Tea Meditation at FGY Art Gallery CHCH
On the 5th August 2018, Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch hosted a Tea Meditation Session for 5 members of the public. The activity was conducted by Buddha’s Light International Association (FGS) South Island member Low Kok-Wei who led the group in the understanding of Chinese Tea culture and in the experiencing of Ch’an meditation. The session was divided into two parts. In the first part, Kok-Wei as the practitioner led the participants in a free discussion on the tasting of tea from Lishan. In the process, tea preparation procedure and Tea Culture were discussed, and interesting stories about Tea and Buddhism were told. Stories from Ch’an Buddhism such as Ch’an Venerable Zhao Zhou’s ‘Have a Tea’, ‘Great Tea came from the Great sage Temple’ reflected the wisdom of Buddhism in the daily life. With these the stories, the participants were able to better understand the relationship between Tea Culture and Ch’an Buddhism.
In the second part, the participants were taught how to taste the tea from Sun Moon Lake using the meditative observation method. The participants first underwent a short meditation to calm their senses down, and then concentrated in observing every move involved in the tea preparation process, before focussing on the tasting of the tea. Practitioner was able to conduct the class in a simple yet effective manner, linking Tea Culture with Ch’an meditation resulting in the participants experiencing a complete fusion of the two.
The participants were amazed at how the tea leaves had expanded in size after coming into contact with hot water. From a small teaspoon, the tea leaves, after being quenched with boiling water, were able to produce pleasing aroma, and finally expanded to fill the pot completely. This exemplified that, in life, one can realise one’s potential only after undergoing hardship. Participant Jan thanked her friends for giving her such a wonderful birthday present by sponsoring this Tea Meditation session, allowing her to experience Tea Culture and Meditation first-hand. She had indeed learnt a lot, and had really enjoyed this evening.