July Tea Meeting; Hwarang style

During Shilla dynasty, the Hwarang youths traveled the nation drinking tea, meditating, practicing martial arts, singing songs and reciting poems.  And for the Hwarang youths, to become government officials they had to pass exams in tea ceremony and singing.  During the Shilla dynasty, tea leaves were made into powders by mills like above and was drunk as powder tea, or the powders were cooked into round cakes to be carried around and drunk in travels.  

We drank our tea Hwarang style for our July tea meet, we drank lots of tea and heard poems recited, stories told and listened to beautiful singing.  

A friend of Sonia emailed a poem from Maui after hearing about Hwarang youths.

This tea taste of childish delights !
These children are of peace.
Within the hearts of all children we can learn to love purely
Willing to die, so another can fight.
Simple in  dignity,  long lasting in mirth.
Delivered words of  Flower Boys  by  birth.

And we listened to beautiful voice of Jade.

Drinking from tea leaves instead of from tea powder did not get fully developed until Koryo dynasty because it required development of a full set of tea wares made from pottery.  According to Chinese visitors during Koryo dynasty commenting on Korean green tea, it was said the ritual was according to high decorum for everyone had to wait before drinking tea until everyone was served.  And it was said the taste was bitter and astringent.  That sounds about right.

The essence of great teachings

Form and substance are in Buddhism.

Creative change is in Christianity.

Decorum is in Confucianism.

Receiving Heaven and Earth's emptiness and nothingness, Christianity conceived and gave form to a Dao embryo.

Receiving Heaven and Earth's stillness and silence, Buddhism gestated and gave birth to Dao.

Receiving Heaven and Earth's governance and edification, Confucianism bathed and dressed Dao.

Next comes the crowning and flourishing.

The Lord of Tushita Heaven unites and governs; emptiness and nothingness, stillness and silence, governance and edification.