Please choose one of China's tea, martial arts, Go, opera and wine, and discuss how it embodies China culture.

Japanese Zen monk Jifan (1344 ~ 143 1) once said that "the so-called tea ceremony, the heart is not in the art", which is the art but not the heart. "Heart, and walker, often blind. This means that the tea ceremony must be a combination of Taoism and tea art, and it cannot be neglected. However, China's tea books of past dynasties, except Xu Cishu (? ~ 1604) with a few exceptions. Generally speaking, I prefer surgery and care a little about my heart. The tea books in China in the past dynasties have detailed descriptions of the origin of tea trees, the types of tea leaves, the skills of making tea, the quality of tea sets, the quality of tea leaves, and the methods of frying (making tea). However, how to cultivate the "mind" of drinking tea and tasting tea, even in what environment and mood, has been ignored. Even Lu Yu (727 ~ 804), who was revered as the "God of Tea" by later generations, described the "heart" only in the following two short sentences: "The function of tea is that its taste is cold. Very suitable for virtuous and thrifty people. When it comes to the function of tea, it only emphasizes the effect of refreshing and fitness, and has nothing to do with the cultivation of mind. For example, Lu Yu's "Six Drinks of Tea Classics" said that "if you want to wake up, you must make them drink tea"; Although Seven Things of Tea Classics are widely quoted from Hua Tuo's Theory of Food, Hu Jushi's Diet Taboo, Tao Hongjing's Miscellaneous Notes and other medical books and Taoist books, it only talks about the efficacy of tea in invigorating qi, intellectual fit, transforming bones and even becoming immortal. Another example is Song Huizong (Evonne)' s On Daguan Tea Point, which quoted the record of (medicine), saying: "Tea tastes delicious for people to drink, which is beneficial to the body, while Qian Chun's" Tea-making New Spectrum Tea Effect "quoted the Notes on Materia Medica, saying only that tea has the functions of" quenching thirst, helping digestion, resolving phlegm and relieving drowsiness ". The effect is equivalent. All these tell us that China's tea books in the past dynasties paid attention not to tea cultivation, but to tea cultivation. The "body" of the body or material is more important than the "heart" of the spirit or soul, which is obviously the characteristic of China's tea book.

Because China's tea books in past dynasties paid attention not to the "heart" of tea, but to the "technique" of tea, both the origin of tea and tea sets and the source of tea were very particular. Ouyang Xiu said in "Returning to the Field": "There are no expensive dragons and phoenixes in tea ... every 28 pieces weigh one catty and are worth two ounces of gold." Fan Xiong: Tea Tribute of Xuanhe Beiyuan; Introduce Zhang Xunqi's China Tea Book, page 54. This is to describe the high cost of "Longfeng tea". Zhao's "Five Highlights of Beiyuan Bielu" said: "Longyuan wins snow as the top grade, and Jian 'an has people worth 10,000 yuan. Introduction to Zhang Xunqi: Tea in China, 83-84 pages. This is also a description of a kind of tea called "Long Yuan Shengxue", which is expensive. Su Guang/Yi (16) The seventh rich soup said: "Everyone in the world uses gold and silver to make soup, only the rich can make it, so the soup industry is successful, but the poor can't." He added, "Soups don't need gold and silver, so it's better to make a harp instead of a tung, and ink instead of a paste. You can't do either. "same as above, page 2 1 1. [Yuan] The last episode of "Returning to the Heart and Miscellaneous Knowledge" also said: "Changsha tea set is exquisite in the world, with 300 or 500 platinum stars per pair; All the tea leaves are ready, and there are large stocks of silver stored outside. Zhao Nanzhong, the prime minister of Zhao Nanzhong, took gold as a prize, and said in his book A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of Jingdi: During the Jiajing period of Sejong in the Ming Dynasty (1522 ~ 1566), a pair of Chenghua Doucai cups produced in Jingdezhen were "worth 100,000 yuan", the same book, 1465438+. . These are all describing the luxury and expensiveness of tea sets. Zhang's "Book of Fried Tea" uses Liu Bozhou's statement to divide the soup of fried tea into seven grades according to its advantages and disadvantages; According to "Li Jiqing's comments on followers, that is, taking Lu Yu's dictation", tea leaves are divided into twenty kinds. According to these statements, if you want to stir-fry some tea soup with the best water in the world, you must be rich and powerful.

