Gareth Young's Bohemian Lifestyle

Instructions for Preparing and Serving Tea

From ancient times the tea service has been a central aspect of Zen culture and practice.  Its power is such that it has been performed and venerated not just by Zen practitioners, but also by a great variety of Japanese philosophers, artists, connoisseurs, collectors, gardeners, calligraphers, gourmets, and flower arrangers. However, tea service within the Zen community is different in spirit from the ordinary tea service. Sen no Rikyu, refined and perfected the Art of Tea (“cha-no-yu”), and formalized rules for its performance:

“Make a delicious bowl of tea; lay the charcoal so that it heats the water; arrange the flowers as they are in the field; in summer suggest coolness; in winter, warmth; do everything ahead of time; prepare for rain; and give those with whom you find yourself every consideration.”

A disciple remarked that this seemed elementary. Rikyu replied, "Then if you can host a tea gathering without deviating from any of the rules I have just stated, I will become your disciple."

Zen Master Takuan wrote the following:

“The Principle of cha-no-yu is the spirit of harmonious blending of heaven and earth and provides the means for establishing universal peace. People of the present time have turned it into a mere occasion for meeting friends, talking of worldly affairs, and indulging in palatable food and drink; besides they are proud of their elegantly furnished tea rooms, where, surrounded by rare objects of art, they would serve tea in a most accomplished manner, and deride those who are not so skilful as themselves. This is, however, far from being the original intention of cha-no-yu.”

To the extent that Westerners are in any way familiar with cha-no-yu, it is probably through The Book of Tea. Written in English by Okakura, a Japanese scholar, it was first published in 1906, in a time when the West was first re-encountering Japanese culture.  It brought to the West for the first time a sense of the richness and depth of the ceremony, that we should remember as we perform it ourselves. However, the most important aspect of cha-no-yu is to practice it completely in the correct spirit. We do not have a bamboo teahouse, or a kettle on a charcoal pile; still less do we have the revered utensils of our ancestors. But we should treat our Zen Center and kitchen with no less respect, and should serve with the same reverence that cha-no-yu was practiced by the Masters of the past.

We should use teas that are inexpensive but of high quality, and should ensure that there is sufficient tea at the Zen Center and a proper diversity available to met the needs of upcoming services. We should, for example, keep a supply of Celestial Seasonings "Authentic Green Tea" and a black tea of some sort, such as Earl Gray for use on a regular basis. These teas are available at most major grocery stores, such as Kroger and Publix.  We should also maintain a supply of “special” teas to prepare on special occasions: examples are "Apple Blossom" and "Wild Berry Plum" green tea of a brand called the Republic of Tea, which have nice accents and are reasonably priced.  Pay attention to where you shop: Sevananda Co-op sells a container of 50 bags for $7.50. But at other places, it can be $9.00 or $10.00!  

Master Dogen advised, “when the tenzo receives the food from the kusu he must never complain about its quality or quantity, but must always handle everything with the greatest care and attention. Nothing could be worse than to complain about too much or too little of something, or of inferior quality.” He also said, “Keep your eyes open. Do not allow even one grain of rice to be lost. Wash the rice thoroughly, put it in the pot, light the fire, and cook it. There is an old saying that goes, ‘see the pot as your own head; see the water as your lifeblood’”. We should bring the same simplicity, directness and reverence to our practice of the tea service.

In our practice, tea is to be served every Sunday at 9.00 am with the dharma talk, and on other special occasions. Proper performance of the service requires two people, and it is important for the four people responsible for the tea service to coordinate schedules ahead of time to ensure the proper number of attendees are present each Sunday, and at other times as required. The coordination can conveniently be performed by email or telephone using the list of contact information available both on the task board in the kitchen, and through the task coordinator.

The two people responsible for the particular service should meet at the latest forty-five minutes before the dharma talk to coordinate responsibilities, and ensure that the service is conducted in all respects with proper attention and respect.

No less than forty minutes before the talk begins, one person must fill the tea urn about three-quarters full with water and plug it in. It will take about thirty minutes for the water to come to a boil. You will know the water is ready when the red light on the front of the urn comes on.

At about 8:50am, place five tea bags each in two teapots and dispense the hot water over them, leaving about two inches of space at the top of each pot. Follow directions on the tea box for appropriate steeping times. While the tea is steeping, gather enough teacups on a serving platter for everyone present to be able to enjoy tea.

When a monk asked, “What is the most profound teaching you offer?” he called to his attendant, “Come boil some tea!” It is urgent that you investigate this profound attention to the task at hand and understand the relevance of boiling tea to our lives.

Once the tea has finished steeping, use tongs to remove the tea bags from the pot, and discard the tea bags. Begin serving the tea once the sangha has completed the Four Great vows and announcements have been made. One person should go around the meditation hall offering teacups, and a second should follow pouring the tea. This should be done in silence, gracefully and mindfully.

When offering the cup or tea, offer what you are serving then follow with a slight bow. Please remember how Seppo answered a monk who asked, “The ancients said that if you meet Bodhidharma on the road, speak to him without words. I’d like to know how one speaks this way?” by saying, “Drink some tea.” You should directly experience how this simplest of all activities is complete.

A second “round” of tea should be offered at the point where the dharma talk has finished and the teacher begins taking questions and comments from the sangha, or at slightly after half an hour, if the talk is a long one. If the teacher indicates during the talk that they would like more tea, fill their teacup then offer more to sangha members as for the first serving. Usually two pots of tea are sufficient but if a lot of practitioners are present, preparing a third pot of tea may be necessary.

If latecomers arrive during the talk, after the cups have been passed and the tea has been served, discreetly offer them a cup of tea.  If the talk is well along and there is only a short time remaining, you do not need to offer them tea – often these are practitioners arriving early for the next session, or new comers arriving for instructions.  Check with ino for instructions on directing them.

When the dharma talk is over, help collect the teacups by waiting outside the meditation hall with the serving platter as people are exiting. Make a small bow as each cup is places on the platter. Make sure that the cups are placed face-up on the platter so that the cloth covering the platter does not get stained. Check the sitting hall and gather up any remaining cups.

When all of the teacups have been collected, wash them and the teapots in the kitchen. There is a white plastic dishpan beneath the sink that can be used for this purpose. While one person washes and rinses the dishes, another can dry them; alternatively the cups and teapots can be placed in the dish strainer and dried a little later. When finished, return all items to their storage place in the lower cabinet at the end of the kitchen counter.

Toyotomo Hideyoshi, a great patron of the art of tea said: