Tibetan Tea Ceremony

On Friday the 22nd the Venerable Lama Losang Samten conducted a Tea Ceremony at the Church of Religious Science in Paradise, California. The evening began with a mood setting musical performance by Sonam Tashi, co-founder of Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company based in San Francisco, California and co-founder of Nangma Boekyi Solgyun Rolyang Tsokpa based in Dharamsala, India. Sonam sang a few songs in traditional Tibetan Folklore style, which were minimalist and plaintive. Many attendees closed their eyes while Sonam performed, and by the end the room was calm and quiet.

The Venerable Losang Samten then stood to speak a few words before beginning the ceremony. He told us about the difference between Tibetan tea ceremonies and Japanese tea ceremonies- that the Japanese tea ceremony is about formality, order and elegance, while for Tibetans the heart of the ceremony is on focusing positive feelings and offering up prayer for the things we need to make a better world despite a more relaxed demeanor. He told us that "wish and prayer is real power. It has no color or shape, but power." He led us in a recitation of the Mantra OM MANI PADME HUM. Afterwards he explained the ceremony.

On a table at the front of the room sat two silver tea pitchers, and two champagne flutes sitting in two bowls. He would lead the attendees in a steady chant of the Palden Lhamo Mantra. Jo ramo jo ramo jo jo ramo thun jo kala ra chen mo ramo acha dacha thun jo rulu rulu Hung jo hung. While we chanted pairs of us would approach the front, focus on a wish or prayer, and then pour some tea into the glass. We went from front to back, and over the course of nearly an hour everyone in the room who so wished took part in the ceremony.

When all had finished making their wishes Losang tried to put the Mantras and ceremony into perspective. He told the story of the monk and the pigeon. The monk had gone to a cave to recite a very long Buddhist text, and there was a pigeon in the cave who listened to the monk day after day. The pigeon clucked and cooed but had no idea what the sounds the monk spoke meant. But when the pigeon grew old and died, he was reborn a man. He became a monk, and when he himself went to recite the same Buddhist text he spoke the first page without understanding, but by the second page he knew the meaning of it all. With this Losang burst into a wonderful, long laugh. "True story," he said with a smile.