How vast can a cup of tea be?
It's no more than a teacup.
When it comes to the necessities of life—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—it represents daily living.
When it comes to the refined pursuits of life—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, liquor, and tea—it signifies elegance.
Sometimes, however, it's simply a painting within the mundane world.
The essence of plants, recognizing tea by its aroma, is akin to meticulous brushwork.
Drinking Tea has always been a leisurely affair, much like detailed brushwork that outlines the most delicate curves of a leaf.
A person who is perpetually busy would not have the heart to Drink tea. The preciousness of tea has never been about being high and mighty. It doesn't require wealth but rather, time. It doesn't demand expertise in tea ceremony or knowledge of its Etiquette; instead, it merely wishes for people to witness its youthful appearance in its single, earnest blooming. Thus, how could one bear to neglect the unique flavors of each Brew amidst their hustle and bustle?
A fine cup of tea needs someone with both time and heart to appreciate it fully. A tea plant's youth is entrusted into the hands of those who cultivate it. From sprouting to picking, Fermentation, roasting, and packaging, tea travels through many mountains and rivers before it quietly presents itself to the tea connoisseur. If one truly loves tea, they wouldn't treat the tea setting casually. Lighting, incense burner, vases, tea pets… countless thoughtful touches cannot be completed on a whim. Those days and nights spent meticulously planning are the best respect one can show to tea.
Tea has never demanded that those who understand it must be wise sages. To tea, the best kind of person is one with heart. In the eyes of such a person, tea's subtleties are never overlooked.
Bittersweet, a mingling of joy and sorrow, is like freehand brushwork.
Tea is serious, yet not rigid. With a little more attention, the tea seen through one's eyes transforms into a watercolor wash of freehand brushwork, not fixated on form but instead understood intuitively.
Many, when first introduced to tea, perceive only a uniform taste—bitterness. In youth, drinking tea seemed like an encounter with an old and staid presence, devoid of allure.
Eventually, one learns how to love tea. This is due to broadened experiences that gradually make one's palate both numbed and discerning. It turns out that among all the flavors of the world, nothing surpasses the lingering aftertaste of memories filled with deep sentiment. At this moment, tea acquires other flavors. Past events reappear within the cup. In a single serving, one seems to have traversed half a lifetime. The sweetness that follows bitterness is the heartbeat of one who has given their all, finding joy in the endeavor. After twists and turns, what remains is the fresh and wonderful fragrance of tea.
On the afternoon of September 1, 1942, Master Hongyi wrote down the words “mingled joy and sorrow” just before his passing. His remarkable talents ultimately returned to the compassionate silence of Buddhism. Besides tea, which can embody both sweet and bitter flavors, what else can provide a better summation of the world through taste? Within the boundaries of tea's freehand brushwork, only tranquility and freedom remain. If life is full of suffering, tea will share in it. If there is sweetness in the heart, tea does not conceal the sweetness in the throat.
Adapting to circumstances and facing them with equanimity is the picture of life.
Life rises and falls like tea steeped in boiling water. The tea broth mirrors the passage of time, its flavor lingering long and tranquil.
Adapting to circumstances is often misinterpreted as going with the flow. Adapting to circumstances means facing them with equanimity. With contentment, there is no complaint. With equanimity, there is no doubt. Tea is the true gentleman with grace, maintaining its fragrance regardless of its ups and downs. Not seeking to please, it retains the inherent bitterness from its leaves. Not being meek, it still preserves the sweetness that lingers after tasting.
Neither arrogant nor humble, this is the finest appearance in the landscape of life. Because of equanimity, one doesn't miss the warmth of spring and the bloom of flowers even when unrecognized talent goes unnoticed, nor do they fail to hear the gentle chirping of swallows despite life's hardships. The vitality and greenness accumulated throughout tea's life finally flow quietly and continuously in the canvas of life.
Those who love tea are beautiful. And what kind of painting resides in your cup of tea?