China's Tea Culture (Part 3)
 
The "Bitter" Taste of Tea
 
Tea is bitter, but it is tasty. People can deliberate about the bitterness in life from tea tasting. How much bitterness is there in life? In Buddhism, it is said that there is bitterness in birth, in old age, in sickness and in death. There is bitterness in grievance, in love and parting, in pursuing things, etc. In short, all matter that constitutes the existence of mankind and the spiritual elements involved in the process of such existence can bring people "bitterness and sorrow." That's why the Buddha said, "The sea of suffering is boundless; yet with a turn one can return to the shore." This is the same principle as returning to one's original, true self in the Dao school. Therefore, only by gaining insight into life and the mundane world can one find relief from the "bitterness." Tea is bitter. Li Shizhen wrote in Compendium of Materia Medica, "Tea is bitter and cold, most yin and most effective in reducing internal heat, which is the cause of hundreds of illnesses. Relieving the internal heat brings a feeling of clear freshness." People can enlighten to the principles in life from tasting the sweetness after tasting the bitterness in tea; they understand about living a simple life and regarding hardship as joy.
 
The Be   auty of Emptiness or Calmness in the Dao of Tea
 
The Dao of tea is particular about being "harmonious, calm, contented, and truthful" and regarding "calmness" as the road one must follow to reach a state of selflessness and without any notions. Does this "tranquility" mean silent "quietness" to the point of solemnity? It is certainly not so. The tranquility in the Chinese Dao of tea refers to the calmness in the spiritual realm. The external quietude or serenity is supplementary. As long as one maintains tranquility within, nothing stops one from enjoying the chats, the laughter, the music, or opera. When people taste tea, they need to let go of their internal anxiety, attachments and keep a calm mind and heart before entering the state in which they can calmly appreciate the color, the fragrance, the taste and the shape of tea, reflecting upon life and molding their temperament, and achieve a state of emptiness, while enjoying the beauty of contentedness and tranquility.
 
The "Ordinary Nature" of the Dao of Tea
 
Japanese tea ceremony master Sen no Rikyu (1522 – 1591 AD) once said, "...(you) should know that the nature of tea is no more than boiling water to make tea." He hit the nail on the head, and pondered that the nature of the Dao of tea is indeed to enlighten to the mystery of the universe and life through trivial things in daily life. The cultivation of Buddhahood and the Dao also requires people to enlighten to great principles through daily "cultivation and practice" amidst trivial things. Therefore, there was an ancient saying, "Don't refrain from doing a good deed simply because it is small; don't engage in anything bad, even though it is only a small thing." One must not ignore small yet good deeds, because every good deed will accumulate virtue; at the same time one must not take reckless action because it is only a trivial thing; for if one does bad things, one will reduce his share of happiness allocated by destiny. In serious cases, one might even have his life and fortune shortened and implicate his family. One may not see the effect straight away, but if the bad karma accumulates, there will be a time when such cause-effect retributions are settled.
 
"Letting Go" in the Dao of Tea
 
People suffer because they cannot "let go" of things. Therefore, the Buddha School tells people to "let go" of attachments. One can only enlighten to the Dao by letting go of all attachments, otherwise all his efforts will be in vain. What are the things that people need to let go of? One needs to let go of worries in life, let go of fame, personal interests and sentiments, let go of all kinds of attachments and desires, and let go of "all that one cannot let go of." When you let go of all these, you will certainly feel extremely relaxed, and when you look around, you will see the sky is blue and so is the sea, the hills are green and waters clear, the weather sunny, the breeze gentle, the moon bright and stars shiny. Tea tasting is also particular about being able to put aside what one is doing at present to snatch a moment of leisure from the mental pressure and to relax one's closed mind. As a poem goes, "Let go if you want to, then what can worry you? Be a carefree person, enjoy the grandness of stars and the moon." Hopefully we can all let go of things and become carefree tea people.
 
