The Tao in a Cup

I am a lover of all things tea-related. Not only growing and blending and drinking tea, but in what is known as The Tea Life. Or as the ancient tea masters called it, The Way of Tea. There aren’t really words to fully describe what The Way of Tea is, but in essence it is a path of discovery. Discovery of our body’s intelligence. Of the interconnectedness of all things. Of our soul’s source. It’s a bridge to discovering the nature of the universe without, and the universe within.

Tea lends itself so well to the contemplative life. A cup of tea holds the four elements within it. The plant matter, Earth, is steeped in Fire and Water, and in the rising steam, the Air element, the spirit is drawn upwards. This transformative, alchemical process whispers to us of a reality beyond the confines of this dimension. It’s the same something more that whispers to us in dreams, in silence, in music, in paintings, and in stories. As Wordsworth wrote, our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, and our life’s Star had elsewhere its setting.

Tea teaches us to wait in the silence for the language of the soul to speak. Aaron Fisher, in his book The Way of Tea, refers to it as the Tao in a cup. This mystical poem by eighth-century tea sage, Lu Tong, best captures the essence of tea and its effect on the body, mind, and soul.

The first cup moistens the throat;
The second shatters all feelings of solitude;
The third cup purifies the digestion,
reopening the five thousand volumes I’ve studied
and bringing them to mind fresh;
The fourth induces perspiration, evaporating
all of life’s trials and tribulations;
With the fifth cup, the body sharpens, crisp;
And the sixth cup is the first step
on the road to enlightenment;
The seventh cup sits steaming –
it needn’t be drunk, as one is lifted
to the abode of the immortals.

Lu Tong, The Seven Bowls of Tea

If you care to read more on The Tea Life, check out some of the links below!

Also, once a month, I send out a letter with any latest poetry pieces or stories, and any works of art I’ve found that have nourished my mind and soul. The subscription link for that letter is at the bottom of the page. Please subscribe if you’d like to keep in touch!

Here’s to The Tea Life. Cheers!

A Tea Blending Life… Tea has a way of softening us, making us vulnerable and receptive, writes Frank Hadley Murphy in The Spirit of Tea. If we take the time and continue to sit quietly in our chairs, savoring the taste and the moment, we may remember not only where we mislaid our spectacles but also where we have mislaid our dreams.
Wherein a Coffee Addict Falls Into a Teacup… I used to be a coffee addict. I drank it black, I drank it often, and the stronger the better. Coffee fueled the world, I said. Coffee cafes were glamorous and energetic. And tearooms? Well, they were silent and proper, crowded with florals and china teacups with fragile handles, practically mandating I break something. But the elixir of tea had a surprise in store for me…


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