While it is intriguing to explore the history, culture, and some of the
philosophy of the Tao, however briefly, thousands of books haven’t
ever grasped it, and the best we can do is apply it to the Leaf we adore.
In relation to my personal understandings and interpretations of the
Tao—which we all should form individually as we walk the Way—as
well as in its relationship to tea, I think that it’s important for me
to stress repeatedly that the “Tao” doesn’t really have anything to do
with any kind of “ism,” as in “Taoism.” To me drinking tea with Tao
is relevant to all spiritual practices, though as you’ll soon see, it has
shared an especially close bond with the teachings of the Far East.
And even for those who practice nothing specific, the quietness and
harmony in tea is there regardless of what insights are derived from it.
A very famous ancient Taoist poem says there are three-thousand six-
hundred gates to the Way, and who are we to say that any method is
not the “Mysterious and Shadowy Portal” that leads to the Ultimate?
I have briefly highlighted some of the background of the Tao as it
has been captured by ancient Chinese sages only because that is the
home of tea. Like most mystics, I believe the experience of Truth and its
expression through time to be beyond words; and with poems, songs,
scriptures, art, and beauty to be found in every time and place man has
sought to understand the meaning of life and our role in it. And yet, it
would seem that tea, the goddess of all herbs, would be more at home
if we plant her in the garden she was born in and allow her to grow
amongst the words and thoughts to be found in her native soil.
Of far greater importance, however, than any study of history,
philosophy, or sages and their views, is the Way that we steep our own 21 THE TAO OF TEA
tea in Tao. We have more pressing questions, in other words: How do
we pour so much truth over our leaves? How do we also come to find
the joy and beauty of Nature in a cup? Wherein lays the Tao of Cha?
Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu, when asked about the Tao, often
suggested that it was a part of all things, found in the dust and bricks
of the World as much as the trees and forests of the pristine mountains.
Since the Ultimate Truth was as much in the low as the lofty, it followed
that quotidian life itself was an expression of that eternal stream, and
that mindfulness of the ordinary moment was in fact contemplation of
the entire thread of life. In celebration or suffering, we weren’t to allow
our ownmost truths to pass by unnoticed, but rather to find a Way of
drinking from a harmony with Existence, as it flows past and through
us in each and every steeping life pours.
The Way has always been about harmony, through the streaming
moments of life to the stream of Tao itself: and the Way of Tea is no
different. Through tea, we learn to listen to the unfolding moment,
adapting and flowing in harmony with it, for we quickly realize that
the best cups are prepared in such an unaffected way. We learn that
even the flavor of tea is as much dependent upon the skill of the one
brewing as the quality of the leaf. And beyond skill, we find insight in
the very pronounced differences the mind has on the tea liquor.
The best tea sets are in harmony with each other; the best tea is
made when the water, tea, and one brewing are in harmony; and the
best sessions are created when the host and guests are all in harmony
with the environment, tea, water, and teaware. Harmony, more than
anything else, is how we steep the Tao, brew the Truth, and pour it
for others. It also teaches us how to live, so that through tea we find
a guide to lead us through our lives. The tea, rain, and sun, the water
and all the teaware have a principle and current guiding them towards
the perfect cup, and only when the person becomes but another
natural aspect of this creation will the cup of tea that has “Li” be made
and drunk, putting the drinker further in tune with the grain of the
Tao. The master is a natural part of the tea ceremony in the same way
the rain or sun are all natural parts that go into the growth of a tree
over time. rather than manipulating the leaves, water and utensils, he 22 CHAPTEr 1
becomes a part of a single river of experience leading from the Tao to
the cloud, the rain to the tree, the leaf to the liquor, which is drunk
towards a return to the Tao.
The hardest part of Cha Tao to describe, or achieve, is the Tao,
not the Cha, which is why this chapter precedes the others. Anyone
can learn about the history, farming, production, and preparation of
tea. And many such experts will laugh at the idea that tea can be such
a deep and central part of living a spiritual life, which to me means
nothing more than living from the stillness and love at the center of
our beings. To them tea is just a commodity, a hobby, or pastime.
Perhaps some will laugh at seeking such depth in so shallow a cup.
As such the Tao is Tao. Lao Tzu often said that if one utters a noise
that even approximates the true Tao, more worldly-minded people will
laugh at it, and hence the histrionics and outwardly foolish behavior of
enlightened men like Chuang Tzu.
