The Rules of the Tea Break

喝茶的规矩

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.

每天必须有一个出家人来做维那，负责开静、止静；还有一个悦众，帮助维那做事情；再有一个当值到厨房烧茶，每天要喝三、四次茶，这没有定法的。因为用功会有一股火气，火气一上来，就要喝茶。你不要以为虚老把茶杯打烂了开悟，你就依样打破茶杯，那你永远也不会开悟，因为你是故意的。

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，手托着杯底，大拇指按着茶口伸出去，等茶倒满了，再拿回来喝；喝完了就把茶杯放在前边，当值的会来把它拿走，一点声音都没有。在中国是不可以走到禅堂外边去喝茶，或者去做什么，就是到旁边站一站、坐一坐都不可以；你吃完饭，就到禅堂里跑香，一秒钟也不做旁的事情。在这儿不一定要仿照中国的规矩，要适宜此地的风俗，所以吃完饭去漱口，或者伸伸腰、伸伸腿，这些小毛病不要紧，将来都会上轨道的。