Thich Nhat Hahn’s Tea Meditation
Have you ever heard of a high tea meditation?
Some years ago I switched on the interweb to receive my daily dose of Oprah in my inbox today and was delighted to see a post about her recent Super Soul Sunday session with Thích Nhất Hạnh – a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist.
In their interview, he talks about the process of taking tea for meditation.
It is thought provoking – only about a 90 seconds long but worth watching….I want to watch more of it!! He said he can extend his cup of tea to last for over an hour!!
Watch the snippet of the experience below.
“You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.
Only in the present, can you savoUr the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.
If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the
future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of
tea.
You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.
Life is like that.
If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone.
You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life.
It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished.
Learn from it and let it go.
The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.
Worrying is worthless.
When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when
you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the
present moment.
Then you will begin to experience joy in life.”
Related articles
- Thich Nhat Hanh ~ See Yourself in Everyone (lenajacome.wordpress.com)
- Thich Nhat Hanh – Compassion (sheenashine.wordpress.com)
- Thich Nhat Hanh Speaks On Emptiness (heartflow2013.wordpress.com)
- Meditation in the workplace is growing (meaningfulwesternlife.com)
Hi I'm Monique Bradley.