“As we do our practice, we are also part of much greater processes…One such process is simply: this dharma finding its way to express itself in a new culture”
Description: In this short talk, Henry reflects on dharma practice and tea. Henry compares the varying manifestations of tea drinking and ceremony with the differing types of dharma practice throughout the world. He points to English high tea, Chinese simple tea, and to the formal and beautiful Japanese tea ceremony. He then gestures toward the multiple cultural expressions of dharma practice, from elaborate and ritualized to simple and spartan that have manifested in the world. He asks: How will the dharma express itself here (in the west)? Our own evolving practice and our sangha are our expressions.
Post Image Credit: Contemporary wabi-sabi tea bowl, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Featured Image Credit: Tea masters ceremony at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo, CC BY-SA 2.0.