Deep Tea

[Notes to Self—VII]

I believe it was Dainin Katagiri that said, “It is very deep to have a cup of tea.”

Really? Tea?

Grab the Lipton, plop it in some hot water, throw in a spoonful of sugar, splash some milk, stir, and drink. How deep is that? It’s on the surface, physiological, and consumptive.

And besides, who has time to care about tea when the world needs changing?

Perhaps what Katagiri meant, in part, was that all the change needed in the world is represented in that cup. Maybe he meant that all the solutions begin in our posture to that process—and ultimately that moment that we pause and sip.

A cup of tea (or coffee, or lunch, or a cold drink on the back deck in the summer) is, of course, a mere moment between here and there. But it’s an opportunity.
To pause.
To see.
To wonder.
To look in.
To pray.
To hear.
To ask.

Without deep tea, we’re on to the next thing, next project, next conflict.

Don’t miss the opportunity.