Zen and the Way of Tea

This retreat brings two perennial traditions together to deepen the practice of both novices and those who have long trod the path.   There is a saying from our tea teacher,  “Zen and Tea are one flavor”.  The harmony and tranquility of holding tea ceremony in the aspens as they change into their fall robes has been long celebrated by the mountain people who dwell here.  The mindfulness and insight of zen practice both inform and clarify our pouring of tea.  The combination of tea ceremony and zen in a beautiful natural setting is powerful medicine.

Come join us in reveling in the mysteries of the leaf as we meditate and drink tea in nature.     We will cover three different styles of tea pouring: Bowl tea, Sidehandle and Gong-fu.   We will drink tea from our personal collections and teach about the provenance of living teas.   

I’m grateful to bring two of my favorite chajin to come join me as we pour tea as a community.   This is an opportunity to join with skilled practitioners who are humbly learning and sharing their passion for the Way of Tea.    Together, we will drink tea from a beginner’s mind and receive with humility and grace the wisdom of the leaf.     I’ve looked at tea as the original plant medicine as humans have used it for over five thousand years.   There is a legend of the Emperor Shen Nong, who while sitting in nature had the leaves of a tea plant fall into a bowl of hot water.   In many ways, we still quietly follow in his footsteps.  

*Price includes farm-to-table, gourmet meals cooked by an on-site chef, and on-site camping with access to flush toilets and showers.  Fruit and baked goods are provided in the morning.

For our time together, we’ll gather at Elkstone Farm and be fed from the amazing farm-to-table kitchen there.

Friday 5-8 pm, Saturday 9-8 pm, Sunday 9-7 pm.

 

Friday  

5-6:15 - Tea Ceremony: Bowl tea

6:30-7:30 pm Dinner at Elkstone Farm

7:30- 8:00 pm Evening Zazen 

8:00 Close for the night

Saturday

9:00-9:40- Zazen 

9:45-10:15- Physical/embodiment exercise

10:15-1200 Tea Ceremony: Sidehandle

12:00-1:00- Lunch

1:00-3:30- Zazen and Tea

3:30-5- Extended break/wander/practice period

5-6:30- Tea Ceremony

6:30-7:30- Dinner

7:30-8:00- Zazen

 

Sunday

9:00-9:40- Zazen 

9:45-10:15- Physical/embodiment exercise

10:15-1200 Tea Ceremony: Gong-fu

12:00-1:00- Lunch

1:00-1:30- Zazen

1:30-3- Extended break/wander/practice period

3-4:30- Tea Ceremony

5:00-6:00 Dinner

6:00-7:00- Closing circle for weekend/Bringing it home

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*Price includes farm-to-table, gourmet meals cooked by an on-site chef, and on-site camping with access to flush toilets and showers.  Fruit and baked goods are provided in the morning.

For our time together, we’ll gather at Elkstone Farm and be fed from the amazing farm-to-table kitchen there.

Friday 5-8 pm, Saturday 9-8 pm, Sunday 9-7 pm.

 

Your facilitators:

COLIN HUDON

Founder of Living Tea

Physician of Taoist Medicine

Owner and founder of Living Tea and Mountain Gate Teahouse Colin Hudon developed Living Tea through his lifelong immersion in Tea and Tao. As an herbalist, acupuncturist, and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he discovered through the Tea ceremony a means of sharing the extraordinary depth of these traditions in the West. In Taoist herbalism, Tea is considered a "shen" or spirit tonic because of its ability to calm the mind, open the heart, remove energetic stagnation, and connect us with Nature. However, the western world has learned of Tea only as a beverage grown from small bushes on plantations, rather than large, old-growth trees in wild forests containing such powerful properties. With a strong desire to learn more about formal Tea ceremony and the traditions from which the Tea ceremony emerged, Colin travelled to Asia in 2010 "in search of Tea." After many months of travel, he discovered a living tradition in Taiwan. Following the cultivation and craft of Cha Tao, he sought to offer Tea to others as a form of moving meditation and living art. Thousands of tea ceremonies later, Living Tea continues to share this way, these old-growth trees and this ancient tradition with you.


Rev. Bu Nan Daiko Michael Brown

I started on my path 15 years ago when I realized that my life was no longer working for me.  I spent a few years searching, studying, reading, and expanding my worldview.  In 2008, I came across the work of Ken Wilber, and everything changed.  I spent the next two years delving into all things Integral, and all aspects of personal growth, until I came across my primary Teacher, Jun Po Roshi, Abbot of Hollow Bones Rinzai Zen.  I began sitting with him in 2010, and took Jukai in 2012. Under Jun Po's advice, I began an intensive yoga practice which lead to enrollment in Naropa University in 2012 in Boulder, Colorado.  I became a founding community member of the Integral Center as well.  That lead me to hundreds of hours of training and facilitation of Authentic Relating, Circling, the Authentic Man Program, and T3.  In 2015 I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Traditional Eastern Arts with an Emphasis in the Yogic Traditions of India.  During the last year of my studies at Naropa, I began on the track of Priesthood, under the mentorship of Doshin Roshi, founder of the Integral Zen Sangha.  I received Priest Ordination in October 2015.

Marco Chung-Shu Lam is a curious and compassionate human being who has a passion for health, the environment and the ability of humans to create a better world.   He has practiced Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for over 25 years and is lauded to have a unique style of practice that accelerates his clients breakthroughs in both physical and cognitive arenas.   He has been a practitioner of internal martial arts for over 30 years and it deeply informs his relationship with tea.    His zen teacher, Jun Po Roshi, bestowed the name Yakuso to him, which means the healing source in Japanese.  Marco’s style of tea pouring centers around family and community.   His main teacher of tea was his grandmother, An Chin Lin, who believed that serving tea was a way to share your love with other people.    Marco believes the same.   Along with his wife, Jamie, he is the steward and farm manager of Elkstone Farm.