學生成長 - 倫理佛化教育組

Promoting Buddhist Wisdom through the Tea Arts in School

Fan Yuet Chun & Mak Ka Wai

       A lot of people think that Buddhism is not suitable for the youths because the Buddhist philosophy is too profound and Buddhist activities, e.g. meditation, ritual are too boring for young people. As teachers in Buddhist schools, we always face the above criticism. As a matter of fact, we can preach Buddhism and enhance our students' interest in Buddhism through an innovative way, e.g. tea arts.

       Smell the scent of the natural harmony through the tea arts; experience the purification of our mind through the Buddhist wisdom. Buddha said, `You can find the wisdom in the flowers and find the enlightenment in the leaves.' Traditionally, the monks understand the truths through the tea arts in the Buddhist monastery. The Chinese tea arts have already blended with Buddhist wisdom for several hundred years.

       In the Christmas holiday, two teachers, with ten students from Buddhist Ho Nam Kam College participated in a four-day tour to Wuyishan, in Fook Kin Province so as to study the Chinese tea arts. During the four-day tour, the students visited a tea factory, a tea farm, a Buddhist monastery, and saw a picturesque view in Wuyishan. It was a good opportunity for students and teachers to get to know one another.

The name of different kinds of tea can be find in the stone.

       There is a deep relationship between the tea arts and Buddhism, because the significance behind the tea arts is similar to the Buddha's teaching. Buddha taught the disciples how to foster their ability of concentration and to have sensitivity to the environment around them through the Buddhist meditation. The famous Chinese monks taught the Buddhists how to achieve these purposes through drinking tea as well. Traditionally, people in Canton know `Pu-Li' tea or `Heung-Pin' tea only. In fact, it is surprising that there are over several thousand kinds of tea drunk by the Chinese, according to the tour guide in Wuyishan. There are over fifty kinds of bitterness, forty kinds of sweetness and a hundred kinds of scent. If you don't pay great attention to drinking tea, you can't distinguish the little differences between the scents of the tea.

A student tasted tea in the Tea Shop in Wuyishan.

       During the four days in Wuyishan, the students visited the tea farm and the tea factory. Although the shapes of different kinds of tea are similar, their tastes are very different. The students learnt how to distinguish the different tastes of tea. They distinguished the tea by their noses, tongues, eyes and skin --- the tastes of the `Fat-Sau' is mostly bitter with scent, the `Pa-mau-tan' tea is mostly bitter only, the `Yuk-kai' tea is a little bitter and mostly sweet.

Students visited the tea farm in Wuyishan.

       In the tea factory, the staff taught us how to pour the tea and choose the tea tools. If we want to drink a cup of the scented `Tit-koon-yin' tea, we must put it into a small teapot and pour 90oC water over it. If we want to taste a cup of scented `Pu-I' tea, we should pour 80oC water into a big teapot. How can we know the temperature the water? If the size of the bubbles on the water are like the size of marbles, the water is 80oC. If the size of the bubbles is like the size of the ox's eye, the water is 90oC. Every step of pouring and drinking tea is filled with the wisdom of our ancestors. This wisdom behind the tea arts is similar to the Buddha's teaching.

The picturesque view in Wuyishan.

       The students observed how the tea could blend with the water, how the colour of the water get browner and browner slowly and smoothly and how two things (tea leaves and water) unite in a cup of tea. They can feel the harmony of the nature themselves. Through the practice of tea arts, they can understand the Buddha's teaching that everyone exists in a dependent correlation, there is no independent thing. When we drink a cup of tea, we cannot distinguish between the tea leaves and the water. They have already become undivided.

Students visited the Buddhist monastery in Wuyishan

       After the four-day tour, the students gained a lot of knowledge about tea arts. They can be the cultural ambassadors to promote the tea art in the school. The students who participate in the activities organized by the Buddhist Fellowship group can gain a cup of Chinese tea. It seems to be an effective medium that allows the students to understand both the tea arts and Buddhism. This fact tells us the truth that this can enhance the student's interest in tea arts, Buddhism, even the Chinese culture. The vegetarian barbecue and book fair attracted over a hundred students. When they taste a cup of tea, we can catch this valuable opportunity to talk with them and discuss Buddhist knowledge.

       This tea arts program organized by Buddhist Ho Nam Kam College was sponsored by PRC National Day Committee and Education Department.

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