Charm of Chan and Tea

   Listening to the murmurs of the flowing water，relax physically and spiritually, quietly practice one round of “Chan cultivation and Tea preparation”; or make a small piece of nice cookie for the kid, or have a date with husband to go for a movie liked by both of us. That is me. My family life is peaceful and warm.
   听那潺潺的流水声映入耳畔，身心放松，静静地演练一遍禅茶；或为孩子做一份精美的小点心；或与先生相约看一场共同喜欢的电影，这便是我，我的家庭生活平和而温馨。

   But, before this I was not like that. In the eyes of friends, I was once considered as a “strong man”; in the eyes of my husband, a “strong lady”. I still remember when my daughter was small, when I told her stories about the grey wolf in “Little Red Hat”, about the vicious queen in “Princess Snow”, she always answered gently “yes, mum”. Whenever I heard that from her, I felt real bad and guaranteed her that in the future I would not simply throw tantrums at her for no reason. However, when she was naughty, I was unable to control myself and started to yell loudly at her. After that I regretted and was annoyed with myself. This happened again and again.
   可原来的我却并不是这样。曾经，我是朋友心中的“女汉子”，先生心中的“女强人”。我记得女儿很小的时候，给她讲故事，每次讲到《小红帽》里的大灰狼，《白雪公主》里的毒皇后，女儿总是轻轻地说一句：“是妈妈”。每次听她那样说的时候我心里别提多难受了，总会向她保证以后一定不对她乱发脾气，可每当她调皮不听话的时候又总是管不住自己对她大吼大叫，过后又懊恼不止，周而复始。

   Subsequently, under the influence of my grand-mum and mother, I got to know about Chan and began to learn “Chan cultivation and Tea preparation”. I studied Chan, tea, music, art and poems. To a person who used to love arts, I immediately fell in love with “Chan cultivation and Tea preparation” and met many kind-hearted and sincere friends.
   后来，在姥姥和妈妈的影响下我接触到禅修，而后学习禅修茶道，从中学习禅、茶、音乐、艺术、诗词。本来就喜欢艺术的自己，一下子就喜欢上了禅修茶道，一下子多了很多善良真诚的好朋友。

   Let me share with you some of the benefits of Chan meditation, tea preparation and tea-drinking: Become patient, steady and calm, amiable and easy-going when dealing with matters and people.
   禅修打坐，泡茶品茶，把点滴的收获与好朋友分享：做事不再急躁，变的沉稳，淡定，待人接物也随和了许多。

   Now my daughter has apparently become a little tea preparer, laying out my tea set and playing with me happily. She looks rather serious when she meditates and prepares tea with me. Her school teachers commented that her concentration improved a lot.
   如今女儿俨然已是名小小茶师，摆弄着我的茶具，开心地与我一起玩，煞有介事地与我一起打坐、泡茶，就连学校老师都说女儿上课注意力集中了很多。

   Especially my husband, now he will invite his friends to come to our house. He will say to me, “Darling, take out your tools and prepare a kettle of tea for us please.” I will obligingly and smilingly put on my beautiful tea dress and start a fire to boil tea. During that time, I can always notice the contentment and happiness in the eyes of my husband.
   尤其是我先生，现在他都会特意将朋友邀请到家里，然后特骄傲地说：“老婆，拿出你的家当，给我们泡壶茶喝。”我自会应声而起，穿着美丽的茶服，生火泡茶，笑对家人。每当这时，我总会在先生的眼中看到满满的幸福。

   Work, life, Chan meditation; no hurry and easy-going , dealing with people sincerely -- I really tasted happiness!
   工作、生活、禅修，不忙不慌，真诚对人，我尝到了幸福的味道！