The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave recently:
Where there is tea there has to be Buddha. The legend says it was the eyelids which were getting in the way of mediation which became tea. Although historically tea only came to India from China fairly recently, the relationship between Buddhism, China and Japan is certainly much older, and that is where the opportunity lies to build the bond.
The Buddhist tea ceremony was perfected by tea masters in Japan through the ages, and historians and academicians gave them all the hues. And today we do it in the Hosshou Temple in Tokyo. Wild tea trees gave a potion which invigorated the mind and body of monks and warriors over the ages, and with the passage of time it spread all over the world to satiate the thirst of humanity much more healthily than any other drink on this planet.
Darjeeling tea does indeed do the trick, with an aroma which can neither be found anywhere else nor duplicated and we present it here today. Robert Fortune planted tea in Darjeeling in 1851, and after 165 years we are meeting here to enjoy his fruits under the lucky shadow of Buddha. How fortunate we are.
With the gathering assembled here today it is an entirely different atmosphere, because the bond between Indian teas and Buddha was a rarely discussed subject by Indian speakers, and the bright smiles are the exponentially growing understanding of Darjeeling and Doke teas – the latter being a tea in itself from the land of Buddha – Bihar.
Now we have to build upon this with more vigor and enthusiasm as Buddha is our own.
I can only imagine what an exciting talk this was to give in Tokyo. The shared appreciation of tea between 2 cultures is always a remarkable experience. I love your phrase and descriptor of tea “to satiate the thirst of humanity”.
Sounds like you were well received. Thanks for sharing Rajiv.
As I always say life is a series of accidents or coincidences, my approach to Buddha was a pure destiny when I heard Swami Vatsal – a motivational speaker – during our India Tea Forum 2016 in Siliguri on 26th February and it struck me that it is important to adopt this approach and I am getting my first appreciation from you Michelle… Thanks