The authors of tea books in the past dynasties in China were either dignitaries themselves or wrote tea books for them. For example, although Lu Yu, the author of The Book of Tea, was born in Zen Temple and became an unforgettable friend with Zen master Jiao Ran, it was the dignitaries who were born in the imperial court who really influenced him to write the Book of Tea-Ricky (royal family), Cui (not a doctor), Yan Zhenqing (Huzhou secretariat) and others. For another example, Cai Xiang (10 12 ~ 1067), the author of Tea Record, worked as a transshipment ambassador in Fujian during the Li Qing period in Song Renzong, and wrote a book, Tea Record, which is a detailed introduction to Cai Xiang, which was written specifically to answer Injong's questions. Be included in Zhang Xunqi: Perhaps this is the reason why these tea books do not lose their rich charm, and even emphasize "skill" over "heart".

With the "economic take-off", the "tea ceremony" in Taiwan Province Province has become a trend. Tea shops and teahouses can be seen everywhere, and the population drinking "tea for the elderly" is also increasing year by year. However, perhaps influenced by the unpretentious tea books mentioned above, the "tea ceremony" in Taiwan Province Province generally stays at the stage where there is no tea. Tea farmers joined hands with tea merchants to copy the prices of tea and tea sets, and tea tasters were eager to follow up. Tea ceremony is not only a time for self-cultivation, but also a national food culture. Tea ceremony has become a paradise for money worshippers to comfort themselves. This paper attempts to explore the relationship between tea ceremony and Zen from the perspective of "mind", which may make up for the lack of tea ceremony in Taiwan Province.

First, "tea and Zen are the same"

China Zen founder dharma (? ~ 535), in Henan Songshan Shaolin Temple face wall for nine years. I couldn't open my eyelids because of sedentary fatigue, so I tore it off and threw it on the ground. Where the eyelids were discarded, a dwarf tree actually grew. Dharma disciples picked green leaves from the bushes and boiled water to drink, but they were able to stay awake during meditation. This is the source of Zen tea. See Ross, translated by Xu, The World of Zen, [Taipei] Press, 1994, 188. . This is of course a beautiful but false legend. However, tea ceremony is closely related to Zen. In this regard, Cheng Guangyu's The Relationship between Tea and the Ideological Circles and Political Society in Tang and Song Dynasties, his contribution to tea planting in Song Dynasty, and Wu's famous "Monk Baked Pineapple Tea" are all included in Wu's Series of Chinese Tea Art (I). The Prosperity of Tea Making and Famous Pots in Yixing by Joe Nakamura is included in the History of Ancient Tea Drinking in China edited by Wu and Xu Xianyao, [Taipei] Publishing Company, 199 1 year, 147 ~ 169. Yao Guokun, Wang and Cheng Qikun, Tea Culture in China [Taipei] Hongye Culture Company, 1995. , Zhu Zizhen, Shen Han, The History of Tea and Wine Culture in China [Taipei] Jinwen Publishing Company, 1995. Some chapters of other books, even Zen in Tea Art by Horst Hamitzsch, Zen in Tea Art by Horst Hamitzsch, new york: Saint Martin Press, 1980. , has been explained in detail, so I won't go into details in this article. The following attempts to explore the relationship between tea ceremony and Zen from Buddhist rules and quotations, and even some works by Japanese tea teachers.

The relationship between Buddhism and tea, * * * has three kinds:

(1) Tea for religious ceremonies; (2) Tea for the reception etiquette of monks inside and outside the temple; (3) Toda's History of Quenching Thirst with Tea, translated by Luo: Several Posts: The World of Japanese Tea Ceremony, [Taipei] Inawo Publishing House, 1993, 162. . The three kinds of Buddhist teas mentioned by Tada are not limited to Zen tea, but include Zen tea. Looking back on the famous work of Baizhang Huaihai (720 ~ 8 14), a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty, the original work of Baizhang's clean rules has been lost. The current version has been edited by later generations. There are three kinds of Zen etiquette related to tea.

