Thursday, October 6, 2011

Enter the realm of tea with Lu Tong


This is one of my favourite tea poems written during the Tang Dynasty by Lu Tong. In these few short lines, he carefully described his physical encounters with tea drinking and his mental movement in and out of different realms.

Lu Tong's Seven Bowls of Tea

The first bowl moistens my lips and throat
The second bowl overcomes my loneliness
The third bowl searches my barren entrails, but to find therein some five thousand scrolls
The fourth bowl breaks me out into a slight perspiration, and all of life's unhappiness evaporates through my pores
The fifth bowl purifies my flesh and bones
The sixth bowl calls me to the gods
The seventh bowl could not be drunk, only feel the breath of the cool wind in my sleeves
Where is Mount Penglai? For I, Yu Chuan Zi would like to ride on this cool breeze that will take me home.

No comments:

Post a Comment