There is an ancient story on how the tea leaves came into existence. One of the greatest Zen master Bodhidharma was teaching meditation to his disciples. Many Zen monks were just beginners and not fully centered into meditation and needed constant attention from the Master. Over a period of time, Bodhidharma observed that many beginners in meditation either fell asleep during meditation or they became zombie.
Seeing this hopeless progress of meditators, Bodhidharma plucked his eye-lids and threw them into the earth and after few days a beautiful plant grew out from the eye-lids of Bodhidharma. The leaves of this plant are used to make tea. That is why tea keeps you awake and fresh.
In the Zen monasteries they have turned each act into a meditation. The basic criteria for meditation is watchfulness or alertness. Any act which is done with alertness or full consciousness becomes meditative. In Zen, the emphasis is not given on the act but how the act is done or how much consciousness you have brought to your action. If you can bring more consciousness to your action, more meditative you will become. e.g. even today, the Japanese have a tea ceremony which is like a meditation practice as they prepare, serve and drink the tea very reverently, aesthetically and meditatively.
Tea is a excellent drink for meditators as during meditation practice many beginners start feeling sleepy. A good strong cup of tea can keep you awake for longer period of time. Tea can be made in various ways – with/without milk, with/without sugar. Here I have posted few recipes for making tea. How to make indian milk tea in a microwave or you can try mint tea or green tea with tulsi or Galangal Tea with Lemongrass.
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