Among the three kinds of Buddhist rituals, the one that is most closely related to tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism belongs to the second one. Yi Run, a Buddhist monk in the Qing Dynasty, explained in detail the rules for the abbot of the Buddhist temple to invite all monks to tea in his masterpiece Baizhang Qinggui Ji (Volume VI):

Whenever the abbot invites a vegetarian meal (or tea), the master of the hall indicates in advance that the abbot and the monk invite a vegetarian meal (or tea, each teacher has his own dignity) today. The deacons in the outer room gathered in the waiting room. Ask the waiters to meet together, and the teachers take their seats in order. They look dignified and can't talk. Cup, plate and bowl, don't be silent After fasting (or drinking tea), if the abbot says something, he will stand up and stand up after listening. Wei Nanyun: "The teacher thanked the monk." After the ceremony, they went back to their offices to introduce "How's it going? Continue to collect, the volume is11,752b~753a. The words in brackets in the quotation are all notes of the original book. .

It is worth mentioning that the original book also said: "The abbot should invite the abbot to fast food, treat the old and new tea soup, and order five-color fruits on major festivals, such as knot making, knot making, winter solstice, New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve." Same as the previous quotation. At the back of this quotation, the author of "A Hundred Monks Knowing the Rules and Correcting the Truth" also said: "Correcting the Truth: The abbot invited Zhai tea, which is not the only one. This only means that the rules of section order are generally applicable. Whether it's a new order, a new application or something else, there is a set of tea. About the abbot waiting for the public. "Thus, it is a common etiquette for the abbot to invite tea. In addition, in the first volume of "Clear Rules of Zen Garden" written by Lu, a Zen monk in the Song Dynasty, in an article entitled "Going to Tea Soup", the etiquette that Zen monks should follow when inviting tea was also specified in detail:

Courtyard entrance, especially tea soup, is very important. Don't be lazy about the invited people. Since you are invited, you should go somewhere first, then somewhere, and then somewhere. When you hear the drums, arrive in time, and remember to take a good seat and take pictures to avoid confusion. If you go to the lobby for tea and soup, public party and the waiter asks for information, please enter and stand in the first seat. The abbot bowed, closed his cassock and sat down peacefully. Abandoning shoes must not be uneven, and closing feet must not make the chair quiet. Sit up straight and don't lean back in the chair. The cassock covers the knees, and the seat hangs in front of you, as if the fork hands are bowing to the master. ..... don't blow tea, don't turn off the lights, don't moan. Take the bed and don't knock. Put a lamp first, put it behind the plate, others will follow, and you can't be confused. Please hold a cup of tea in your right hand, wait for it to swim all over, and then slap it and eat it. Don't throw it in with your mouth open, and don't bite and make a noise. After tea, leave your seat and take a quiet step. Ask the host to thank him for his tea.

Judging from the rules of inviting tea and going to invite tea in the above two paragraphs, it is a complicated and serious matter for a Zen monk to eat tea in a Zen temple. It is no exaggeration to regard tea tasting as a strict meditation. Looking back at the rules of Zen in past dynasties, there are no rules like ordinary tea books on how to distinguish the quality of tea, the quality of water and even the elegance of tea sets. Although Zen Gate has the position of "tea head", it is in charge of tea service. , but it seems that he is not a master who is good at "speculation". In these Zen rules of eating tea, if the word "tea" is replaced by other foods, such as the word "Zhai" in the first quotation, it can still be established. This means that these rules for drinking tea are very clear, and you don't have to stand and drink tea; It also means that Zen's tea-eating etiquette pays attention to the inner meditation, that is, the pursuit of "heart", not the appearance or water quality of tea, or even the quality of teapot, which is only related to "technique". [Tang] Xuanjue (665 ~ 7 13) once said: "Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen, and words are quiet and moving." Even at the forefront, it is often frank and frank, and occasionally forgives poison. "Biography of Zheng Da Zang", volume 48,396a. From this perspective, drinking tea is just one of the mediums of meditation, sitting, being quiet, moving and being quiet. There is no doubt that this is the characteristic of Zen tea ceremony.

However, judging from the standard of "paying equal attention to art and mind" in Fan Yi's tea ceremony, it is true that China's tea books pay more attention to art than to heart, and Zen's "paying attention to art" is a defect in the final analysis. It is some Japanese tea teachers who are closely related to Zen that make up for this shortcoming perfectly.

