Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and met 72 poisons every day, but he was relieved by tea.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Buddhism began to be introduced into China. Due to the needs of Buddhist teachings and monk activities, Buddhism soon formed a fate with tea. An important activity of Buddhism is that monks practice meditation, "don't eat in the afternoon", can't drink alcohol, and abstain from vegetarianism in order to clear their hearts and desires. At the same time, it is required to: "sit up straight, don't move, don't shake, and be impartial." This requires a kind of nutrition, which not only conforms to the rules and precepts of Buddhism, but also eliminates the fatigue caused by meditation and supplements the nutrition lacking because of "no food in the afternoon" to solve its contradiction. The rich nutrients in tea and its pharmacological effects of refreshing and promoting fluid production naturally make it the most ideal drink for monks.

China is the hometown of world tea, with a long history of tea production and drinking. According to legend, more than 4,000 years ago, "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and encountered 72 poisons every day, so he solved it with tea." This shows that the original function of tea is to treat diseases with medicine. "Shennong Materia Medica" said: "Tea is bitter. Drinking it can make people think better, lie down less, and strengthen their eyesight." Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also said in On Food: "Bitter tea is good for a long time." Lu Yu, a world tea master and China tea expert in the Tang Dynasty, highly summarized the performance and function of tea in The Classic of Tea, pointing out that "tea is the best to use, tastes cold and is the best to drink", which has the functions of "quenching thirst, promoting fluid production, relieving pain, relaxing muscles and tendons, activating collaterals and improving eyesight. And it is suitable for those who are exquisite and frugal. "

Monks practice all their lives for the perfection of merit, and naturally belong to "diligent and thrifty people", so they are most suitable for drinking tea. Since then, the four generations of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have all discussed that tea is beneficial to human health, and the "art of drinking tea for health" has gradually formed. It can be seen that drinking tea is the most in line with Buddhist moral concepts. The functions of tea, such as "keeping in good health" and "clearing the heart to help talk", have become the first and best medium for Buddhism to become attached to tea.

Drunk Zen tea does not talk about autumn, but it takes years.

Graceful and graceful, I feel life in the calmness of Zen tea.

Danyue, secluded windows, overflowing tea; Plain face, clear shadow and loneliness.

At night, if it is quiet, it is easy to wash the inkstone, and it is full of frost. Tear a few drops of clouds, pick a few fallen flowers of dreams, study them slowly, and get fragrant gradually. Half a pool of rouge ink, a piece of paper is fine and light. Looking at it, I have drawn a picture of Zen mind.

Out of the window, the toad's light gradually dimmed, and Ran Ran was worried. Boating in the vastness of the ink-scented picture scroll, waving sleeves to hide the moon, lightly dancing fingers, wiping the tip of the pen, taking it out of context, and praising Cang Sang, which has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Soak in the falling wind, get drunk with A Qin Louyue, sigh under the flowers and the moon, flow into the endless aftertaste on six strings, and float into the clouds. Flying all the way month by month, I will keep walking until the river blocks my way, then sit down and look at the rising clouds. I want to ask, can the sound of the piano, an inkstone and a stream of water wash away the dust? How to forget yourself in the secular world? Mountain is a journey, and water is a journey. When I read about my life's practice, can I understand the hidden mysteries of this world? Clean up the quality, clean up! Refers to dyeing tea fragrance, fluttering feathers, and understanding life in the calmness of Zen tea.

The moonlight is dim, the prosperity is exhausted, and the ancient world is broken into nothingness by winding around the blue dome. On the other side, who plays the flute to send rhyme and perform the eternal swan song? A little sparse, a little sad, mottled into a continuous heart mark in the deepest memory! Cloudy, the past is like the wind, Lantian is warm, and the sea is full of moons. Mist locks sorrow, floating light makes thin shadows. A thousand words, but hard to say. Wan Li wants to send them, but I'm afraid the ferry of the world of mortals can't bear so many disappointments.

On the Qinhuai River, who is the only one who can enjoy the breeze and the waning moon? Looking back, I was just a clear shadow living by the water, and Ling Bo was in the ripples of past lives. A thousand-year-old sigh, the ancient morning bell and dusk drum, the lingering sound. Poetic style and rhyme, through loneliness, invite you to be fragrant in the shadow moonlight. The floating clouds that have no intention of coming out of the hole have already become eternal, and they only face life with a smile without wanting anything.

