Sunday, July 16, 2017

Myoe: On the virtues of tea

An paean to tea

Tea has the blessing of all deities
Tea promotes filial piety
Tea drives away all evil spirits
Tea banishes drowsiness
Tea keeps the five internal organs in harmony
Tea wards off disease
Tea strengthens friendship
Tea disciplines body and mind
Tea destroys the passions
Tea grants a peaceful death

-- poem attributed to the Japanese Buddhist priest Myoe (1173--1232)
    who had it inscribed on a teakettle.



The poem is included in Beatrice Hohenegger's highly informative work:  Liquid Tea:  The Story of Tea from East to West.


How could anybody refuse to drink something so marvelous and miraculous?  I am sitting here with a cup of tea (Numi's toasted rice and green tea) by my side, and I feel better already. 

14 comments:

  1. I just had some tea too, Fred! Green tea with cranberry juice.

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    1. madamevauquer,

      Sounds like a interesting blend for iced tea. I have this prejudice against fruit flavored hot teas. I realize it's irrational, etc., but it just doesn't seem right as a hot tea. However, they work quite well as an iced tea on a hot summer day, especially those we get here in Tucson.

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  2. Fred, Hohenegger's book was a real treat to me. Enjoy!

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    1. R.T.,

      It was an excellent and very readable history of tea.

      It is sad and horrifying to read the way two plants, the tea and the poppy, can get so intertwined by human greed and produce such misery and suffering, and bring down a government that had lasted thousands of years.

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  3. Wonderful poem.

    I love tea. I love many types of tea. I put nothing on it so as not to dilute the flavor.

    I agree. It is marvelous and miraculous.

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    1. Brian,

      No add-ons for me either, except, of course, for ice cubes in the summer. Take it as it comes.

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  4. I happened to be drinking tea when I read this. My favorite is black. I have had to cut down, though. My doctor has informed me that tea, and especially green tea, contributes to kidney stones.

    I still like it, though.

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    1. Sharon,

      Kidney stones? I have never heard about that.

      I just did a search, and there are articles which say that green tea doesn't cause kidney stones, but is supposed to prevent them. Below is a link to just one of the articles.

      http://tinyurl.com/ybxy7yfs

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    2. Strange. I thought he told me that. He also gave me a long list of foods I must avoid. I gave up trying to follow it. He did say drink lemon juice and lots and lots of water.

      I don't drink green tea, anyway. Only black. Enjoy your green tea!

      I do like the ritual of drinking tea. Very calming.

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    3. Sharon,

      Bigelow Tea Co. has several green teas that I like: Earl Gray Green and Constant Comment Green. The toasted rice tea does not taste like green tea at all.

      I also like black teas: Earl Gray, Russian Caravan, and Lapsang Souchang are some of my favorites.

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  5. peppermint and roibos... i'm caffeine sensitive, so have to watch it... i do enjoy those two, tho...

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    1. Mudpuddle,

      Peppermint makes an excellent iced tea, and I like roibos and several of the other African herbals, honey bush for one.

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    2. I forgot about Roibos. That is one of my favorites. It is very good to take before bed time. Nice and relaxing. The smell can be a little pungent at first but it's wonderful with some lemon.

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    3. Sharon,

      Yes, I also wondered about that at first, but I enjoyed the flavor so much that I soon forgot about the scent.

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