Mindfulness and Tea
by Karen P., Customer Service Manager
Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.
This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the
world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a
pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.
There is only the tea, and me, converging.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
This poetic quote by Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, fully embraces the concept of mindfulness and tea. We know about tea but what exactly is mindfulness?
Jon Kabat-Zinn, the contemporary master of mindfulness practice, defines it as, “the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”
Simply put, it is being fully present in the moment.
In our fast-paced, twenty-first century lives, most of us are so used to multi-tasking and making countless to-do lists that we rarely have time to stop and just be present. Sitting down with a steaming cup of tea allows us that moment.
If we choose to drink a cup of tea in mindfulness, the pleasure of drinking tea will more than double because we are truly there and the tea is also truly there.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Let’s explore a little history on mindfulness. In the nineteenth century, Europeans first discovered Buddhism from the East and started translating its basic teachings into English. Henry Alabaster, a British diplomat during that period, was allowed into Siam (Thailand), becoming much admired and a personal friend of King Chulalongkorn. He developed an appreciation for Siamese culture by observing the monks and their customs, referencing the Pali word sati, which he translated as “mindfulness,” in his writings. T.W. Rhys Davids, who was well acquainted with Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and its monks, was one of the first translators of Buddhist texts into English, and he also defined the word sati as “mindfulness” in his dictionary. In 1875, R.C. Childers defined the word as “an active state of the mind, fixing the mind strongly upon any subject, attention, attentiveness, thought, reflection, consciousness.”
The prestigious Oxford English Dictionary’s first definition of mindfulness states, “taking thought of, care of, heedful of, keeping remembrance of.” Oldest written usage of the term with this meaning is located in the fourteenth-century Wycliffe Bible: “What thing is man, that thou are myndefull of him?” The Hebrew word associated with the translation mindful is zakhor, which means “to remember.” Even though the word mindful was often found in religious texts at that time, it was not considered a formal religious term and could also be found in secular texts. The Kalendar Horticulturus, a gardening manual published in 1679, instructs one to be “mindful to uncover them [the plants] in all benign, and tolerable seasons.”
In Buddhist tradition, the term “mindfulness” evolved over time from early references regarding memorizing texts for oral transmission in the form of chanting to later connoting a sense of alertness and concentration in the active cultivation of a friendly, boundless mind in practices such as the Sutta on Loving Kindness.
In present day, the word mindfulness has been much associated with meditation and stress reduction. In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn created the groundbreaking Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA. He recruited chronically ill patients who were not responding well to traditional treatments. Acquiring and building on mindful awareness during weekly sessions and home practice, participants utilized mindfulness meditation, simple and gentle body movement, and group discussion of experience to begin to integrate this awareness into the challenges and adventures of everyday life. He found that when patients worked with their own internal resources and abilities, they responded more effectively to stress, pain, and illness.
Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice which has profound relevance for our present-day lives. This relevance has nothing to do with Buddhism per se or with becoming a Buddhist, but it has everything to do with waking up and living in harmony with oneself and with the world. It has to do with examining who we are, with questioning our view of the world and our place in it, and with cultivating some appreciation for the fullness of each moment we are alive. Most of all, it has to do with being in touch.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
How can we bring mindfulness to our cup of tea? Throughout tea history, the formal Japanese Tea Ceremony has epitomized the concept of mindfulness and tea with the attention and grace it brings to preparing and sharing a bowl of Matcha tea. We can use this lovely ceremony as our inspiration and guide to bring attention to our own tea practice.
Peace, happiness and joy is possible during the time I drink my tea.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Take a moment and focus on being present. Gather your loose leaf tea and teaware for preparing a cup or pot of tea. Heat the water. Open your tea container and inhale the aroma of the dry leaves. Carefully spoon your tea leaves into your infuser, or directly into your teapot. Pour the water over the tea leaves and time the steep. Separate the leaves from the tea by removing the infuser, or strain the leaves while pouring. Inhale the aroma of your freshly steeped leaves and take your first sip.
Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
A cup of tea and the present moment. That’s all we need.
This cup of tea in my two hands, mindfulness is held uprightly. My body and mind dwell in the very here and now.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
We invite you to explore our assortment of over 400 tea and tisane offerings and find the perfect tea to enjoy in your own moment.
Resources: The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Nanh
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness: Where It Comes From and What It Means by Sarah Shaw