Live Your Best Lives
Legend has it that after Bodhidharma came out of seclusion facing the wall for nine years, he could not open his eyelids, so he tore off the leaves and threw them on the ground, where a short tree grew. His disciples picked the leaves from the tree and soaked them in water to drink. They found that the water was magical and could help those who were meditating to keep their minds clear and their minds lucid, and to understand the true meaning of Buddhism more thoroughly. Hence, the term "Zen tea" came into being.
Tea is the connection to Zen, and Zen is the soul of tea. Buddhism has promoted the rapid development of tea culture. Tea is also a "good medicine" that helps Zen practitioners refresh their minds and purify their souls.
The city of Hangzhou and Zen tea culture are inextricably linked. "Longjing Tea and Hupao Water" depict the unique quality of Hangzhou tea. Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea" and the story of Qianlong's "Eighteen Imperial Tea Trees" tell the historical origins of "Hangzhou as the Tea Capital".
I don’t know if it’s a bit too much to say cultural confidence, but I always feel that Zen tea culture is the confidence that Hangzhou deserves to have, the heritage of Hangzhou, and a label of Hangzhou that is worth everyone’s understanding.
We have recommended many ways to play in Hangzhou in the past, but this is probably the first time we have given you an in-depth understanding and experience of the theme of "Zen Tea". We want to take you to encounter a different Hangzhou in the fragrance of tea and the sound of scriptures.
Lingyin Temple is the most famous temple in Hangzhou. Like West Lake, it is a label of Hangzhou. It is located in the West Lake Scenic Area. Even though there are endless tourists, it has a kind of "hidden in the city" temperament.
Once an unknown ancient temple deep in the mountains during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Lingyin Temple is now a world-renowned Buddhist monastery. Even when it's packed with visitors, you can still step outside the tourist's perspective and sit down for a long conversation with Lingyin Temple, listening to City Walk presenters share stories about the temple and the Living Buddha Jigong.
Enter Lingyin Temple, follow the Buddhist rule of "silence", learn the correct rituals of worshiping Buddha, and find your inner peace among the hustle and bustle of tourists.
Yunlin Library is a place where Lingyin monks and Hangzhou disciples come to learn about and study Buddhist scriptures. It is rarely known to tourists. Go deep into this place, browse the scriptures, sit down and copy them quietly, and experience the joy and peace of Zen meditation. At this time, you and the tourists outside the door are in two different worlds. (During the epidemic, copying scriptures in the library is not allowed. Please understand.)
In the Tang Dynasty, due to the great demand for tea among the monks of Lingyin Temple, the monks began to plant and make tea by relying on the unique natural conditions. Under the careful cultivation and management of the monks, the tea produced in Lingyin and Tianzhu has continued to have excellent quality and has become the source of Hangzhou West Lake tea. In addition, Master Jiaoran, who was the abbot of Lingyin Temple, was a tea friend of Lu Yu.
On the way from Lingyin Temple to Feilai Peak, you will pass by a self-service vegetarian restaurant run by a lay Buddhist. Tourists, monks and lay Buddhists often dine here. Even though there is no meat, there is still a wide variety of food, with good color, aroma and taste. We will also take everyone there to taste it.
The three Tianzhu temples in Hangzhou are the Upper Tianzhu Faxi Temple, the Middle Tianzhu Fajing Temple, and the Lower Tianzhu Fajing Temple.
Faxi Temple has a history of more than a thousand years, but it is a newly popular temple in Hangzhou, which is inseparable from its architecture.
Taking photos from the highest point of Faxi Temple, you can see the flying eaves, lush green mountains, and a wisp of curling smoke, which is very beautiful.
Faxi Temple is also very "down-to-earth". What can be seen everywhere in the temple are not profound Buddhist scriptures, but "encouragements to be happy". Even the banner at the gate reads: Be happy and joyful. For the depressed young people of today, it is very healing!
Fajing Temple is the only female temple in Hangzhou and is the dormitory for female students of Hangzhou Buddhist College. The exterior of the temple has soft curved lines, making the whole building look cute.
It is recommended to go to the platform of Sanshengshi Teahouse, where you can see the overall appearance of Fajing Temple.
It is surrounded by the temple's own tea fields, and during the tea picking season, monks also work there picking tea.
Behind the temple is the Three Lives Stone, which easily reminds people of the love symbol of "Three Lives and Three Worlds", but in fact its origin and meaning are derived from the Buddhist cause and effect reincarnation, past life, present life, and future life.
