Thank you for the video. My uncle passed away last night, so the idea of impermanence is certainly at the forefront of my mind. Life is precious and constantly changing, things we often overlook
We send our condolences and a hope that through this transformation and loss, those who love him gain an even greater appreciation of the preciousness of life to share with others.
Now is a good time to let the impermanence sweep over you and allow an appreciation of your uncle and what he left you and to find liberation in joyful thoughts of the present...and we are so happy YOU are still here with us...having tea!
Very late to the video, but I frequently think on the joy to be found in the impermanent nature of tea and something that always comes to my mind is something great-grandfather would often say. He would say it in Ukrainian, but it translates along the lines of "The only thing I'll take with me (when I die) is the joy (I took from things in my life)". He was extremely poor, but one thing he loved above almost anything else was fresh fruit. He would always buy fruits of many varieties in the grocery store no matter how expensive any given fruit may be. If anyone ever suggested that a type of fruit was too expensive (basically, that he should save his money), he would say this phrase. He wouldn't live forever, so he should enjoy what he wanted to while he could, in the present. This can apply to many things, but it often pops into my mind while drinking tea. I think that many tea-lovers try to hold on to teas they really love for as long as possible, knowing that once it's gone it's gone. But I feel that misses one of the important lessons of tea. Any tea I have now, I should enjoy it for what it is while it lasts. Eventually, that batch of tea will be finished, but I will have found joy in it to the best of my ability and that's part of the beauty!
The Five Remembrances as related by the Buddha to his disciples, translated by the late Thich Nhat Hanh I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand. I'm not a Buddhist but I find these remembrances to be very freeing. Most westerners find them harsh, sad, or morbid when they encounter them for the first time, but upon further reflection, they remind us that every moment is unique and beautiful and joyful. I'm thankful for every cup of tea I have the good fortune to enjoy. Thank you for this beautiful video. EDIT: Thich Nhat Hanh also spoke and wrote beautifully about drinking tea mindfully. "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."
Thank you, Don, You're a great communicator, lucid and happy. Please continue to teach us the beauty of tea and what your vision of life is. It is enriching for many of us.
IMPERMANENCE A joyous piece for all of our knowledge and love of life.. Gracious notes to you! "Don"..... Celine, Annie and friends!..Thank you. Best Clifton...
quite unusual is to find such subjects beeing talked by companies, I think this is the kind of bussines that creates a better world. thank you so much Don for doing this, for all the hearth..
The classic lesson of impermanence is when a piece of tea ware breaks. How one reacts to this inevitability is very telling and something all tea lovers can use as an indicator of their spiritual maturity.
I am glad to hear, that my personal observations overlap with the ones of a true professional. It seems that the daily variables in taste and taster are equally true for coffee, as well as tea. This becomes evident if you visit the same shop daily and taste the same (if there is such a thing) cup of beverage for months. I would suggest the lack of expectations as a natural continuation of the topic covered in this video.
A beautifully presented discussion of impermanence, and then Don says "Happy January 2019!" and oh, yeah. So very. A haiku by Issa: "The world of dew/ IS a world of dew./ And yet, and yet."
I found personally when brewing gong fu, the step to sniff the empty cup was a really great lesson in appreciating impermanence. I nearly always find that my favourite part of the process is sniffing this empty cup. The flavours that come from the tea that has gone are so beautiful and interesting that I find the echo of the tea that once was is just as or even more important than the tea being in the cup. It is more than the just the memory of the tea, but the ripples in the world than the tea made while it was there. This, is in a funny way, is helping massively with my personal acceptance and appreciation of impermanence.
I can't remember the last time I dropped anything valuable until I started buying expensive teaware... always a quick reminder to celebrate object impermanence
This is something I always talk about with new budding tea drinkers. Im so glad you guys made a video about this subject. Thank you. Il be sending this video to everyone
It reminds me of the Ise Jingu temple in Japan. For the last 1,300 years it has been destroyed and rebuilt every 20 years, aways changing a very little each time, but never keeping the changes next time it's rebuild, always turning out into something at the same time diffent, yet the same temple as before.
