品茗無拘＿Tasting Boundless Tea

情有所鍾費周章，欣厭得失惹人愁；
不擇品類各一撮，融成新味無拘茶。

跋

一般品茗，有種種茶藝上之講究。依各人口味，又憑添欣厭，而隨得失起伏。我有幸常喝好茶，但皆是隨緣享用，並非營求所得。學佛修習供養，更常將上好茶葉呈獻於火供、煙供及龍王寶瓶之中。近來更超出品類之觀念局限，每次皆任取三、四種茶葉，各一小撮，沖成一壺，而得嚐無以名之的新風味。飲茶一事，可以惹起欣厭、牽纏，也可藉以修習解脫、開闊。日常生活中之餘事，又何嘗不是如此？

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　二○○○年七月廿二日
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　養和齋　　　　於加州

Tasting Boundless Tea　Yutang Lin

Preference limits and causes elaborate endeavors;
Like and dislike, gain and loss, yield endless sorrows.
Not choosing sorts and grades, one pinch of each kind,
Join to brew boundless tea of fragrance and flavor new.

Comment:

The art of tea consists of many refined details. In accordance with each one's preference in taste, there are likes and dislikes leading to the ups and downs of gain and loss. Fortunately I have been enjoying good tea most of the time, thanks to favorable circumstances and others' generosity without my own pursuit and endeavor. As a Buddhist practice in making offerings I frequently present superb tea into fire pujas, smoke pujas and Dragon vases. Recently I even went beyond the conventional way of brewing only one kind of tea in a pot. Each time I arbitrarily chose three or four kinds of tea, and put a pinch of each kind into the pot. Consequently I enjoyed new flavor and fragrance of nameless tea again and again. Tea drinking is a matter of daily life that could lead to likes and dislikes and yield entanglements, but it could also be used to practice letting go of grasping and opening up to a variegated life. Could other matters of daily life be any different?

Written and translated on July 22, 2000
El Cerrito, California

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