It is generally believed that Rong (Ming Anrong,11~1215), the founder of Japanese school, is the pioneer of Japanese tea ceremony. Rong Xi spent three years in Ren 'an (Song Xiaozong trunk road 4 years, 1 168) and three years in Sandwich (Song Xiaozong Xichun 14 years,1/87), and twice came to Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang, China, which is rich in tea. He also modestly participated in the virtual buddhist nun of Wannian Temple and learned the Zen method of Huanglong School in Lin Ji. After returning to China, he wrote masterpieces such as Advocating Zen to Protect the Country and Drinking Tea for Health. Among them, Drinking Tea for Health is a tea ceremony book written by Master Rong Chan. This book is basically the Japanese version of Lu Yu's Tea Classic, but it has largely added the methods of mulberry and galangal, and even explained the medical principles with Yin and Yang and the five elements, which has nothing to do with drinking tea. Therefore, it is not so much a book on tea science that pays equal attention to mind and skill, and the tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism are integrated into one, but rather a medical book based on ancient medicine and pharmacy in China. See Gutian Shaoqin: Let's Eat Tea for Health, Talk to the Society of Tokyo Co., Ltd.,1994,401~ 410. .

In Japan, "paying equal attention to both mind and art" and truly combining tea and Zen will go to Zhuguang (Murata Zhuguang, 1423 ~ 1502), Shaoou (Wu Ye Shaoou, 1502 ~ 1555), and even Morino. Also known as "whimsy", it means loving incomplete, unbalanced, incomplete and ordinary things (such as ordinary tea sets), and it is also a refined state of mind that is content with loneliness. Tea ceremony, a combination of tea and Zen, is also a Zen art, which naturally conforms to these seven characteristics. Therefore, it should be appropriate to take these seven characteristics as the annotation of "number hair". Morino Lixiong, known as the Japanese "Cha Sheng", used the following poem to illustrate his idea of building a teahouse (counting houses) in order to express his lonely tea ceremony:

At first glance/no flowers/no colored leaves. /In the twilight of autumn night, there is a lonely hut on the beach.

Qian Zongdan, the grandson of Morino Rixiong, gave full play to this ideal of tea ceremony. Qian Zongdan once wrote five volumes of Tea Zen with a blind monk, expounding the inseparable relationship between Zen and tea ceremony. The title of the first volume is "Zen is the religion of tea affairs", and the article says: "All tea affairs should be used as Zen." The following translations of Qian Zongdan's Tea Zen and Blindness are all quoted from Yuan: Zen and Tea, pages 53-93. Open the basket? Bad basket string? What are you doing? What are you talking about? What's the matter with you? What's the problem? What's the matter with you? There is nothing left in the pregnant grave, only a car!

For another example, when placing utensils, don't relax at all, but shift your mind to the utensils to be operated next, and concentrate on wherever you go. This practice is called gas continuation point. ..... so just concentrate on practicing samadhi in the teahouse.

However, the above two paragraphs emphasize Zen (heart) and despise tea (art), which is not enough to see the characteristics of Qianzongdan tea ceremony. His characteristic should be the popularization of tea. In Qian Zongdan's book "Tea Zen with Blindness", it is the description of tea set that has the most civilian characteristics and deserves our attention:

The vessels of Zen tea are not beautiful, precious or old, but made with a round, empty and clean heart. This purity is a utensil, and it is also the tea of Zen machine. Tea set is famous for its famous vessels. He Guike said. What are the benefits of buying a cup of tea and putting it in the vault? ..... In short, no matter whether the artifacts are good or bad, they should not be said. Get rid of the two kinds of good and evil, Jaken, his heart became realistic and pure.

Quotations say that "one heart is pure and empty" is the real pure beauty and treasure. Qian Zongdan seems to pay special attention to "roundness" and "one heart"; Therefore, The Blinding of Tea Zen has such an explanation for "one heart": "The device of one heart is not the thing of Tao Zhu and others, but the natural device of heaven and earth, so the yin and yang, the sun and the moon are full, and everything is beautiful ..." As for the "empty net", there are the following explanations:

Constantly rise up, go forward, and do your best in Zen tea, that is, you can avoid the king's prison, and after you die, you will be able to ascend to heaven and gain enlightenment. Those who have this achievement are called the treasure of heaven and earth. Also known as the machine of Zen tea. What's the value of antique artifacts, which are extraordinary and unique?

