Hsi Lai Temple English Community – Resting in The Present Moment with a Cup of Tea

Report by Pan Qing Xia, The Life News Agency, Los Angeles, USA

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple Department of Social Education and Outreach, in partnership with BLIA Los Angeles Chapter, hosted a Community Practice event on April 26. The theme of the event was “Tea Medication and The Buddha’s Teachings.” Venerable Hui Cheng led the dialogue with 67 participants through tea meditation. Through each sip of tea, participants were guided through attentiveness to the present moment, contemplation of the convergence of causes and conditions, and thoughts of gratitude and hope.

In her opening comments, Hsi Lai Subchapter President, Lynette King, welcomed and thanked participants for coming to meet and connect with friends through tea, and expressed her hope that through tea meditation, participants would be able to clear their thoughts and observe themselves on a deeper level for a time.

Venerable Hui Cheng stated that tea meditation is a long standing ritual combining spiritual practice with daily life. He instructed participants to first recalibrate the spirit and body in seated meditation, then settle their senses and thoughts, and to finally let go of all manifestations and concepts of  “me” and of time to focus just on the present.

Venerable Hui Cheng then guided participants to observe the correct arrangement of the tea set and how to  rearrange it throughout the serving process, cultivating attentiveness and observation. Participants were encouraged to be present with each new brew and with the serving of each cup of tea, observing every detail from the aroma of the tea and the unfurling of the tea leaves, to the sound of the tea being poured into the cup, and the differences in color and taste of the tea when steeped for varying lengths of time.

As he was cleaning the tea set after brewing oolong and black tea, Venerable Hui Cheng asked “Did you all notice the stubbornness of the tea leaves?” Referring to how the two different types of tea leaves adhered to the tea vessels, Venerable Hui Cheng led the participants to observe the nature of each different type of tea leaf. This brought knowing smiles to all the participants who were in an intense battle with the tea leaves in an effort to gracefully clean the teapots.

As the event came to an end, Venerable Hui Cheng explained the concept of the convergence of causes and conditions, pointing out that there are reasons the two teas adhered differently to the tea vessels. For example, each tea underwent a different fermentation process. Similarly, there are reasons why people encounter different experiences in life, and therefore should respond to these differences accordingly after understanding the convergence of cause and circumstance. Using tea as a medium, Venerable Hui Cheng called for the spirit of gratitude that was advocated by Venerable Master Hsin Yun. All participants took on the role of tea offeror taking turns both offering and accepting tea, and learned to properly thank each other in the process. Lastly, Venerable Hui Cheng offered a parting word of encouragement, which is not only to see a glass that is half full but to also see it full of hope.

Photo Captions (01-10 photo credit: Zhang Zhi Cheng)