Living in the world of mortals, I have traveled through Song Yu with tang style for thousands of years, but I have never let go of that aestheticism and perfection. Thinking of that tenderness, lamenting that fleeting time, a prosperous dream, fell into the dust. Spill a piece of amorous feelings ink and wash, lament the vicissitudes of life. Let go of my thoughts and let my mind ferry with the waning moon on the horizon ... I found a little poetic heart, but it is also true that the dull notes are cold. At this point, the amorous feelings of ancient rhyme have drifted between the lines ... Once upon a time, I asked myself, who will cross me? Who am I crossing? If life is a dream, how can you find your own habitat in the pure land of your heart? Gently pluck the strings, a lingering note is carved into a thin and timid string moon, and the golden harp plays and sings, so it is difficult to hide the curtain face that the west wind is thinner than the yellow flower. Look at the mirror and feel sorry for yourself, don't want to laugh. Let's stop. Why not turn around gracefully, sing a song, drink lightly and get drunk for many years!

Relieve your worries with tea and cultivate a good mood.

Relieving worries with tea can not only heal the body, but also heal the mind.

The troubles of life are like tea in a teacup. It tasted bitter at first, but it was fragrant and sweet after entering the throat. Calm down after busy, make yourself a cup of tea, let the haze in your heart dissipate like water vapor in the cup, and leave a sweet cup in your hand.

Chen Zangqi, a pharmacist in the Tang Dynasty, said in Compendium of Materia Medica: "All kinds of medicines are medicines for all diseases, and tea is the medicine for all diseases." When it comes to the "pharmacological" effect of tea on "heart disease", many celebrities have commented on it in history.

In Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu said that tea can dispel annoyance; In Song Dynasty, Su Shi said in Dongpo Miscellanies that tea can get rid of troubles; In Yuan Dynasty, Hu Sihui said that tea can clear the heart; In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen said in Compendium of Materia Medica that tea can refresh people; In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Mengying lived with great interest. Jiao Ran, a master of tea ceremony in the Tang Dynasty, summed it up in three aspects: "Drinking it will make you feel bright;" Drink my god again, and suddenly it will be like flying rain and clearing dust; After three drinks, you will get the Tao. Why bother? " Visible tea or medicine. Taking tea to relieve anxiety can not only cure the body, but also cure the heart.

Play it by ear, tea meditation is normal.

Normal mind is the Tao.

What the real tea environment needs is a normal heart; But the real "normal mind" realm is hard to achieve! To understand the tea ceremony with the "normal mind" of adaptability, its highest realm should be the pure and clear Zen realm; How to maintain a pure and clear Zen enlightenment has always been an important topic in the history of Zen.

Mazu believes that ordinary people can hold a clear mind like ordinary people, so his way of guiding his disciples to "realize the Tao" is very creative in daily life. Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz said, "Mazu Yi Dao was one of the greatest Zen masters in the Tang Dynasty. In fact, we can say that Zen really made a leap through him. The way he treats questioners is the most revolutionary and original. " When the poor monk asked Mazu about Zen, Mazu kicked him. Another time, a monk asked Mazu, "How did the Buddha come from the West?" He also received a "punishment" that seems to have nothing to do with the problem. Later, Lin Ji people's fear of drinking virtue and goodness came from this. However, we should not forget that for Nan Chan, who advocates epiphany, it does have its unique advantages to block formal logical thinking by daily improvisation.

As Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz pointed out, the whole existence of human beings has nothing to do with intellectuality, but with the original will, and intellectuality itself is not the ultimate reality. The will in the primitive sense is the most profound natural and natural thing (such as emotion) of human beings. From this perspective, the "Tao" of "normal mind is Tao", as a reality itself, highlights its significance here. In a cup of tea, it is also the true nature of "tea Zen blindly".

Southern kungfu tea is plain and true.

