煮泉論道

明人高濂《遵生八箋》的“高子夏時幽賞十二條”中有一條“三生石談月”，他說：“中竺后山，鼎分三石，居然可坐，傳為澤公三生遺跡。山僻景幽，云深境寂，松陰樹色，蔽日張空，人罕游賞。炎天月夜，煮茗烹泉，與禪僧詩友，分席相對，覓句賡歌，談禪說偈。滿空孤月，露浥清輝，四野輕風，樹分涼影，豈儼人在冰壺，直欲談空玉宇，寥寥巖壑，境是仙都最勝處矣。忽聽山頭鶴唳，溪上云生，便欲駕我仙去。俗抱塵心，蕭然冰釋，恐朝來去此，是即再生五濁欲界。”炎炎夏日，尋個似中天竺三生石那種幽僻的地方，泡上一杯茶，邀三兩朋友，吟詩談禪。此時，境清幽，茶清淡，神清爽，大有“烹罷不知何處去，清風送我到蓬萊”之感。

茶之道，其實并非來自茶，而是來自喝茶品茗者即事茶的人。自然狀態的茶葉和茶飲，本身并無“道”，單純地喝茶，無論如何去喝，喝得再多，也不可能有“道”喝進去。所謂茶道禪悟，是喝茶品茗者憑借自身的知識閱歷、感情體驗和理論修養，在飲茶事茶過程中對世事人生的感悟，然后以自己所擅長的文學或藝術形式記錄表達出來。

珠海詩人羅春柏寫有一首《品茗》詩：

是詩詞還是另類的經文？

愛不釋手，

孩子們只飲出青澀。

為什么跋山涉水過來的你，

亦品亦飲，

輕輕昂首，

又輕輕地低頭，

在杯中望明月，

壺里見南山。

詩人寫茶，寫品茗的感悟。喝茶，有人“只飲出青澀”，而一個有著“跋山涉水”經歷的人，卻能在“杯中望明月，壺里見南山”。茶，對一個跋山涉水者來說，就是“另類的經文”，所謂“茶禪一味”。羅春柏的《品茗》就是茶中的禪悟。亦詩亦禪的五十八個字，真是值得抄下來反復吟詠的。

“茶之妙用，固然不僅可以解渴，茶也是進入精神世界的通道。”這話是劉正先生為“雙靈國際陶藝家茶器作品邀請展”所作《前言》中說的。劉正先生是一位愛茶、嗜茶的陶藝家、畫家，他對這條“進入精神世界的通道”是有真情實感的：“茶事之于生活，在于平靜；之于藝術，在于境界；之于佛禪，在于明了世間真相。對于我們這些茶的愛好者來說，能通過茶體會生活中的平靜之樂、藝術中的境界之美是人生之幸，若能進佛禪世界，知世間真相，則是人生之大幸。”這番話，是能讓我們反復咀嚼回味的。

那場稱為“青羽，剎那間的永恒”的古代茶席展，無論策展布展的還是參展觀展的，都毫無功利之心，只本著一個“玩”字。誠如知堂老人所言：“我們于日用必須的東西以外，必須還有一點無用的游戲與享樂，生活才覺得有意思。”大家在把玩的剎那間，內心是平靜而純凈的，如在與古人禪者同席品茶。這場展覽也是進入精神世界的一條通道。

“茶道”，其實并不那么高深莫測。早先杭州涌金門西湖船碼頭邊三雅園門口有一副“為公忙為私忙忙里偷閑吃碗茶去；求名苦求利苦苦中作樂拿壺酒來”的楹聯，在世俗的詼諧中也有幾分令人反省的醒悟，言在茶中，意在茶外。

秋時賞幽，煮泉論道，談空玉宇，人在冰壺！

Tea and Way of Life

By Ruan Haogeng

Tea sipping has been an integral part of Chinese life for more than a thousand years. For many Chinese scholars， it is more than quenching thirst. It is a way that makes life meaningful and purposeful， free of mundane worries and desires， enabling one to enter a world where poetry， philosophy， peace， beauty， and art matter and massage the lonely heart.

The way of tea is by no means about tea. It is about the man who sips tea. For many， tealeaves and tea sipping are nothing if they are not about the way of life. In ancient China， cultured people developed a way to tie tea to Zen， a way to explore the profound meaning of life and find peace， a way to ponder experience and knowledge， and a way to express oneself.

Liu Zheng， a pottery master with a passion for tea， says that tea is a passage to the spiritual realm. He wrote the preface to an international exhibition for tea pottery in Hangzhou. For him， the way of tea is to find peace， art， Zen， transcendence， and truth in life.

Gao Lian， a scholar of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)， describes in his essay collection a tea gathering at a wooded hill near Soul’s Retreat Temple in the mountains west of the West Lake in Hangzhou. It was a hot summer night; it was in a pinewoods. Monks and poets sat， boiling spring water and making tea. The full moon shone， breezes coming and going through shadowy shades of the pine trees. They chatted， their words wafting in breezes， coming back after touching the opposite cliffs. They heard a crane singing beyond a hill. They turned their heads and saw mists hovering over the spring. At that moment， everyone felt the soul was cleaned of dusty worldly worries.

The way of tea is not necessarily that profound. In the good old years， there was a couplet on the gate of a garden near a wharf on the West Lake. It read to the effect: “Find time for a cup of tea no matter how busy you work for the government or for yourself; get a kettle of wine and find happiness in the bitter pursuit of fame and fortune.” Though penned to convey a sense of humor， the couplet asked people to contemplate life over a cup of tea and detach oneself from blind and mindless pursuit of material satisfaction. A cup of tea often means more than quenching thirst.