Before Enlightenment, Drink Tea and Clean Your Cup …

Before enlightenment, drink tea and clean your cup.
After enlightenment, share tea and clean the cups.

It doesn’t mean that everyone who shares tea is enlightened, but sharing tea can be a wonderful and meaningful practice — perhaps even a simple way of getting a little closer to whatever enlightenment might actually mean for you.

Tea can be enjoyed alone. But something changes when we share it. A few leaves, some hot water, a few cups — and suddenly there is a reason to sit together, to listen, to talk, to give and receive.

If you think you need to achieve something in this life, become someone, or make your life better than it is right now, come and join us for a few cups of good tea.

If you think you already know the Truth, please come and join us for tea — and share some of your wisdom with us.

If enlightenment doesn’t interest you at all, that’s absolutely fine too. Come, relax with us and enjoy a few cups of tea.

If you are far too busy even to think about enlightenment, perhaps you have the best reason of all to come. Sit down for a little while. Put the phone away. The rest of the world will probably survive without you for an hour or two. Drink some tea with us.

If your head is too full, come and pause for a while. Slow down a little and empty your cup before you fill it again.

If your heart feels heavy, come and put it down for a while. We don’t promise to make it lighter, but you don’t have to carry it quite so tightly while drinking tea.

If you feel lonely, come and join us. Sometimes we don’t need to be fixed or entertained. Sometimes we simply need to share some time — and some tea — with other people.

If life feels good and your heart feels light, come too. Bring some of that light with you. Good things are worth sharing. And so is good tea.

If you have too many questions, bring them with you. We may not have the answers, but perhaps someone around the table has something worth hearing. And anyway, we will have tea.

If you have something to say, share it.
If you don’t, listen.
Silence can be shared too.

If you like tea, come and enjoy some good quality Pu-erh with us.

If you don’t like tea, why not give it another chance? Perhaps you haven’t found the right tea yet — or perhaps tea tastes a little different when it is shared.

Come and meet people. Share a story, a thought, a laugh, a little silence — or simply a cup of tea.

Bring some light to the circle, or take some if you need it.

Maybe both.

Because this is not so much about the space we find between us.
It is about the space we create together.

It is not about me.
It is not about you.
It is not even about the tea.

It is about creating a space where, perhaps for a moment, we can remember that we were never really separate.

That’s all.

You are welcome anyway, anyhow.
As you are.
Because that is what matters.

I am here if you wish to join.
And I am sharing some tea.

And don’t worry — you won’t have to clean your cup at the end. 🙂