Undoubtedly, this concept of tea set explains the tangible and tangible tea set from the intangible and metaphysical "heart", that is, the Zen point of view.

Qian Zongdan's concept of tea set obviously comes from his grandfather, Mori no Rikyū. In Mori no Rikyū' s Hundred Tea Soups, there is such a song:

"Holding a kettle can make tea soup. I like poor props.

Morino advocates simplicity, naturalness and commonness. From the following anecdotes, we can also see the following anecdotes about Morino (including two poems), which can be found in Luo's translation of Tada History Book:No.: The World of Japanese Tea Ceremony, 126. .

The tea ceremony in The Story of Ji Shu is often related to the chorus and haiku in Japanese traditional literature. See Jie Yuan Fang Ming: Zen and Tea, page 44. . In the Japanese tea ceremony, the following short oral song is circulated:

Look carefully, ah! /There were many flowers on the grass in Yuan Ye that autumn. This short chant in the tea ceremony is a far cry from the famous sentence of Matsuo Bashō (1644 ~ 1694) in the following haiku collection "Continued Xu Li". In the same work, it is really a world of difference: "Look closely, bloom is here. (Quoted from: Toda History, translated by Luo:No.: The World of Japanese Tea Ceremony, 126. )。

As for this common and interesting oral short song, The Ancient Story of Tea Soup is recorded as follows: Rixiong Morino's master Takeno Shaoou taught Rixiong Morino the original note of "Road Times" one day: "It is an open field, a garden of a thatched tea garden." Truth, taking the short song above as an example, once said the following sentence:

The ancients said to understand this song. If so, the composer of this song will think that there are flowering trees on the road. ..... for fear that tourists will not appreciate the flowers at the banquet, they will not plant flowering trees on the road.

"Road Times", named as "Open Field" in Qian Zongdan's Tea Zen with Blindness, is the surrounding garden where several Cao An-style teahouses are located. As mentioned earlier, in order to express his lonely concept of tea ceremony, Morino also wrote a poem: "No flowers/no colorful leaves/.../A lonely hut/located on the beach." Isn't this in line with Shao Ou's original intention of "no flowering trees on the road"?

However, Mori no Rikyū' s idea of the route is not just that. The reason why he emphasized "no flowers and no colorful leaves" in the road was not only to "appreciate flowers on the table", but also to appreciate the wild flowers blooming in the grass in the road. In Qian Zongdan's Blind Tea Zen, it was once defined as: "To get rid of all troubles and tell the truth is called exposure." Quoted from Yuan's Zen and Tea, page 89. On the way to the teahouse (several houses) for tea, I walked slowly through the simple gardens (roads and empty fields). In the garden, there are no gorgeous and expensive buildings and colorful flowers and trees, but I enjoy the wild flowers and weeds in nature, so as to get rid of all troubles and realize the truth. This is Qian Zongdan's view of "open land". I believe this is also the real idea "route" of his grandfather Mori no Rikyū.

Second, from "normal mind is the Tao" to "going to tea"

However, the Japanese "Shu Song" tea ceremony, like the Buddhist rules in China, attaches too much importance to Buddhist rules, which restricts the liveliness and freedom of Zen. From the Zen theory of eating tea to the development of Zen tea with "normal mind is the Tao" after the Song Dynasty, it will be completely liberated.

The initiator of "the normal mind is the Tao" is the Zen master Mazu Yi Dao in the Tang Dynasty (? -788), The Record of Deng Chuan in Jingdezhen (Volume 28)? Jiangxi da Dao Ji Yi Chan Shi Yu once described his Zen method like this:

A Zen master in Daji Road, Jiangxi Province told the public: "The road does not need to be repaired, but there is no pollution. What is pollution? But giving up life and having fun are all pollution. If you want to be straight, a normal mind is the Tao. It is normal, unpretentious, not wrong, not choosing, not breaking, not vulgar and not holy. ..... Just now, walking, living, sitting, lying down and taking advantage of opportunities are all roads ... "Introduce Zang's May 440a.

