tea and Buddhism have been inseparable.Buddhists believe that the nature of tea is interlinked with Buddhism. Meditation and drinking tea can cultivate one’s morality and nature, so Buddhism is closely related to tea.

Among the verses about tea and Buddhism, the most popular is “go for tea”. This poem is written by master Congnian of Bolin temple, Hebei province. The words seem simple but have profound meaning. In order to commemorate it, there is a stele of “go for tea” in the temple.

Famous mountains and ancient temples produce famous tea. The reason is that the monks planted tea trees around the temple for the convenience of drinking tea.” Many famous tea, like Lushan Yunwu Tea produced by Donglin temple in Lushan, Putuo tea produced by Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang and Biluochun tea produced by Shanshui Yuean in Dongting, Jiangsu, are all related to monks. In particular, Chinese traditional famous tea has more or less the imprint of Buddhism.

Buddhism has also made great contributions to Chinese tea art and ceremony. Monk Fuquan of the Song Dynasty also created the art of “dividing tea”, also known as tea drama, which is to make the foam on the surface of tea soup form images or even words.Tea dramas are vivid and have also made important contributions to the art of tea tasting in China.

“Tea is for drinking. It is most suitable for people who are refined, thrifty and virtuous.”Monks pursue the realm of being just without desire, which is just matched with the meditation and nourishing nature of tea.The tea and Buddhism permeate and achieve each other, and jointly become the splendid national culture of China. If you have time, sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and experience the culture of tea and Buddhism.

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