Thank you so much, Don! I've learned a lot watching your videos and it not only affected the way i drink tea but also the way i live my life and enjoy and value my time in this world. I've been thinking a lot about Impermanence also in context of stoic philosophy and it changed the way i live and made me more grateful for the time I have and the people I interact with! I hope you have a great 2019!
Thank you this precious video. I'd love to watch more of these kind of videos where you just spread some of your wisdom about life. I think it helps many many people and brings them back to observe the right things in their everyday life.
I recently saw a documentary, that those mandalas are 2D blueprints of 3D temples, and that the process of creating the mandala is the monks visualizing their own perfect temple for them to meditate in.
Loved it! It says all things I feel already about tea but I loved watching it anyway cause of the whole mandala (beautiful!) and the way you explain all the concepts. Quite down to earth despite being something deep and introspective: I think it suits different kinds of people. I'd love to see more videos like this :)
Wow... love this video, been thinking like that for a while but hearing it in tea, great video. Also, I am a photographer professionally, I always think that taking picture is great. But when I visit a place or go for a holiday or just doing something apart from working it makes me always wants to just really be in the moment because most time when I am taking photos, I miss lots and lots of things that are happening around as I am so fixed with looking through the lens. So I completely agree instead of capturing photos we should really just enjoy the moments cause it will never happen again. 😁😁😁👍 Great video Thank you
I enjoy a lot this video. It was full of harmony!! the philosophy, the mandala, tea presentation and the tea itself as Gabba teas helps our mind to avoid anxiety and depression 💖 Happy tea 🍵 Happy 2019
Lovely video Godfather and thank you for setting me on my tea journey 2 years ago with your inspirational videos and the opportunity to buy your fabulous thoughtfully curated teas. I hope to visit your shop this year. I've just got back to Wales from Vienna where there are some very nice tea houses. My daughter her partner and I had a couple of very nice gongfu sessions at the Teehaus channagasse which I would highly recommend.
i either drank or gave away basically the rest of my 2018 young gushu and i only have 10 g left 😭 im on steep 12 of my third to last session EVER and i wanted to revisit this video 🥺 this is the first time in my tea journey of 11 months that i have to cope w the loss of a sheng i love so much 😪 but this will just be a lesson to really really be here to appreciate all the teas i drink from now on bc one day theyll be gone 😔✌🏼
QUESTION. This one may not be pertinent to Saturday, but it is a two-part question following the clip about Transience. 1) From your knowledge of Japanese tea ceremonies, do you think buddhist ideals are just as present in Japan as China? 2) In China, and outside of temples, to what extent is tea connected with cultural and religious ideals. (Your ideas obviously take the two, in your own wonderful directions. But I wonder to what extent tea has been INTEGRATED into Chinese culture, civilisation etc. ...Beyond simply being a commodity?)
Not only do you have an admirable passion for tea, you are also very eloquent and wise; you are a great speaker. Always a pleasure watching these videos.
At title I'm hooked... In the friction of the copper straws, I can hear Om Mane Peme Hung... It's amazing what humanity can conduct, and I thank you for being part of this. Love Ruby GABA, even though everything in here (mindset) is very Amethyst GABA for me. Thank you for this transmission... Enjoyed with the bung hole of Party Enchanter.
Ok, incan get behind this (Catholic here). Why do we use flowers to decorate our altars? Because the seasons change in a cycle and we celebrate each in turn. The flowers wilt and we will turn to dust, yet we still look toward eternity 😊 im just spinning, this isnt doctrine, you just made me think. Thank you!
Wow good video, love the topic! Though I could see reddittea or any other western tea forum throwing a fit over the topic, it's one of the most interesting and cool videos on tea. Well done!!