Using the metaphor of tea brewed or “spoken” as wisdom, the idea
is that one speaks/brews plainly from the heart, and those with eyes
and wisdom to see and hear will be drawn to such a “tea session” to
have a cup, while those without the ears to hear will favor other, less
pithy and silent tables—perhaps the more boisterous tea tables in the
cluttered, social teahouse. I would go a step further and say that even
the worldly-minded tea drinker experiences harmony now and again,
and leave them to find such encounters no matter what they think
about discussions of “Tao.” Tea can and does become “Tao” for many
tea drinkers today, whether they call it that or not, just as it has for
millennia. And though that aspect of tea, as a living Tao, is extremely
difficult to even approximate in words, I think there is inspiration to be
found in the attempt, breadth in the cup it may inspire, and fellowship
in common understanding of the peace and quiet of tea.
Cha Tao can be realized in the everyday life of any person. When
guests come, a cup of tea is offered and conversation flows more
smoothly. The culture of tea then becomes an interchange between
friends and is often transmitted in this way. Later, one finds a kind of
rich simplicity and abundant stillness through the ritual of drinking
fine tea daily. The profundity found just beyond the silence that tea 23 THE TAO OF TEA
inspires is deep, giving rise to joy and reflection, contemplation and
meditation. Without such introversion a life is incomplete. As we
discussed earlier, so many of the problems in the modern world are
directly related to an ignorance of the dialogue between Nature and
Man that can only arise when all external stimuli are removed and
tranquility is sought. A healthy life with serenity, equanimity, and
wisdom is not a figment of ancient stories, nor just the aged beauty of
those hoary scroll paintings. Even in this day one can live in harmony
with the Tao.
The Way of Tea is not some somber religious ceremony held in
dimly-lit halls by a bunch of solemn tea weirdoes chanting between
sips. There is no cult of tea. The “teaists” I know find in tea a Way of
sharing their inner peace with each other, of relaxing the ego, allowing
us to be free and open with one another. Drinking tea with Tao is about
letting go of all our “stuff” and just being ourselves as we really are, in
our true nature. And that “original nature” is the Tao, is harmony with
Nature itself, and does help us find that dialogue of “Man/Nature” so
missing in the modern world.
Whether our nature at that moment is celebratory, jovial and
humorous, pensive, or even meditative and transcendent—no matter
what expression we find in our calm center, it will be the right one,
will be our “true face,” and whichever aspect we show, in harmony
with the Tao, tea will be right there with us. I have had wonderfully
celebratory and social expressions of tea, filled with memorable
laughter and kinship that won’t ever be forgotten, and also deep and
silent sessions with teas that took me into myself, expanding my mind
and consciousness.
Despite all these words about the Tao and tea, most of what I
know about Cha Tao is ineffable. I couldn’t tell you if I tried. I could
however share a cup of tea with you in silence, and then maybe you
would understand. Maybe you wouldn’t. I think the understanding
that myself and others have with the Leaf is born from many factors:
sensitivity, connection to the sensations of the body, a quiet disposition,
a reverence for things aesthetic and natural, maybe even a love of
the simple, ordinary joys of life (or perhaps even a certain breed of 24 CHAPTEr 1
insanity). Whatever it is, there is nothing like the smile that curves a
face when tea whispers to a person for the first time. And its language
isn’t of the spoken word. It can’t be written here. One has to listen to
it, feel it course through the body and soul. Then the stillness and
completion, the transcendence of time and self as one is lost in the
present moment—all the life-changing stuff I’ve been talking about—
the Tao comes rushing through one. I fall short... There are no words,
however poetic, to capture the sensation of being with tea.
Still, I think I can try to capture a sense of what led me to these
understandings, and the relationship I have with tea every day. This
book won’t, and cannot, be a substitute for even one single cup of tea.
It can inspire you to find that cup, though. And if you already have
found the quiet, present, sensitive completion that the Way of Tea has
to offer, this book will just be a testament to that experience.
Na Po Tzu Kuei said, “Master, where did you learn this?”
“I learned it through the medium of the spirit of writing; writing learned it from
the offspring of continuous study; continuous study learned it from clarity of vision;
clarity of vision heard it from quiet agreement; quiet agreement from being used;
being used from great enjoyment; great enjoyment from deepest mystery; deepest
mystery from absorption in mystery; absorption in mystery from the ultimate.”
—Chuang Tzu, as translated by Martin Palmer
0 comments:
إرسال تعليق