Fajing Temple is quiet and secluded, and it is also the only free temple among the three temples in Tianzhu. Although it is not large in scale, it is surrounded by gurgling streams and lush forests and bamboos, giving people the feeling of "living in a human world without the noise of cars and horses".
Futuo Temple is located in Futuo Mountain, Baizhang, Yuhang, Hangzhou. It is surrounded by mountains and water and has a quiet and beautiful scenery.
Butuo Temple is a temple open to the public. In addition to worshiping Buddha, you can also copy scriptures, meditate, eat vegetarian meals, and even stay overnight.
What would it feel like to spend a whole day in a secluded temple deep in the bamboo forest, sparsely populated by people, putting down your phone, listening to the morning bells and evening drums, meditating and copying sutras with the master, drinking tea, and calming your mind, without any purpose, expectations, or plans? Would you feel anxious or irritable? Perhaps after trying it, you'd fall in love with it.
In such a quiet atmosphere, the mind will naturally relax, and the anxiety and entanglement in daily life will gradually be resolved. It feels like taking the mind to the temple to wash it.
"Zen and tea can enlighten the world, and Jingshan is the only one." The thousand-year-old temple - Jingshan Wanshou Zen Temple is located here. Jingshan Temple is the first of the "Five Great Zen Temples" in Jiangnan. It is the last peak after the sinicization of Buddhism. It is a holy place of Buddhist culture and the cradle of Zen tea culture. According to legend, the tea saint Lu Yu once wrote "The Classic of Tea" here.
During the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, many Japanese monks came here to study Zen and brought back Chinese tea-growing and tea-making techniques and tea-party rituals to Japan. Therefore, Jingshan Temple is also the birthplace of Japanese tea ceremony.
Enjoy the ten scenic spots of Zen Village, experience the unique "Zen tea culture", and watch the elegant performances of the four arts of the Song Dynasty, including brewing tea, burning incense, hanging paintings, and arranging flowers.
The most interesting one is Diandiancha, which is a unique way of brewing tea in the Tang and Song dynasties. It involves frying, dipping and tasting, brewing a cup of tea by yourself, and enjoying the physical and mental pleasure and the endless aftertaste of the tea soup with the rise and fall of your palms.
Why is Longjing tea so famous?
Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times and visited Longjing tea four times. He loved to sit by the well, taste Longjing tea and recite poems. What kind of indissoluble bond do these eighteen imperial tea trees have with Emperor Qianlong?
Everyone has drunk Longjing tea, but do you know its story?
From the Tea Museum to the Longjing Tea Garden, follow this magical leaf and learn about the history of Longjing.
Take a walk through the Eight Scenic Spots of Longjing Tea, which are only known to old Hangzhou people. There are hidden paths with poems everywhere and the fragrance of tea at every step. In the teahouses frequented by old Hangzhou people, you can taste Longjing tea and Hangzhou cakes, and spend a pleasant afternoon in the tea fields and flowing water of Longjing Village.
There are many tea gardens in Hangzhou where you can experience tea picking, but Longwu is definitely a treasure trove.
Longwu is backed by Meijiawu and has a similar geographical environment to Meijiawu. More than half of the West Lake Longjing tea is produced in Longwu.
This place is not a scenic spot. Compared with Longjing and Meijiawu, it has a wider view and fresher air, and is full of rural and secluded charm. Most tea farmers are familiar with the various stories about Longjing tea. When they are not busy, they will chat with tea lovers who come here for its reputation.
Bring your tea hat and tea basket to the tea garden, learn the correct tea picking techniques from the tea pickers, brew a cup of fresh tea, and enjoy the elegant tea ceremony demonstrated by the tea artist while you drink it.
Holding a windmill, wearing a beautiful shirt or Hanfu, and taking a group of photos in the tea fields or under curtains, this is the way to enjoy spring in Hangzhou.
Zen tea travel is not an activity exclusive to adults. Letting children return to nature and play is the best way to learn.
Take your baby to Waitongwu Village in Xihu District and listen to the sounds of plants, wind and the whispers of birds.
Let the children carry small backpacks, be tea farmers for a day, attend a small tea class, and pick tea with their own hands.
Make mugwort tea buns by yourself, make a cup of tea for your parents, and learn filial piety from traditional culture. It turns out that so many interesting stories can happen with a small piece of tea.
Nowadays, many young people are deeply troubled by anxiety. When all things are reviving, it is better to feel the charm of Zen tea culture and learn to reconcile and let go of yourself.