Not necessarily a criticism of the video, but imo, Buddhism is very good at getting....half of the picture. To be able to empty ones mind and let go of all the stress, ego, frustration and anxiety is a wonderful ability, but I think there also needs be a part of us which is filled with desire. Sometimes, you do need to have standards, be willing to impose them and feel a sense of justified anger at that which needs to be changed. While the ego is something that needs to be kept in check, I think it's also important to remember why we have one to begin with. It's a good thing to be able to feel the passion of an amorous romance, triumph after a hard won victory, anger at the sight of someone being abused or even grief at the loss of a loved one. However, it's also good to be able to let go, to be able to retreat to a quiet corner of the mind and find a place of peace when one needs to get away from all the drama and re-group (or even just to sit there for awhile. personally I like to take life at a slower pace to begin with). PS: Enjoying some Royal Peach Orchid. It's as sweet as some of the white teas I usually enjoy, but a DEEPER sweetness, like thick, dark honey or molasses with a rocky undertone, followed by a high note of lychee.
This is true. Many Buddhists forget that there religion is founded in Hinduism. It is kind of like Christians not reading the Old Testament, or Muslims who refuse to read the Bible.
Must have been something having those monks visit. First time I met a Buddhist monk was one a field trip to New York City. I got lost from the group and made my way to Central Park. On the way I bumped into a monk in the crowd. He smiled and asked for a donation so I gave him what I had on hand. Before I left he gave me a card with Buddhist saint on it for good luck. Edit: as I looked at the card just now I just realized the saint on the card he gave me is Guanyin.
Buddhism and that goes for the most Religions if you count it as a Religion, has one big Problem for me, it tells you how to life. Its like a guide to follow but he Has not that much space to play around With it. Thats why i prefer the philosophy from the old greec and roman
Well Done, Don I really enjoyed the way you amalgamated impermanence and the present moment. I’ve learned so much about tea from you and this video was one of your best. Thanks for what you do. Ps - what exactly constitutes the denotation of “pencil shavings” in the tea that you’re sampling? Perhaps that’s similar to a sommelier denoting a hint of freshly opened can of tennis balls scent in wine ? 😬
Speaking of permanence and impermanence, I wonder if you - being a very well educated individual on the matters of Tea - would make a video dedicated to the best books, radio channels, podcasts, documentaries, etc. regarding tea and it's history, uses, varieties, methodologies, and so forth. I've come across a lot of conflicting, misleading, and downright false information about Tea in books and especially the internet. What books and sources would you recommend to people (be them beginners, intermediates, or somewhat expert) who want to know more? Thanks!
I am quite fine with impermanence. I liked coffe. I learned how to brew it properly with Hario V60 Dripper :) Then because of health problems I could drink it only with milk - which disturbs the taste.I was looking for something similar and finally I got into the tea where I found much more of variability that I can discover. And short time ago I was at coffe workshop, because I am still checking coffe world (and I still can enjoy cappuccino :) ) and I met there a guy who was leaving the tea world and was starting discovering coffee world, so we had interesting conversation. If there wouldn't be the impermanence, we would never met, all people journeys would be the same. So I quite like it.
@@blueredyns7392 I love that campfire aroma and flavour. It's just too dominant and persistent. I'd wager aging that black tea for a decade or so would do it wonders. I'll bet it's a candidate for aging What are your thoughts?
@@blueredyns7392 me neither. I have been drinking for 2 years, haven't overdosed yet but have reached a "No More TEA" moment where I would be too jittery and my body had enough. I haven't lived long enough to experience aging yet but I have experienced aged teas. Some are amazing. I.e. snow listener gushu, aged white, 25 year tie guan yin. Teas best savoured at celebrations with most dear loved ones
@@reubenk1615 maybe I did not say it properly. I meant to say that I accepted this a long time ago and that I agree with Don. I would not be married for as long I am otherwise (17 years now, even longer together) I know that all changes, all the time, relationships, kids, weather, taste preferences, all. (But at the same time I believe that one can not change their partner, but that is another discussion to a successful relationship)
@@petra.andersen I still struggle with accepting change. I'd like for the good things and good time to never pass. Allas time waits for no one and will always be moving. Might as well get used to it
@@reubenk1615 and how about this? Remember the good times every now and again either just in your head while drinking tea or while talking to your partner/friend. At the same time embrace the change and be glad it happens.