It is true that southern kungfu tea is plain. As we all know, China tea is the ancestor of tea in the world. Although some tea brands are popular all over the world now, such as elegant and gorgeous British tea, such as Gu Chan Japanese tea; But the word "tea" tells its origin-it is said that this is the transliteration of "tea" in Minnan dialect. The tea drinking of Minnan people really takes the way of drinking tea to the extreme and enjoys it to the extreme. Three or five friends, holding a cup of tea and chatting with others, seems to be the fun of drinking tea. More common than this is the daily scene of inviting all guests to drink. The host rewarded the teapot and teacup with boiling water. The teapot in his hand is only the size of a woman's fist; How about a small cup? Only men have bigger thumbs. The quality is authentic purple sand, but it is golden yellow after long-term pickling with tea stains. This is the authentic tea set of Kung Fu tea. Fill the teapot with tea leaves, boil water, brush off the floating foam and cover it; Then pour the pot down, spread out a few crescent moons with hot handles, and then pour tea with the pot. Tea leaves don't always enter the handlebars, but the handlebars are arranged in a word or a circle, holding the pot on the table and turning the note back and forth; I noticed that there were only a few drops in the back, but it was not sloppy at all, and the tea juice was still evenly distributed in each cup. Although the small handle is small, the capacity of a pot of tea is more limited. After one round, the handlebars were only half finished, so we have to do it again. In this case, only three cups of tea are full. These eight points are all about paying attention. You should be full of wine and lose tea, otherwise it will be disrespectful. These are authentic tea-making techniques in southern China. Moreover, each technique has its own tricks, such as Chen Mengmulin, Oolong entering the palace, hanging the pot high and the spring breeze blowing; What if Chen and Guan Yu patrol the city and order the army to stay in Han Xin ... The lingering haze seems to be both soft and suffocating. What is the tea made in this way, not nectar? However, such a small cup of tea soup can't be finished in one gulp, because this kind of tea is extremely bitter, and some outsiders once described it as biting-stinging the tongue. So you can only sip it slowly, let the tea soup melt under your tongue bit by bit, and then you will feel clear and sweet when you enter your throat. A bunch of people waiting for tea at the tea tray, even if they are rude, should carefully pinch a small cup with two fingers, slowly send it to the nose to smell the fragrance, and then gently pinch their lips to make tea. People here make tea with their own mood, taste and temperament. And people who make this kind of tea every day actually soak up the charm and tolerance of tea. It is such an ancient and poetic kungfu tea, but it is only the first common thing among the seven things that southerners cut to the chase every day. Kung fu tea in the south is so simple, natural, mellow and practical.

Tea Ceremony and Jingshan Tea Banquet in China Zen Temple

Tea Ceremony and Jingshan Tea Banquet in China Zen Temple

According to Feng's Wen Jian Ji, which was performed in the Tang Dynasty, "In the middle of Tang Kaiyuan, there was a demon-reducing teacher at Lingyan Temple in Taishan, who taught Zen and learned Zen as insomnia. If you don't eat at night, you are allowed to drink tea. People hold their own weapons and cook drinks everywhere. Since then, they have followed suit and become a custom. " So the custom of drinking tea was first popularized in Buddhism. At the same time, Lu Yu, regarded as "Cha Sheng" by later generations, also grew up in a temple and lived in seclusion near the temple, and wrote the first book on tea studies in the history of China and even the world. The book Tea Classic systematically expounds the history, origin, cultivation, production, boiling, drinking and utensils of tea before and after the Tang Dynasty, which has had a far-reaching influence on China tea culture (including temple tea ceremony) in later generations and is regarded as the highest tea classic by tea people in China and.

Lu Yu and Chang advocated the style of drinking tea in Tang Dynasty, which was mainly popular between the upper class (literati, officialdom, especially the imperial court) and Zen monks, and mainly manifested in two forms: "tea banquet" and "tea ceremony". On this beautiful occasion, it has become a unique fashion in Qing Dynasty. Tea instead of wine, supplemented by snacks, treat people to a banquet. After the middle Tang Dynasty, with the further China of Buddhism and the prevalence of Zen, the relationship between tea and Buddhism became closer. Especially in many temples in the south, there has been a Zen custom of growing tea in temples, and no monk does not like tea. Tea banquet and tea ceremony are playing an increasingly important role in monks' life, and drinking tea is even incorporated into Zen and institutionalized. In the Song Dynasty, with the increasing planting area of tea and the innovation of tea-making methods, the way of drinking tea also changed, and the wind of "tea banquet" became more popular in Zen forest and Shilin. Among them, the "Jingshan Tea Banquet" at Jingshan Temple in Yuhang County, Hangzhou in the Song Dynasty was the most famous and influential one in the history of Sino-Japanese Buddhist culture and tea culture exchange.

Jingshan Temple was built in Tianbao period of Tang Dynasty, which was opened by Zen master Faqin. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the abbot of the famous monk Dahui Gaozong lived in this mountain, spreading the patriarchal clan system of Lin Ji and Yang Qi and advocating "talking about Zen", from which Taoism flourished. Jiading in the Southern Song Dynasty was rated as the first of the "Five-Yue and Ten-Temple" Buddhist temples in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was called "the first Buddhist temple in the southeast". Jingshan Temple tea culture has a long history. According to the "Yuhang County Records" compiled during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty; Zen master Faqin once planted several tea trees and collected them for Buddha, which has been passed down for years. Camellia is "light in color and long in taste", with excellent quality and unique production. Since the Song Dynasty, it has also been used to provide tea to the royal family and entertain monks and celebrities. The place where Tang Luyu wrote books in seclusion was Tiaoxi near Jingshan Temple. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the capital moved south to Hangzhou, and the court was distinguished. Su Shi, Lu You, Fan Chengda and other celebrities all came to Jingshan Temple to worship Buddha and drink tea. Emperor Song Xiaozong also climbed Jingshan with Queen Ren Xian, changed the name of the temple to "Jingshan Sheng Xing manjuji" and kissed the forehead of the temple. The title of "filial piety monument" has been circulated for 800 years. The imperial court also held many tea banquets in Jingshan Temple to entertain relevant people and conduct social activities. This makes "Jingshan Tea Banquet" famous all over the world.