So, first and foremost in the Dao of tea is the cultivation of mind and temperament, to gain an insight into life from tasting the bitterness in tea. One must maintain a mind void of attachments and see the truth in ordinary life. In the end one should let go of all bitterness and pleasure and enlighten to the principles in life, the profundity of the universe and return to one's original, true self. Every profession and every culture bestowed by the Divine can help people with cultivation and improve one's realm, because in the eyes of gods, humans did not come to this world just to be humans, instead there is a profound inner meaning and significance involved. Gods are offering hints and protecting humanity all the time, hoping that human beings can take the path towards divinity, and return to their origin and true selves.
 
中华茶文化 (下)
 
（一）茶的“苦”味
 
茶是苦的，但回味无穷，品茶的人从茶的味道中来品味人生的苦，人生有多少苦呢？佛家认为，有生、老、病、死是苦，怨恨、爱、离别、欲望是苦等等，总而言之，凡是构成人类存在的所有物质以及人类生存过程中精神因素都可以给人带来“苦恼”，所以佛说：“苦海无边，回头是岸”。这与道家的返本归真其实是一样的道理，所以要看透人生，看破生死，才能求得对“苦”的解脱。茶是苦的。李时珍在《本草纲目》中载：“茶苦而寒，阴中之阴，最能降火，火为百病，火降则上清矣”从茶的苦后回甘，苦中有甘的特性，体悟做人的道理，节俭、淡泊、以苦为乐。
 
（二）茶道中的虚静之美
 
茶道讲究“和、静、怡、真”，把“静”作为达到心斋座忘，涤除玄鉴、澄怀味道的必由之路。这虚静之“静”，是不是意味著自始至终需“静”得鸦雀无声，需“静”得肃穆庄严呢？当然不是这样。中国茶道审美文化中的虚静之说，实质上是指心灵世界的虚静，至于外界环境的宁静，兼顾即可。只要自我心灵不失虚静，则茗叙也罢、说笑也罢、听曲也罢、赏戏也罢皆无不可。在品茗之前，需放下心中的烦恼、执著，静下神来，定下心来，开始走进品茗审美的境界，静静领悟茶之色、香、味、形的种种美感从而静观、反思人生，陶冶心性、达到心灵的空静，怡然自得，体会虚静之美。
 
（三）茶道之“平凡”
 
日本茶道宗师千利休曾说过：“须知道茶之本不过是烧水点茶。”此话一语中的。茶道的本质确实是从微不足道的日常生活琐碎中去感悟宇宙的奥秘和人生的哲理。修佛修道也是要求人们通过生活中一点一滴的“修和炼”，从平凡的小事中去彻悟大道。所以古人说，“勿以善小而不为，勿以恶小而为之。”不要因为是很小的好事，而就不去做，因为每行一善，必积福德；当然也不要是很小的坏事而就任意妄为，因为坏事做多了，必将消减福份，严重的还会折损寿禄，害及家人。也许你不会即刻看到效果，但积少成多，世间的善恶因果总会有回报之时的。
 
（四）茶道之“放下”
 
人的苦恼，归根结底是因为“放不下”，所以，佛家讲“放下”执著。修行须放下所有执著方能修成，否则所有努力将白费。人必须放下的一切是放什么呢？人必循放下人生的苦恼，放下人生的名利情，放下各种各样的执著和欲望，放下一切“放不下的心”，放下了一切，人自然轻松无比，看世界天蓝海碧，山清水秀，日丽风和，月明星朗。品茶也强调“放”，放下手头工作，偷得浮生半日闲，放松一下自己紧绷的神经，放松一下封闭的心灵。有诗最妙：放下亦放下，何处来牵挂？做个无心人，笑谈星月大，愿大家都做个放得下、无牵挂的茶人。
 
所以修行茶道之首要就是修心养性，从茶味中品其苦，看透人生，静观其变，心性空灵，在日常平凡中见真性，最后能放得下人生的苦乐，通彻人生的哲理，宇宙的奥妙，返本归真。所以神给人留下的每一种行业和每一种文化都可以帮助人修炼心性，提高生命的境界，因为在神的眼里，人根本不是来在世上当人的，而是有著更深刻的内含与意义，神时刻都在点醒人，看护著人，希望人能真正的走上返本归真的成神之路上来。