I want to buy a glass teapot for gong fu brewing but I don’t know what size to buy. 200ml? 300ml? I usually just brew for 2, sometimes 3 but every couple months I do a get together and have 6 or 8 to serve. Should I get a 200ml and just make multiple infusions when I need to serve more people? I know the size ratings are also when filled to the brim so I don’t know what to expect out of them
Imagine your favourite cultivar of tea went extinct and one day you discover that you possess the very last ever few grams of that tea, just enough for one tea session. If you consume it, that tea is gone forever from this world. If you don't, it ages (if that works for your preferred tea otherwise it simply increases massively in monetary value). Would you drink it?
I would definetely drink it. I would try to really enjoy that tea session and as I often do, I would write down all the informations and feelings about this tea and this very special moment. So I could remember it in the future. Anybody who would read it could be able to imagine how it was. And possibly in the future, new tea could appear that could match with this experience and then you would know that you can experience something similar as well. And this is super transcendent :)
If change alone is not changing, then it is not true that everything changes. At least that statement is unchanging. More, if everything changes, how can you know anything at all? How can one even state something to be true which is false the next moment? This philosophy is contrary to the world how it really is. There is change in the world, but there is also universals who are always true.
Way up yonder-from afar the true meaning of what we are no-thing knows of where its from but to those who know it is ‘Om’ So why hasnt peace come to mankind Why should it not for its all in no-mind For all this hatred and suffering only shows my tears -for most of us must return here. jTroyer 1976 (Zen student)
I would love to see more videos like this
Great video!
And we need a “Mei Leaf” podcast, too!
Thank you for the video. My uncle passed away last night, so the idea of impermanence is certainly at the forefront of my mind. Life is precious and constantly changing, things we often overlook
We send our condolences and a hope that through this transformation and loss, those who love him gain an even greater appreciation of the preciousness of life to share with others.
Now is a good time to let the impermanence sweep over you and allow an appreciation of your uncle and what he left you and to find liberation in joyful thoughts of the present...and we are so happy YOU are still here with us...having tea!
The crossover between buddhism and tea is an underrepresented theme on youtube. Thanks!
Very late to the video, but I frequently think on the joy to be found in the impermanent nature of tea and something that always comes to my mind is something great-grandfather would often say. He would say it in Ukrainian, but it translates along the lines of "The only thing I'll take with me (when I die) is the joy (I took from things in my life)". He was extremely poor, but one thing he loved above almost anything else was fresh fruit. He would always buy fruits of many varieties in the grocery store no matter how expensive any given fruit may be. If anyone ever suggested that a type of fruit was too expensive (basically, that he should save his money), he would say this phrase. He wouldn't live forever, so he should enjoy what he wanted to while he could, in the present. This can apply to many things, but it often pops into my mind while drinking tea. I think that many tea-lovers try to hold on to teas they really love for as long as possible, knowing that once it's gone it's gone. But I feel that misses one of the important lessons of tea. Any tea I have now, I should enjoy it for what it is while it lasts. Eventually, that batch of tea will be finished, but I will have found joy in it to the best of my ability and that's part of the beauty!
The Five Remembrances as related by the Buddha to his disciples, translated by the late Thich Nhat Hanh
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
I'm not a Buddhist but I find these remembrances to be very freeing. Most westerners find them harsh, sad, or morbid when they encounter them for the first time, but upon further reflection, they remind us that every moment is unique and beautiful and joyful. I'm thankful for every cup of tea I have the good fortune to enjoy. Thank you for this beautiful video.
EDIT: Thich Nhat Hanh also spoke and wrote beautifully about drinking tea mindfully. "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."
Thank you, Don,
You're a great communicator, lucid and happy. Please continue to teach us the beauty of tea and what your vision of life is. It is enriching for many of us.
