The influence of Buddhism on tea ceremony. Tea appeared in China as early as the Zhou Dynasty, but it was mostly used as medicine or tea porridge before the Jin Dynasty. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, some Buddhist Zen masters found that tea had the function of refreshing the mind and relieving fatigue, which just solved the problems of lack of energy, fatigue and lethargy caused by not eating in the afternoon and attending meditation in the evening, so they searched for it or planted it everywhere and drank it in large quantities, which promoted the formation of social tea drinking atmosphere.
Especially after the establishment of Zen in the Tang Dynasty, many Zen temples paid equal attention to agriculture and Zen, planting, cultivating and producing some fine teas, which became famous teas over time. Because Buddhism gave up drinking, tea became the most important drink in Buddhist temples.
The advocacy, cultivation and demand of tea in Buddhist temples naturally affect the vast number of believers and people from all walks of life in China. In the long-term tea tasting exchange, people found that tea can also prevent or treat many diseases, quench thirst, relieve alcoholism and relieve boredom, which is beneficial to people of all ages and salty food, so they rushed to drink it, creating a colorful tea culture and making tea a necessary drink for ordinary people.
It is worth mentioning that through? Tea horse trade? With the communication with other countries, tea has spread to ethnic minority areas and countries all over the world and become one of the three major drinks in the world. Especially in Japan, monks combine tea drinking with spiritual cultivation and interpersonal communication, creating a world-famous? Tea ceremony? , reflecting the uniqueness of tea and Buddhism? Blood? Relationship.
The influence of Buddhism on tea culture 1, the need for meditation
Since Sakyamuni, one of the important ways of Buddhist practice is meditation. Meditation requires meditation, meditation, so that the heart is not distracted, and everything is empty. ? What are the posture requirements? Put your thighs on your thighs, straighten your spine, bend your neck slightly at the front and bottom, sink into your lower abdomen, breathe quietly, suffer from distraction or concentrate on a fixed object for meditation. Leg pain, mosquito bite? The exhaustion of Zen Seven, the confinement of monasteries, and most importantly, the difficulty of thinking about the same problem for nine to fifteen hours every day? Ordinary monks can't persist, even eminent monks can't, so it is inevitable to find a drink that conforms to Buddhist precepts and can eliminate meditation fatigue. It's just that tea tastes bitter and cold, and it has the functions of breaking sleep, driving away sleep, annoying and quenching thirst. ? Lu Yu said in the Book of Tea:? Tea is the best drink, because it tastes cool. People who are good at frugality, if they are thirsty, bored, have a headache, their eyes are dim and their limbs are tired, talk about four or five small mouths and compete with dewdrops. ? Compendium of Materia Medica also says that it can be used? Eliminating phlegm and clearing away heat, quenching thirst, making people sleep less, and strengthening their health. ? In Ming Dynasty, Gu's tea spectrum was more comprehensive and reasonable: people drinking real tea can quench thirst and digestion, eliminate phlegm and sleep less, benefit waterways, improve eyesight and relieve boredom. People can't live without tea for a day. ? Zhejiang tea is also unique in this respect. Taking Ou Di tea as an example, Jiang Yizhi said: Ou Di tea, wild mountains first, to get rid of fishy and greasy, to get rid of annoying and faint, and to eliminate accumulated food can be seen. The properties of tea itself determine that Zhejiang tea is very suitable for meditation.
2, the need to extend life.
Monks like to drink tea. Besides refreshing themselves, they also regard drinking tea as a way to keep healthy and live longer. In fact, this is because Buddhism was influenced by the Taoist idea of health preservation in the process of China. The purpose of Taoist health preservation is to live forever, and to achieve this state, we must use a material medium to achieve it. So tea has become the most suitable object. Because the first stone medicine used by Taoism is expensive and dangerous, tea is relatively cheap, and it is easy to take Taoist tea-drinking customs and ideas, which also infected Buddhism. "Seven Things in Tea Classics" says:? Yao, surnamed Yang, a native of Hedong, crossed the river in Jiazhong and had tea with Shen Taizhen in Xiaoshan Temple in Wu Kang by crane in the restaurant. Zhong Yongming, who was saved, gave a gift to Beijing at the age of 79. ? Through this historical data, the role of tea in longevity of Taizhen is emphasized, that is, drinking tea often has the effect of prolonging life. The new book in the south also has such a story:? Three years later, a monk entered Du Dong, aged 1 10. Xuan Di asked: What medicine have you taken so far? The monk said:? I'm too cheap to be a minister. I didn't know the medicinal properties of tea were good. Just ask for or give tea, spend 100 bowls a day. As usual, I won't miss forty or fifty bowls. In this story, monks can live to be 1 10 years old by drinking tea. The above records show that monks believe that tea can prolong life. Japanese Zen master Rong expressed this tendency more clearly with the title of "Drinking Tea for Health". He wrote at the beginning:? Tea drinkers, a panacea for health, and wonderful skills to prolong life; Born in the valley, its god is also there; If people adopt it, they will live a long life. Tianzhu, Tang Dynasty and our precious dynasties, Japan once loved love, which is also a strange fairy medicine in ancient and modern times. ? Because of this, monks regard tea drinking as one of the compulsory courses for everyone, and most temples have monks who specialize in tea drinking activities.