Judging from the quotations, the so-called "normal mind is the Tao" refers to a kind of Zen that keeps inner peace (no affectation, no choice) and equality (no breaking and no sacredness) in daily life without deliberate practice. Tang Zongmi (780 ~ 84 1), Volume III of Jue Yuan Jing Da Shu Chao, also gave a detailed description of Mazu Yi Dao's Zen method:

When you start thinking, you snap your fingers and cough up your fan. What you have done is for all Buddhists, and there is no second master. Eat as many noodles as possible, one by one. The nature of Buddha is the same, all people are greedy, ignorant, good, evil, bitter and happy. ..... There is another cloud: "... raising eyebrows and winking, laughing and coughing, or shaking, etc.". They are all Buddhist things. " Therefore, the cloud "touches the class and is the Tao." People who say "let their hearts be at ease" will rest on the road of spiritual practice. Can't afford to do evil, can't afford to do good, and can't do it. Tao is the heart, and the heart cannot be repaired. Evil is also a heart, so you can't be sad. If you don't keep making it, you can let it go. This is called liberating people, and it is also called excessive people. ...... Therefore, the saying goes: "Only mindfulness is the practice." Introduction "? Sequel, vol.14,557a ~ B. The "Shu" in the quotation refers to Zongmi's Jueyuanda Shu Jing.

The quotation says that Mazu Yi Dao's Zen method is characterized by "touching the class is the Tao and letting the heart"; It is a combination of the two concepts of "touching the class is the Tao" and "letting the heart". Among them, "cultivating the mind" is the Zen method of "normal mind is the Tao", that is, "I can't stand creating evil, cultivating goodness and not practicing Buddhism" And "touching the class is the Tao" is the preset philosophy behind this Zen method.

The literal meaning of the word "touch is the way" is:

All kinds of contact (from the heart, snapping your fingers, coughing and fanning, even laughing, etc. ) are the supreme Zen Buddhism. This is a kind of Zen based on the ubiquity (variety) of "Buddha nature".

The most interesting thing about Wumen Huikai's "critical singing" is his four praises. It tells us that as long as we are "carefree" (normal), then any time and place is a good time to practice.

As Zhao Chen is a disciple of Mazu, his Zen method is naturally closely related to the Zen methods of "touching the class is the Tao" and "normal mind is the Tao". The following is an example related to "touching the Tao":

Sometimes a monk asks, "Why did my father come to the West?" (Zhao Zhou from Chen Chan) The teacher said, "There are cypress trees in front of the court." He said, "Monks should not show people their surroundings." He said, "I won't show others my surroundings." He said, "Why did my father come to the West?" The teacher said, "cypress trees in front of the court."

In this famous case-solving, "Father came to China from the Western Regions" (the original intention of the founder of Dharma) is just a symbol or pronoun of Zen. Therefore, the Zen monk actually asked: "What is Zen?" Zhao Zhou's answer is: "The cypress tree in front of the court is Zen." The Zen monk thinks that Zhao Zhou's "(outer) realm" of his heart is prevaricated at random; Therefore, I complained, "Please don't answer me with the outside world." So Zhao Zhou promised not to answer, and asked the Zen master to ask again. When the Zen master asks, "What is Zen?" At that time, Zhao Zhou, who vowed not to answer from the outside, still replied: "The cypress tree in front of the court is Zen!" "

It turns out that according to the Zen method of "touching the class is the Tao", the most secret and precious Zen method in the heart is the cypress trees outside the courtyard. According to the ubiquitous truth of Buddhism, or the three realms of idealism, the external realm is the internal heart, and there is no difference between them. This is why Zhaozhou used "cypress trees in front of the court" to answer many times.

Zhaozhou is the successor of "touching the class is the Tao", and naturally it is also the successor of "normal mind is the Tao". This can be seen from the following example: the monk asked, "Scholars are confused and ask the teacher for instructions." (Zhao Zhou from Chen Chan) Shi Yun: "Did you eat porridge?" The monk said, "Eat porridge." Shi Yun: "Wash the bowl!" His monk suddenly realized. Here, we can see that eating porridge and washing dishes are common things, that is, Zen, the deepest practice. The quasi-Zen master of Zhantang once wrote the following poem with simple words but far-reaching meaning for the case of eating porridge and washing dishes:

What's more, the monk's nostrils were smashed and his head was down. If the Zen master can't, please ask Sister Wang in Dongcun to refer to Volume 11 of Moon Order, Zhen Zhen of Guanyin Temple in Zhaozhou, and introduce it? Continue to collect, volume1252a.