IMPERMANENCE A joyous piece for all of our knowledge and love of life.. Gracious notes to you! "Don"..... Celine, Annie and friends!..Thank you. Best Clifton...
It's beautiful. Bless all you do. Bless people around you 🙏🌱
I really enjoy these more philosophical videos about the tea experience. Congratulations!
I loved the talk. Please include more like these in the future. The philosophy of tea.
quite unusual is to find such subjects beeing talked by companies, I think this is the kind of bussines that creates a better world. thank you so much Don for doing this, for all the hearth..
The classic lesson of impermanence is when a piece of tea ware breaks. How one reacts to this inevitability is very telling and something all tea lovers can use as an indicator of their spiritual maturity.
Bless your soul Don! True-Tea-Wisdom.
Wonderful video Dom. One of my favorite videos of yours. Wonderful way to start off 2019 with some tea wisdom.
The aerial shot of the Mandala is beautiful .. thank you for sharing all your videos .. :) Xx
I am glad to hear, that my personal observations overlap with the ones of a true professional. It seems that the daily variables in taste and taster are equally true for coffee, as well as tea. This becomes evident if you visit the same shop daily and taste the same (if there is such a thing) cup of beverage for months. I would suggest the lack of expectations as a natural continuation of the topic covered in this video.
Things as they are! Thanks for the video.
I love that kind of tea video ✨Congrats and hello from Montreal, Canada!
A beautifully presented discussion of impermanence, and then Don says "Happy January 2019!" and oh, yeah. So very. A haiku by Issa: "The world of dew/ IS a world of dew./ And yet, and yet."
Fantastic presentation. I would certainly like to see more of these.
Very meaningful and inspiring topic. Very helpful. Thanks Don
I found personally when brewing gong fu, the step to sniff the empty cup was a really great lesson in appreciating impermanence. I nearly always find that my favourite part of the process is sniffing this empty cup. The flavours that come from the tea that has gone are so beautiful and interesting that I find the echo of the tea that once was is just as or even more important than the tea being in the cup. It is more than the just the memory of the tea, but the ripples in the world than the tea made while it was there. This, is in a funny way, is helping massively with my personal acceptance and appreciation of impermanence.
I can't remember the last time I dropped anything valuable until I started buying expensive teaware... always a quick reminder to celebrate object impermanence
I cried a little watching this video.
Tea adds to the impermanence
it gives you a minute to sit and realise you exist
LOL...you nailed it. More life while we are here with tea.
Great synthesis of life and tea. Happy Newd Year Mei Leaf
This video has come to me at a time in which I dearly need it. Thank you!
Love to have more of your thoughts while sharing tea with you! 🙏😇❤️
Wonderful. Everything is truly impermeant.
Would love to see more of these kind of videos :)
This is something I always talk about with new budding tea drinkers. Im so glad you guys made a video about this subject.
Thank you.
Il be sending this video to everyone
Appreciate this video on many levels. Keep them coming. 🙏🏻🍵
It reminds me of the Ise Jingu temple in Japan. For the last 1,300 years it has been destroyed and rebuilt every 20 years, aways changing a very little each time, but never keeping the changes next time it's rebuild, always turning out into something at the same time diffent, yet the same temple as before.
The music playing during the mandala time lapse sounds like Robot Science. Loved the vid!
Thank you so much, Don! I've learned a lot watching your videos and it not only affected the way i drink tea but also the way i live my life and enjoy and value my time in this world. I've been thinking a lot about Impermanence also in context of stoic philosophy and it changed the way i live and made me more grateful for the time I have and the people I interact with!
I hope you have a great 2019!
Lovely to see this video touching on spiritual aspects of tea, would love to see more on this topic, if you felt inspired to do so
Thank you this precious video. I'd love to watch more of these kind of videos where you just spread some of your wisdom about life. I think it helps many many people and brings them back to observe the right things in their everyday life.
