Finally, the tea part of Pagodas and Tea! After spending some quiet time visiting the pagodas and the graves, we spent some time talking to the monk that I’m pictured with below and then we had a tea ceremony with another monk. The tea ceremony was a great experience. We sat on cushions on the floor around a very small low table. The monk was on one side of the table preparing the tea and we were on the other. The monk spoke fairly good English and seemed to enjoy having the opportunity to practice speaking it. We sat for a long time, drinking a lot of tea, and talking about a range of subjects.
One thing the monk went into depth about was meditation. He suggested that I learn about meditation and practice it for at least 5 minutes a day. He said that life is like driving a car and you often come to crossroads on the journey. Without meditation, you can’t steer and you must go straight through the crossroads, leaving things up to karma. However with meditation, you have control and you can choose to turn the wheel at any crossroad you come to. He said the most important things to remember about meditation are to trust your inner self, to let things go, and realize that everything is connected. It was a very thought provoking afternoon.
