Tea, Zen, Awareness
01/27/16 • 29 min
We're releasing this episode in between the Western new year and the Asian lunar new year, and we took this opportunity to quiet our minds, turn inward a bit, and look again at tea as a contemplative practice. Chatting with us in this exploration is Ven. Hyeonmin Prajna, a Zen teacher in the Five Mountain Zen Order based in New York City, and a student and practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony in the Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai school of tea.
The history of tea culture is so intertwined with Zen Buddhism that it seemed natural to ask a Zen teacher to give us some perspectives on the practice of tea, and we talk with Hyeonmin about the essence of Zen and how to apply Zen ideals to both tea ceremony and casual tea drinking. Hyeonmin sheds light on how the Japanese tea ceremony in particular reflects some of those ideals, gives us suggestions on applying these principles to everyday tea and everyday life, and discusses how all tea culture can, from a Zen perspective, expand our awareness and help us “correct the mind and the heart”.
More info on Five Mountain Zen in New York City can be found at zen-nyc.info and on Ven. Hyeonmin Prajna's Facebook page. To learn about tea ceremony programs in New York City in the Dai Hihon Chado Gakkai tradition, go to http://www.tea-whisk.com.
For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.
To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].
Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.
Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.
This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.
We're releasing this episode in between the Western new year and the Asian lunar new year, and we took this opportunity to quiet our minds, turn inward a bit, and look again at tea as a contemplative practice. Chatting with us in this exploration is Ven. Hyeonmin Prajna, a Zen teacher in the Five Mountain Zen Order based in New York City, and a student and practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony in the Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai school of tea.
The history of tea culture is so intertwined with Zen Buddhism that it seemed natural to ask a Zen teacher to give us some perspectives on the practice of tea, and we talk with Hyeonmin about the essence of Zen and how to apply Zen ideals to both tea ceremony and casual tea drinking. Hyeonmin sheds light on how the Japanese tea ceremony in particular reflects some of those ideals, gives us suggestions on applying these principles to everyday tea and everyday life, and discusses how all tea culture can, from a Zen perspective, expand our awareness and help us “correct the mind and the heart”.
More info on Five Mountain Zen in New York City can be found at zen-nyc.info and on Ven. Hyeonmin Prajna's Facebook page. To learn about tea ceremony programs in New York City in the Dai Hihon Chado Gakkai tradition, go to http://www.tea-whisk.com.
For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.
To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].
Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.
Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.
This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.
Previous Episode
How To Spot a Quality Tea - Part 2: Silver Needles
In our last episode of Talking Tea we began to explore the elements of a quality tea with Shunan Teng of New York City's Tea Drunk. As examples of what to look for in choosing tea, Shunan selected two historically famous teas from China. We began in our last episode by looking at Gua Pian, a green tea, and now we chat with Shunan about Bai Hao Yin Zhen, also known as Silver Needles, as we continue discussing how to spot a quality tea.
Shunan chats with us about some of the unique characteristics of Bai Hao Yin Zhen and white tea in general, and common mistakes buyers make in choosing a white tea. One of the things that makes Bai Hao Yin Zhen unusual is that it's composed only of buds of the tea plant, and we talk with Shunan about what the appearance, aroma and texture of the buds can tell us about the tea's quality and how it was harvested and processed.
More info on Tea Drunk, including its online store, shop hours and events, can be found at its website, http://tea-drunk.com/. The website also has links to Shunan's fantastic videos of her sourcing trips in China. The direct link to the videos is http://tea-drunk.com/pages/tea-trip-videos.
For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.
To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].
Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.
Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.
This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.
Photo of Bai Hao Yin Zhen courtesy of Tea Drunk.
Next Episode
Tea Culture/Youth Culture
This week on Talking Tea we look at the growing popularity of tea and tea culture among youth and teens. Chatting with us (via Skype) is Connor Adlam of Tching.com, the well-known blog and online forum for tea information.
Connor, the intern social media editor at Tching and also a member of this demographic, shares his perspectives both from a personal standpoint and from his work at Tching. We chat about what makes tea and tea culture attractive to younger drinkers, the role of social media in breaking through misinformation and stereotypes, and how tea connects with the rising interest in mindfulness and spirituality among young people. Connor also talks with us about his own “tea ride” and how tea drinkers of all ages can use online resources to increase their knowledge of tea and connect with the depth, passion and diversity of the worldwide tea community.
You can find Tching's many resources (including articles by Connor) at Tching.com, at its Facebook page and Twitter feed and on Instagram at tchingblog.
For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.
To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].
Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.
Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.
This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.
Photo of Connor Adlam courtesy of Connor Adlam. Connor's shirt by Teaprints (http://teaprints.com).
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