Tea Ceremony Session at FGS South Island
To enable them to enjoy the drinking of Chinese Tea and to let them have a better understanding of the procedure involved in the preparation and appreciation of Chinese Tea, on 25th March 2018, Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch organised a Tea Ceremony Session for the New Zealand public. On that day, Vicky Han set out to prepare Tea for 9 members of the public who had earlier enrolled for the session. The session started with Gallery coordinator Vicky taking the participants for a tour of the Buddha Hall, the Time Tunnel, and the ‘Creating a World of Compassion’ Comic Painting Exhibition by Yi Yin Feng and ‘Walking like Smoke’ Oil Painting Exhibition by Gail Batchelor. Through this tour of the Temple, the participants were shown the multi-functional ways in which Humanistic Buddhism is being propagated by Fo Guang Shan (FGS).
Afterwards, the participants visited the ‘Wood-Firing Ceramics’ Exhibition by Artist Huang Da An. The more than 170 ceramic exhibits on display are the collection of works carried out by the artist for the past 16 years. These include fine pieces of tea cups, flower vases, tea pots, water holder cup and they were produced by non-stop wood-firing of the artifacts. The final products using this method of firing resulted in unpredictable patterns and colors which can never be achieved using the modern method of firing.
In the Tea Ceremony session, Vicky explained to the participants the function of each piece of utensil used, their proper positions on the table, and the difference between green tea and red tea. She demonstrated to them the Ch’an way of preparing tea and guided them to experience the different tastes produced by different types of tea. The participants were taught how to enjoy the remains of taste brought about by drinking pure water after drinking tea. In between, the participants asked many questions pertaining to the sources and types of tea, and the relationship between ceramics and tea. To each, Vicky offered her answer.
The participants expressed their appreciation and gratitude for being able to enjoy the procedure and tasting of tea in a serene venue like FGY Art Gallery Christchurch. They were also able to enjoy Chinese tidbits served, to which they were grateful. They truly enjoyed the session which was hard to come by where they felt spiritually relaxed while experiencing the finesse of traditional Chinese Tea drinking. This had the effect of purification of their spirits and uplifting of their quality of life.