Sipping tea is one of the best experiences in the world. I took a liking to sipping dark tea, most specifically Darjeeling. Try taking it with fresh milk and some sugar cubes and your day is made. But so much more happens when you sip tea. Every time I sip tea, I am instantly transported to the time of the Pubs which people frequent to get the latest stock prices from the docks, the latest news on international politics, latest pieces by the great writers and even latest inventions by the scientific community. They called it Penny University. For a penny, one gets a cup of tea, a roll of newspaper and here’s the best treat of all—one gets to converse with the wits of the day! In the East, tea is a time of respite between two warriors who pause to reflect on life. In that brief moment, they are not enemies to be conquered. War would be farthest from their beings. They get to sip life again. Sipping tea, for Asians, is also about establishing relationships by first getting to know each other. You might have noticed that beautiful scene in Fearless where the martial artists from Japan and China were sipping tea to get to know each other. For the Japanese, sipping tea is one entire ceremony—a cultural institution if you must. They call it Chado, the way of tea. If you are a guest, sipping tea begins way way before you enter the tea room. It begins when you start washing your hands. Very much like life. The journey begins not in the result, but in the inner aspects—a resolution within, a decision. Chado makes a statement on civilization. For instance, it covers interpersonal behavior (i.e. etiquette), democracy (i.e. you are all human beings when you are sipping together), and service (e.g. the best design on the tea cup of the host must face the guest). Wow… all that in just a tea cup!
–The Fool
i am just amazed at how the two hemispheres of east and west differ here. where we would see the west define ideas and roll them into encyclopedic works, the asian would use a series of symbols and some that are not even said or written. i am amazed at how asians leave things for interpretation though not recklessly as everything seems to have a purpose and a connection whereas the western mind is content when he has exhausted enough images, enough words to capture the idea. ofcourse this is not the case for every idea as these remain in the realm of imagination. but then, the deliberate attempts are there.