In poetry, "knowing, protecting, learning, and also" originally refers to profound ancient books, but now it symbolizes profound Zen. And "monk's nostril" literally means: monk's nostril; But here, it also refers to the profound Zen. Zen, which is generally considered abstruse, is actually the most common thing; This is as simple as a monk's big head (nose) with his nostrils down. If you don't even understand such a simple truth, ask Sister Wang in Dongcun! Ask Sister Wang in Dongcun with profound Zen; This means that profound Zen is just a universal truth that even village women know. Among the Zen methods of Zen master Zhao Zhou, eating porridge and washing dishes is of course the deepest Zen method, and so is drinking tea! The following famous example is to explain this meaning:

The teacher asked the newcomer, "Have you been here?" Yue: "I have been there." The teacher said, "Tea!" Asked the monk again, the monk said, "I haven't arrived yet." The teacher said, "Tea!" Later, the boss of the hospital asked, "Why do you go to Ye Yun for tea, but never go to Ye Yun for tea?" The teacher called the master of the hospital and the master said, "promise!" " The teacher said, "Tea!" Ibid., p. 253b.

In this case, the words "eating porridge" and "washing dishes" in the Shangze case-solving were changed to "eating tea", but the "normal mind is the Tao" to be expounded is exactly the same: the Zen monk who has been to Kannonji, Zhaozhou (where he lives) was invited to tea by Zhaozhou; Zhao Zhou also invited the Zen master who had never been to Kannonji for tea. And out of curiosity, Zhao Zhou, the owner of Guanyin Temple, also asked him to drink tea! This is the "Zhaozhou Tea" created by the Zen master of Zhaozhou with the Zen method of "normal mind is the Tao". In Zen master Zhao Zhou's view, "drinking tea" is the best meditation method, just like "eating porridge" and "washing dishes".

In this way, drinking tea, like eating porridge and washing dishes, is just one of the convenient means of practicing Zen. Eating tea can certainly become the most serious practice in Zen; But this kind of work can also be given up at any time. In this way, we don't stick to the quality of tea and tea sets, don't care about the quality of frying time, and don't stick to the tangible way of eating tea (etiquette). Even the meditation of tea can be "put down", which is the real "tea meditation with blindness" Japanese Zen monk Tomoko Dongling once recorded a Zen story in this spirit:

When King Taifu entered Zhaoqing to make tea, Lang sat at a table with a handle, but Lang knocked over the teapot. When the teacher saw this, he asked under the seat, "What's under the tea stove?" Lang Yun: "Hold the furnace god." A teacher said, "Since you are holding the Kitchen God, why do you turn over the teapot?" Lang Yun said: "Being an official for a thousand days, once you fall." The teacher left on the left. Ming said, "Lang was invited to eat at the same table, but he went to play wild outside the river." Lang Yun: "What do monks do?" Zhao Yun: "Convenience is not for the people." Xue Douyun: "At that time, I stepped on the tea stove.

In this case-solving, which is called "Dr. Wang frying tea", we can see that tea (americium), even the whole process of frying and eating tea, is only a part of meditation. According to the various rules of Zen quoted above, drinking tea in Zen is a kind of etiquette, with many restrictions and strict rules; But here, it shows an informal and lively style. Examples like this are everywhere in Zen quotations published after the Song Dynasty.

Most notably, the last quotation is accompanied by notes, on the one hand, it tells the strict rules of Zen tea, on the other hand, it also tells the real spirit behind these rules:

Tea ceremony has three parts: beginning, end and middle. This man is also an adult. Everyone is scattered and rough; Therefore, it is natural to keep teaching. ..... is to burn some tea, how to talk about intimacy. The Lord has five things: first, sweep the house; Second, residence; Third, change tools; Fourth, order tea; Fifth, pick up customers. There are five guests: first, enter the room; Second, sit down; Third, change clothes; Fourth, eat tea;

Fifth, something thorough.