I would love more tea philosophy videos
Me: *sees title*
*Frantically fills kettle*
Ha
more more more....❤😍😃
So good, Don!
Yes, more, please!
Great stuff! Happy New Year Don!
I totally enjoyed this and would like to see more :)
I recently saw a documentary, that those mandalas are 2D blueprints of 3D temples, and that the process of creating the mandala is the monks visualizing their own perfect temple for them to meditate in.
YES!! Thank you Don! That's the point
I love your philosophy and spirituality videos! Please make more! :)
great stuff as always
Loved it! It says all things I feel already about tea but I loved watching it anyway cause of the whole mandala (beautiful!) and the way you explain all the concepts. Quite down to earth despite being something deep and introspective: I think it suits different kinds of people. I'd love to see more videos like this :)
What a great video and message. Thank you very much! I think it's tea time somewhere.
PS i saved this in playlist!
Wow... love this video, been thinking like that for a while but hearing it in tea, great video.
Also, I am a photographer professionally, I always think that taking picture is great. But when I visit a place or go for a holiday or just doing something apart from working it makes me always wants to just really be in the moment because most time when I am taking photos, I miss lots and lots of things that are happening around as I am so fixed with looking through the lens. So I completely agree instead of capturing photos we should really just enjoy the moments cause it will never happen again.
😁😁😁👍
Great video
Thank you
Tea does so much.
Like make people happy
I enjoy a lot this video. It was full of harmony!! the philosophy, the mandala, tea presentation and the tea itself as Gabba teas helps our mind to avoid anxiety and depression 💖 Happy tea 🍵 Happy 2019
👍 thank you . Happy New year 😀
Lovely video Godfather and thank you for setting me on my tea journey 2 years ago with your inspirational videos and the opportunity to buy your fabulous thoughtfully curated teas. I hope to visit your shop this year. I've just got back to Wales from Vienna where there are some very nice tea houses. My daughter her partner and I had a couple of very nice gongfu sessions at the Teehaus channagasse which I would highly recommend.
Another Great video Don, keep it up 🍵
Beautiful!
i either drank or gave away basically the rest of my 2018 young gushu and i only have 10 g left 😭 im on steep 12 of my third to last session EVER and i wanted to revisit this video 🥺 this is the first time in my tea journey of 11 months that i have to cope w the loss of a sheng i love so much 😪 but this will just be a lesson to really really be here to appreciate all the teas i drink from now on bc one day theyll be gone 😔✌🏼
That is a great way to start my day. Thank you Don :) I hope to see more tea philosophy in 2019
QUESTION. This one may not be pertinent to Saturday, but it is a two-part question following the clip about Transience.
1) From your knowledge of Japanese tea ceremonies, do you think buddhist ideals are just as present in Japan as China?
2) In China, and outside of temples, to what extent is tea connected with cultural and religious ideals.
(Your ideas obviously take the two, in your own wonderful directions. But I wonder to what extent tea has been INTEGRATED into Chinese culture, civilisation etc. ...Beyond simply being a commodity?)
Not only do you have an admirable passion for tea, you are also very eloquent and wise; you are a great speaker. Always a pleasure watching these videos.
The introduction was wonderful! I'm still watching as I type. So excited for Sara's visit tomorrow (your today @mei_leaf )
At title I'm hooked...
In the friction of the copper straws, I can hear Om Mane Peme Hung... It's amazing what humanity can conduct, and I thank you for being part of this. Love Ruby GABA, even though everything in here (mindset) is very Amethyst GABA for me. Thank you for this transmission...
Enjoyed with the bung hole of Party Enchanter.
More videos like this!
Ok, incan get behind this (Catholic here). Why do we use flowers to decorate our altars? Because the seasons change in a cycle and we celebrate each in turn. The flowers wilt and we will turn to dust, yet we still look toward eternity 😊 im just spinning, this isnt doctrine, you just made me think. Thank you!
Awesome
Wow good video, love the topic! Though I could see reddittea or any other western tea forum throwing a fit over the topic, it's one of the most interesting and cool videos on tea. Well done!!