3, the need for religious ceremonies
In Buddhism's view, tea is a necessary thing for meditation to enter the countryside, a spiritual sustenance for Buddhists, and even a psychic. Therefore, Zhejiang tea is often used as a sacrifice in Buddhism and is associated with religious activities. According to Li Rihua's Miscellaneous Notes on Zitaoxuan in the Ming Dynasty, the old monk in Putuo wrapped me in a small stone and left me with white and colorless leaves. Xu's drink made me feel cool and penetrated into my heart and intestines. The monk said: this stone is only five or six pounds, and it is dedicated to the monk (Guanyin). There are few monks. ? It can be inferred that at that time, some of the tea people in Putuo Mountain were used for offering Buddha, not drinking in daily life. At this point, the cultural and social functions of Zhejiang tea have gone far beyond its natural use and medicinal function, and become a bridge to communicate the concept of man and god, so sometimes there is the so-called "pre-Buddha tea"? Psychic? , phenomenon. According to Lord Sung Hoon (A.D.101to 108 1) of Dayun Temple in Tiantai, Japan, he described:? In the fifth year of Xining (AD 1072), he visited Shiqiao on May 19th and offered 516 cups of tea to Lohan. The governor monk was surprised to tell. More than 500 cups of tea with lotus patterns? In fact, the young monk (Cheng Zi himself) had long known that Lohan appeared and was served tea by the teacher. Now he is very smart. Further myth the relationship between Zhejiang tea and Buddhism.
4, tea Zen blindly
But the real combination of Zhejiang tea and Buddhism lies not only in its natural medicinal and social functions, but also in the emergence of Zen, which makes Buddhism and tea find similarities. Zen pays attention to becoming a Buddha with the heart and preaching with the heart. At a meeting, Ying Shi Mu Nifo didn't answer everyone's questions. He just showed the flowers to the public, and people couldn't understand them. Only Ye Jia smiled and got the Buddha's heart. This widely circulated Buddhist story reflects the so-called? See the heart and see the sex? Emphasize your understanding. It is also recorded in Jingde Dengchuan Lu:? My Buddhism was taught by the Buddha first, regardless of meditation and diligence, but what the Buddha saw was that the heart became a Buddha, the heart became a Buddha, and Bodhi was troubled. ? Nourishing the heart and nature has a high position in Zen, but just drinking tea also requires a careful and peaceful mind, then? The correct place to drink tea is thirteen, one is leisure, the other is hospitality, the third is meditation, the fourth is poetry, the fifth is waving, the sixth is wandering, the seventh is sleeping, the eighth is sleeping, the ninth is offering sacrifices, the tenth is quietness, the eleventh is knowing, the twelfth is enjoying, and the thirteenth is enjoying. ? Moreover, the gentle pulling and slow pushing in the process of grinding tea, the judgment of three boiling points in the process of cooking tea, the high-profile in the pot when ordering tea, and the color and taste in the process of drinking tea all advocate pure heart and meditation. Tea drinkers also hope to eradicate their troubles and improve their spiritual realm by drinking tea, which coincides with the center of Zen. Besides,? Tea is for drinking, and it is most suitable for elegant and virtuous people. It means that tea is suitable for people with excellent moral character, and it also means that tea is frugal. Although the quality of tea is different, all social classes can enjoy the corresponding grade of tea. Some emperors practiced frugality, and ordered them to choose thrifty sacrifices after his death, including tea, such as the imperial edict of Emperor Wu of the Southern Qi Dynasty. I am very careful not to worship animals on my spiritual pedestal, but only to put cakes, fruits, tea, dry rice, wine and preserved fruits. ? There are five commandments in Buddhist life: don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't steal, don't drink alcohol, and don't eat meat or eat in the afternoon. Frugality? Consistent. Therefore, many Buddhist monks combine meditation with tea tasting, and some even think that tea tasting can achieve enlightenment. In the Song of Drinking Tea, a monk in Jiao Ran in the Tang Dynasty said: Drinking it will make you sleepy and cheerful. Drink my god again, and suddenly it will be like flying rain and clearing dust; After three drinks, you will get the word. Why bother? . Obviously, in Jiao Ran's eyes, only by keeping the peace of mind can we understand the Buddha's heart. If he deliberately removes his troubles, it is not Buddha's heart. Meanwhile, the Zen theme? Meditate? 、? Since the Enlightenment? It is also practiced in China Tea Ceremony. Rifu Morino of Japan reveals more deeply that the original intention of tea ceremony is the universal significance of Zen. The teaching of Buddhism is the original intention of tea. Drawing water, getting paid, boiling water, ordering tea, offering Buddha, giving alms, sipping, arranging flowers and burning incense are all acts of practicing Buddhism. ? Mori no Rikyū has this idea, because Japanese Buddhism comes from China and Zen Buddhism is China Buddhism. Unlike the original meaning of Indian Buddhism, which believes that water cannot be freed in this life, only Rentang is the way out, but advocates it? Epiphany? . Looking for spiritual sustenance from tea is also a kind of? Enlightenment? . Therefore, drinking tea can lead to enlightenment. There is a saying in tea, and Buddha and tea are interlinked. In short, there is Zen in tea, and there is tea in Zen, and tea tastes like Zen wood. Zhejiang tea is an important part of China tea, which is naturally loved by monks and becomes a common drink in meditation. The wind of drinking tea has also spread to various temples.
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