Reading the Tea Leaves

Ancient wisdom and spirituality

Leaf Lohas Tea Room, Kuala Lumpur

子曰。人能弘道、非道弘人- 論語 The Master said: A man can enlarge his Way; but there is no Way that can enlarge a man (Chapter 15-29, The Analects of Confucius).

Finally, I finished reading The Analects of Confucius (論語), translated by Arthur Waley. Dense for the Summer holidays. Probably it would take endless number of re-readings for me to get close to its true gist.

This year, I am into “granny hobbies”¹. Tea making and drinking, reading, writing, meditating, cooking. Nature walks, photography, and traditional crafts.

Slow, patient, time-expansive activities that are not necessarily efficient nor tied to any extrinsic rewards.

Activities that may not get you anywhere but make you lose track of time. A sense that time is slowing down into spaciousness. Arduous and rewarding rather than draining. My kids think of these as boring activities.

A recent survey on aging well shared by the Straits Times² showed that ‘wisdom’ is one of the lowest domain valued by 32% of the 1,048 total respondents.

Only 28% rank that they want to pursue hobbies as they grow old. 15% for learning new skills.

What gives?

Who doesn’t want to grow wise? Does curiosity expand or shrink as we age? What about the inner quest for the meaning of life?

Most respondents are not looking forward to growing old (79%) with huge concerns about retiring (83%) and physical health decline (81%). Worrying about the physical stuff.

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Wisdom and Spirituality

Pic: HI Tea Malaysia Tea Room, Kuala Lumpur

This year, some of my deeply-held beliefs were overturned. I happened to also broke two of my favorite ceramics for drinking by accident.

Reading in between the tea leaves, perhaps this is not a coincidence.

• I got a surprised diabetes diagnosis. Even though I have always related diabetes with obese people. And it’s not like I eat a lot of sweet food.

• I stopped paid work, learning not to be self conscious about it. Even though I grew up conditioned to have a career and not get pigeonholed as a housewife.

• I am finding new appreciation for nature and spirituality, including Taoism. Even though I grew up thinking that Taoism is a superstitious cult.

Recently,

Yuxuan Francis Liu

(Substack writer of ‘Taoism Reimagined³’) shared with me the distinction between Taoism as a folk religion vs Taoism as philosophy/ spirituality.

Folk religion originated in Shamanism during the Shang Dynasty. The early founders of Taoism folk religion adopted Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu’s works as their classics. The elaborated rituals, rites, fortune telling practices directed at supernatural forces sometimes seem scarily morbid from what I have seen in Malaysia.

Taoism as a philosophy, on the other hand, and as a spiritual quest (its simplicity with emphasis on harmony between nature and humans) got me listening.

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Tea and Spirituality

My Japanese Way of Tea teacher, Dairik Amae⁴, first introduced me to the connection between tea and Taoism. See David Hinton’s book, ‘China Root: Taoism, Ch'an, and Original Zen’.

Historically, Zen is a branch of Buddhism first developed in India. Once in China, aspects of Buddhism then merged with Taoism to form Ch’an Buddhism before moving to Japan - known as today’s Zen Buddhism.

As I continue to explore a range of teas, I realize that the three main ancient Chinese philosophies (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism) are deeply intertwined like the Cosmos, coexisting in harmony 三教合一.

Hardly distinguishable among populations in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

“Buddhism is the sun, Taoism the moon, and Confucianism the five planets.” - Li Shiqian, 6th century scholar.

During the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea 陆羽《茶经》- the world’s first tea culture book - tied drinking tea to spirituality, symbolizing its harmony 和 and mysterious unity with the universe. Harmony between humans and nature through tea drinking.

Lu Yu was raised in a Ch’an Buddhism monastery but did not pursue to becoming a monk. His thirst for learning finds him in the mix of poets and influential intellectuals, including Tao Yuan Ming 陶淵明 who was significantly influenced by Chuang Tzu (ancient Taoist philosopher).

Lu Yu’s work embodies a blend of philosophies in his time: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism.

• In Confucian thought, tea drinking is linked to social rituals to reflect Confucian values such as respect, filial piety, humility, harmony. Confucian scholars used tea gatherings to discuss their philosophy.

• Taoist philosophy focuses on harmony with the Way and naturalness 自然. The energy of tea 茶氣 is believed to harmonize qi 氣 in the body and mind. Experiencing tea at its most fundamental level for health and spirituality.

• Zen Buddhism (with roots in Taoism) values the simplicity of tea and mindfulness. Tea has been essential in helping monks stay alert during long meditation sessions.

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Religion and Spirituality

A 2023 Pew Research Center survey of over 10,000 adults focuses on religion and spirituality in East Asian countries (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam). It builds on previous surveys in China, India, and South and Southeast Asia.

While there is only a small number of people in East Asia who regard religion as important, they do pray or conduct certain religious practices growing up. 13% of people in Hong Kong and 19% in Japan reported that they pray daily.

Nature reverence plays a role in the region.

Beliefs in spiritual energies in nature are held by a significant portion of people in Taiwan (59%), Japan (51%), and Vietnam (47%).

In Japan, for example, Buddhism and Shintoism (where nature is revered and worshipped) are inextricably linked.

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Quest for Spirituality

So what does it mean to be wise? How is it intertwined with spirituality?

For the sage people who came before me, what are their sources of inspiration? Did they get humbled by life circumstances?

Does one go seeking spirituality as they age?

Or, spirituality is something that comes to us naturally, coinciding with the season in our life?

As my quest to understand the inner landscape and the infinite unknown continues, I find myself left with even more questions.

Not confused, but in complete awe.

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1. https://x.com/anuatluru/status/1772733756245176725?s=46&t=TkfsRMtD33fYo0rvtYBtTQ

2. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/poor-health-is-topmost-concern-about-ageing-but-looking-good-is-also-important-s-pore-survey

3. https://open.substack.com/pub/taoismreimagined?r=38c9g&utm_medium=ios

4. https://www.instagram.com/dairikamae?igsh=MTh2a2dndDlobHExZg==