I’d love to see you make a video with Andy Puddicombe, it would be amazing!
This was a good break while reading Thoreau's Walden with some nice cups of TGY...;-)
Not necessarily a criticism of the video, but imo, Buddhism is very good at getting....half of the picture. To be able to empty ones mind and let go of all the stress, ego, frustration and anxiety is a wonderful ability, but I think there also needs be a part of us which is filled with desire. Sometimes, you do need to have standards, be willing to impose them and feel a sense of justified anger at that which needs to be changed. While the ego is something that needs to be kept in check, I think it's also important to remember why we have one to begin with. It's a good thing to be able to feel the passion of an amorous romance, triumph after a hard won victory, anger at the sight of someone being abused or even grief at the loss of a loved one. However, it's also good to be able to let go, to be able to retreat to a quiet corner of the mind and find a place of peace when one needs to get away from all the drama and re-group (or even just to sit there for awhile. personally I like to take life at a slower pace to begin with).
PS: Enjoying some Royal Peach Orchid. It's as sweet as some of the white teas I usually enjoy, but a DEEPER sweetness, like thick, dark honey or molasses with a rocky undertone, followed by a high note of lychee.
This is true. Many Buddhists forget that there religion is founded in Hinduism.
It is kind of like Christians not reading the Old Testament, or Muslims who refuse to read the Bible.
congratulations on 40000 subscribers! time to make a video about drinking 40 year old tea!
I remember disliking young sheng very much at the first sip, now it's basically the only type of tea (+some shou) that I drink.
Loved the Blake quote at the end and I'm happy you made a video on this subject. :-)
This is kinda of topic but I was thinking, what will you do when Mei Leaf has so many subscribers that there isn’t any more tea to go around
Fantastic video, that really resonated with me. We, along with everything else, is in constant flux and always in the midst of creating a symphony.
Must have been something having those monks visit. First time I met a Buddhist monk was one a field trip to New York City. I got lost from the group and made my way to Central Park. On the way I bumped into a monk in the crowd. He smiled and asked for a donation so I gave him what I had on hand. Before I left he gave me a card with Buddhist saint on it for good luck.
Edit: as I looked at the card just now I just realized the saint on the card he gave me is Guanyin.
Buddhism and that goes for the most Religions if you count it as a Religion, has one big Problem for me, it tells you how to life. Its like a guide to follow but he Has not that much space to play around With it. Thats why i prefer the philosophy from the old greec and roman
that was fake monk
Well Done, Don
I really enjoyed the way you amalgamated impermanence and the present moment. I’ve learned so much about tea from you and this video was one of your best. Thanks for what you do.
Ps - what exactly constitutes the denotation of “pencil shavings” in the tea that you’re sampling?
Perhaps that’s similar to a sommelier denoting a hint of freshly opened can of tennis balls scent in wine ? 😬
do you have any book recommondations on tea philosophy? I would like to learn more about this topic in depth :3
Speaking of permanence and impermanence, I wonder if you - being a very well educated individual on the matters of Tea - would make a video dedicated to the best books, radio channels, podcasts, documentaries, etc. regarding tea and it's history, uses, varieties, methodologies, and so forth. I've come across a lot of conflicting, misleading, and downright false information about Tea in books and especially the internet. What books and sources would you recommend to people (be them beginners, intermediates, or somewhat expert) who want to know more? Thanks!
Dropping some wisdom again! Well done 👍
100% just like clouds are never the same but just a second
I am quite fine with impermanence. I liked coffe. I learned how to brew it properly with Hario V60 Dripper :) Then because of health problems I could drink it only with milk - which disturbs the taste.I was looking for something similar and finally I got into the tea where I found much more of variability that I can discover. And short time ago I was at coffe workshop, because I am still checking coffe world (and I still can enjoy cappuccino :) ) and I met there a guy who was leaving the tea world and was starting discovering coffee world, so we had interesting conversation. If there wouldn't be the impermanence, we would never met, all people journeys would be the same. So I quite like it.