Make friends all over the world with tea parties.

Culture and Taoism lie in the tea ceremony, which is based on the national style, and is no exception from ancient times to the present.

The history of China tea can be traced back to the Shennong era. Tea originated in Sichuan. The earliest was artificial cultivation in the Tang Dynasty, and the first monograph on tea cultivation, classification, collection and drinking appeared in the world. Later, it was translated into many languages and spread widely. Author Lu Yu is also praised as "Cha Sheng" by later generations. In the fifth century, tea began to be introduced to foreign countries. According to textual research, the word tea in English comes from the suffix change of Fujian dialect. Chai (tea) in Swahili in Kenya, a tea-producing country in East Africa, is a transliteration of Cantonese "tea". There is also a beautiful story in Kenya: It is said that an ancient emperor in China went out to patrol and drank water by a tree during a break. Suddenly a gust of wind blew off two leaves on the cup; The emperor didn't notice, so he kept drinking. He suddenly felt fragrant and mellow, and his eyes were clear and refreshing. So he caught his attention and discovered the wonderful use of tea trees and tea leaves. By the early 1990s, 70,000 mu of this wild tea tree had been found in Simao, Yunnan, among which one in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County has a history of more than 2,600 years and is the oldest wild tea tree in the world. Tea culture has also left many stories in the history of religious development. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, two Buddhist monks, Zuyi and Konghai, went to China to study abroad. After returning home, they brought back tea varieties and tea sets from China and planted tea trees in temples. In the Song Dynasty, Japanese monk Rong introduced the tea drinking method of Zen Temple from China, and created a book "Drinking Tea for Health", which is a classic of Japanese tea ceremony. The development of culture and economy complement each other. At present, China, together with Indian, Sri Lankan and Kenyan, as a big tea producer and exporter, occupies the world tea market. China's green tea element is famous for its high aroma, mellow taste, beautiful appearance and strong impact resistance. Its output is high and there are many varieties, and its annual export volume accounts for more than 70% of the green tea trade in the international market. As the saying goes, "Make friends with tea and spread it around the world", and the prosperity of tea culture has also brought economic prosperity.

Tea Zen aims at becoming a Buddha naturally.

Tea Zen aims at becoming a Buddha naturally.

"Tea Classic" said: "Tea is a drink, which originated from Shennong and Luzhou." But at first tea was used as medicine, and Shennong tasted a hundred herbs to detoxify. Later, it gradually became a privileged drink of the royal family, and it was not popularized among the people until the Jin and Sui Dynasties. In 760 AD, Lu Yu lived in seclusion in Tiaoxi, Huzhou, and wrote The Book of Tea for more than ten years, which influenced the world reputation overseas. World honor Cha Sheng. Lu Yu, an outcast, was adopted by monk Zhiji, the abbot of Jingling Kagai Temple, and became friends with monk Jiao Ran in his prime. Jiao Ran was a famous Buddhist monk in the middle Tang Dynasty, with a collection of books handed down from generation to generation 10. In his poems, many places mentioned his friendship with Lu Yu, as well as picking, making and tasting tea with him. Therefore, Lu Yu's tea culture thought absorbed many Buddhist thoughts. Buddhism advocates drinking tea, and there is a saying that "tea Zen leads to blindness". Zen is the abbreviation of Zen, which means "meditation" and "cultivation of mind". Zen was founded in China at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty and was divided into two parts in the 6th century. Huineng's theory of epiphany in Nanzong is closer to the purpose of Zen than the theory of gradual enlightenment in Shenxiu in Beizong. It can inherit the mantle of forbearance of the five ancestors, advocate no writing, teach people to talk about people, point directly at people's hearts and regard nature as Buddha. Romantic and diverse sects were introduced to Japan in the Southern Song Dynasty. As a diet, tea is very popular in monasteries, initially because it can strengthen the stomach and refresh the mind. A Zen monk must eat tea before worshipping Buddha. He studies Zen for insomnia, not eating, but drinking tea. Only in this way can we cultivate our own understanding, pursue metaphysical spiritual purification, realize and return to nature, and reach the realm of true self in meditation. The artistic conception of Zen is somewhat similar to the spiritual interest of tea. Tea is pure and indifferent, simple and natural, with meaningful charm, which is the naive and natural human destination required by Zen.