The Rules of the Tea Break

　　喝茶的規矩

　　everyday, the monk who is the weinuo (proctor) is responsible for starting and ending the sitting period. There will be an assistant helping him. other

　　than these two, there will be a person on duty who is responsible for making tea in the kitchen. everyday, we will drink tea three or four times a day.

　　It is not fixed. This is because when we cultivate hard, the heat will rise in our bodies and the tea can counteract this heat. do not think that since

　　the Venerable hsu yun become enlightened after he broke a teacup, you should imitate him and break teacups. you will never become enlightened that way, because you are breaking them deliberately.

　　每天必須有一個出家人來做維那，負責開靜、止靜；還有一個悅衆，幫助維那做事情；再有一個當值到廚房燒茶，每天要喝叁、四次茶，這沒有定法的。因爲用功會有一股火氣，火氣一上來，就要喝茶。你不要以爲虛老把茶杯打爛了開悟，你就依樣打破茶杯，那你永遠也不會開悟，因爲你是故意的。

　　in the Chan hall, there is a correct way to hold the teacup. your hand should support the base of the cup and your thumb should press the rim of the teacup. When the cup is filled, bring it towards you to drink. When you have finished, place the cup in front of you and the person on duty will remove it without making a single noise.

　　in China, you cannot go outside the Chan hall to drink tea or do anything else. you cannot even stand or sit around somewhere. once you have finished your meal, you must go straight back to the Chan Hall for the walking period. you should not spend even one second on other activities.

　　over here, we do not need to do it the way it”s done in China, as we should accord with local customs as well. That is the reason why we brush our

　　teeth and stretch a little after meals. These little habits are okay—we will be on the right track in the future.

　　在禅堂，茶杯有一定的拿法，手托著杯底，大拇指按著茶口伸出去，等茶倒滿了，再拿回來喝；喝完了就把茶杯放在前邊，當值的會來把它拿走，一點聲音都沒有。在中國是不可以走到禅堂外邊去喝茶，或者去做什麼，就是到旁邊站一站、坐一坐都不可以；你吃完飯，就到禅堂裏跑香，一秒鍾也不做旁的事情。在這兒不一定要仿照中國的規矩，要適宜此地的風俗，所以吃完飯去漱口，或者伸伸腰、伸伸腿，這些小毛病不要緊，將來都會上軌道的。