I had that love/hate reaction happen with Black Yunnan Tuo 98.
I have that with Longan Lapsang black. It's so dominant which deters me but I keep coming back for more
@@reubenk1615 Yes! I just tried Longan Lapsang the other day. It's very unique with the smokey, barbecue scent but then it has this honey aftertaste.
@@blueredyns7392 I love that campfire aroma and flavour. It's just too dominant and persistent.
I'd wager aging that black tea for a decade or so would do it wonders.
I'll bet it's a candidate for aging
What are your thoughts?
@@reubenk1615 I've only been drinking tea for like a year, so I haven't even gotten into aging yet.
@@blueredyns7392 me neither.
I have been drinking for 2 years, haven't overdosed yet but have reached a "No More TEA" moment where I would be too jittery and my body had enough.
I haven't lived long enough to experience aging yet but I have experienced aged teas.
Some are amazing. I.e. snow listener gushu, aged white, 25 year tie guan yin.
Teas best savoured at celebrations with most dear loved ones
Thank U ;]
More philosophy would be great!
great video, impermanence is something that I believe in, too
Belief or not it's a fact of life. Weather something last a day or several generations it won't last forever
@@reubenk1615 maybe I did not say it properly. I meant to say that I accepted this a long time ago and that I agree with Don. I would not be married for as long I am otherwise (17 years now, even longer together) I know that all changes, all the time, relationships, kids, weather, taste preferences, all. (But at the same time I believe that one can not change their partner, but that is another discussion to a successful relationship)
@@petra.andersen I still struggle with accepting change. I'd like for the good things and good time to never pass.
Allas time waits for no one and will always be moving. Might as well get used to it
@@reubenk1615 and how about this? Remember the good times every now and again either just in your head while drinking tea or while talking to your partner/friend. At the same time embrace the change and be glad it happens.
I want to buy a glass teapot for gong fu brewing but I don’t know what size to buy. 200ml? 300ml? I usually just brew for 2, sometimes 3 but every couple months I do a get together and have 6 or 8 to serve. Should I get a 200ml and just make multiple infusions when I need to serve more people? I know the size ratings are also when filled to the brim so I don’t know what to expect out of them
Beautiful ideas. Now quick my battery died I gotta go fix it
you get the gist, it's what drives me mad about tea...
love the video... shit. I havent drank tea today yet
☕
Imagine your favourite cultivar of tea went extinct and one day you discover that you possess the very last ever few grams of that tea, just enough for one tea session. If you consume it, that tea is gone forever from this world. If you don't, it ages (if that works for your preferred tea otherwise it simply increases massively in monetary value). Would you drink it?
I would definetely drink it. I would try to really enjoy that tea session and as I often do, I would write down all the informations and feelings about this tea and this very special moment. So I could remember it in the future. Anybody who would read it could be able to imagine how it was. And possibly in the future, new tea could appear that could match with this experience and then you would know that you can experience something similar as well. And this is super transcendent :)
And not a single Jade Star lasted forever 🤪
If change alone is not changing, then it is not true that everything changes. At least that statement is unchanging. More, if everything changes, how can you know anything at all? How can one even state something to be true which is false the next moment? This philosophy is contrary to the world how it really is. There is change in the world, but there is also universals who are always true.
Infinite Waters, diving deep once aga... oh wait...
!
Tomorrow is a dream .. live with 'totalitea' .. ;)
Let's make the earth a scared planet and live heaven on earth .. \:D/ Xx
Panta -Mei- Rei
Way up yonder-from afar
the true meaning of what we are
no-thing knows of where its from
but to those who know
it is ‘Om’
So why hasnt peace
come to mankind
Why should it not
for its all in no-mind
For all this hatred and suffering
only shows my tears
-for most of us
must return here.
jTroyer 1976
(Zen student)
Studying Zen over 40 years ago! We salute you and thanks for sharing your words.
awesome episode
/\