Dearest bodhi sangha,
In Shanghai it has just turned Spring. Though it is cold and the sky overcast, the birds themselves have announced the arrival of the new year according to the Chinese calendar. These past few days, I’ve watched them fly between trees and walk on ridges of rooftops, moving through the city with the energy of Spring before the plants show any sign of it. But soon, the bare branches will start budding and our tea harvest season will begin.
During times of great uncertainty, I am grateful for the things that are sure: that spring follows winter, and that day follows night. When the path forward seems precarious, we may find wisdom in the path already taken. If we do not know where we are going, it is often helpful to reflect on where we have come from.
In the Plum Village Zen tradition, there is a practice called Touching the Earth in which we honor our ancestors. When touching the earth, we acknowledge that our ancestors are not just a distant memory from a far off time, but that they are alive in us today. Looking deeply into a child, you see their mother and their father; looking deeply into a flower, you can see the rain and the sunshine. According to this practice, our ancestors are those who we are related to by blood, but also include our spiritual and land ancestors.
It is because of our ancestors that we are who we are. The Kaccānagotta Sutra reads:
When this is, that is.
When this is not, that is not.
When this arises, that arises.
When this ceases, that ceases.
In other words, cause and effect. When conditions are sufficient, a result manifests. When conditions are no longer sufficient, a phenomenon dissipates. This is simple enough to understand in theory. But to live with this awareness can help us to to see that it is miracle to be alive. This is a practice we can do during tea meditation.
And so, as I sit down with my tea this morning, I would like to offer the following meditation. You are welcome to practice it in your own way, with your own experience and your own ancestors in mind.
BLOOD ANCESTORS
As I drink this warm hong cha, I am aware that this tea was born in my grandfather’s homeland of Fujian. I am reminded that he fled his home because of greed, exploitation and war. I see the suffering of my ancestors and I send love to them, alive in me. Thank you dear blood ancestors, for your resilience and your strength. I am here because of your efforts to survive. You are safe now. Please enjoy this tea.
LAND ANCESTORS
Looking deeply into the tea leaves, I see the clouds, the mountains, the rain. I see the Dai people, who planted the ancient garden from which this tea came. I see the monks of the Lingying mountain temple, who built the workshop where our family crafts tea today. Pouring the tea from the gaiwan to the pitcher, I am aware that these methods for tea preparation were developed by those who learned how to speak the language of this old and wise plant.
Dear land ancestors, may this tea remind me of the interbeing of nature and humans. May I always remember that living beings are made of non-living things, and that one day, we will return to the earth too. Please help me to always see that taking care of mother earth is also to take care of her children, including ourselves.
SPIRITUAL ANCESTORS
To my teacher, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh — thank you for teaching me how to look deeply in this way. Sitting here with upright posture, the fragrant tea at my lips, the seed of my awareness has begun to blossom because of you. Thank you for showing me the way to breathe, to smile, to forgive, and live deeply in the present moment.
Dear Thay and all my spiritual ancestors, I humbly ask that you give us the wisdom to navigate the difficult times that we live in. Please help us to transform our suffering, support us to enlighten our ignorance and guide us on the path to practice love and understanding.
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Practicing tea meditation with our ancestors can be a powerful experience that brings the theoretical concept of non-self into a lived experience. When times become challenging, we often want to react by closing our hearts as a sort of defense mechanism. Allowing the tea to open our hearts, we realize that we are a part of something much larger than the news of the day. We are a manifestation of all of our ancestors — honorable lineages, the earth itself and wise sages — collapsed into this single, present moment. And just as their actions in the past created our reality today, we too, are the ancestors of the future to come.
Thich Nhat Hanh said, “drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis around which the world revolves.” This is not a metaphor. As the ancestors of tomorrow, what we do today carries profound consequences. The seeds we plant this year will be the harvest of future generations. So just as the birds today sang of forthcoming spring, even as the air remains frigid and the branches bare; may we offer the seeds of peace, love and understanding even as the world finds itself at the precipice of a future unknown.
Sincerely,
Nathan Carreon Lim.
founder, bodhi tea co.
