Build a tea room, and enjoy free and easy slow time

Schubert's Serenade

 Light Music Selection

Instrumental 

00:00/03:53

/ A Pure Realm Amid Tall Buildings /

"Carefree thoughts beyond the dust, joy in the passing years as one pleases." After all manner of striving, toiling and chasing after worldly dust, one finally realizes that "doing as one pleases" is the rarest thing in life. That is why the ancients said:

"With leisure and nothing to do, sitting or lying down as one pleases, even in coarse clothes and plain food, there is a true delight of one's own; with turmoil and unrest, plagued by worries and troubles, even in fine silks and rich fare, one feels only countless miseries."

Amid tall buildings, carve out a place for peaceful tea drinking, not for business, but solely for one's own treasuring and enjoyment. With a clear mind and quiet appreciation, there are three joys:

With leisure to spare, sitting or lying down as one pleases;

With fragrant blossoms before the eyes, wind and moon following their forms;

With fine vessels displayed all around, enjoying objects as one pleases.

/ Sitting or Lying Down as One Pleases /

Sitting alone in a thatched study, brewing tea again and again; after seven bowls, the spirit is fresh and the mind is clear;

Lying askew on a bamboo couch, carelessly tossing aside a book; after a pillow's rest, the heart is at leisure and dreams are steady.

Doing as one pleases means letting go of posturing. Enjoying objects is just enjoying objects, drinking tea is just drinking tea, without pretending to be profound, without distancing oneself from daily life. A tea room built with heart and intention is the best style of all. When friends come and go, why speak of lofty matters; with feeling accompanied by tea steam, the joy lies in non-doing. Sitting for a long time, lie down as you wish, unrestrained by vulgar etiquette, unconcerned with worldly affairs.

/ Wind and Moon Following Their Forms /

Sitting with you on the fragrant grass, gazing at the southern mountains as we please;

On the green moss we see tiger tracks, and before sunset we have not yet returned.

In the city's tall buildings, make a small garden of your own, a close-at-hand secluded scene, with the spirit accompanied by fragrant fields, sitting in the breeze, sleeping to the sound of rain; a touch of green is enough to connect with heaven and earth. By the banks of the Min River, watching the fading lights, the stars and moon blurred, the heart seems a world away. Wherever one drinks tea is a pure land; why must one retreat to famous mountains?

/ Enjoying Objects as One Pleases /

Use bitter tea in place of meat, use pine and stone in place of rare treasures;

Use qin and books in place of good friends, use writing in place of worldly achievement.

Traveling far and wide, one loves to collect curious objects, regardless of Chinese or foreign, regardless of ancient or modern, not valuing them by price, but seeking only depth of interest; displayed casually in the tea room, they form fine scenery of their own. Each object has its own story, each vessel its own subtle charm; used daily, handled and fondled, viewed with delight and giving rise to a joy of understanding, and this day feels complete.

Featured space in this issue: Zizhen

Image credits: Zizhen

Special thanks: Zongchun

This article is selected from "Literati Space"; copyright belongs to the original author

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