Tea Ceremony in DDM Vancouver Center
(1) In our busy daily lives, it can be difficult to find the time to slow down, even for five minutes. Every day breezes by and we do not pay attention to all the beauties around us. On Sunday February 2, 2014 I attended the tea Chan for the Lunar New Year. I also had the pleasure to perform during this event, along with many others. As usual, I was feeling nervous and shaky, as most people feel right before a big event.
The tea Chan right before the performances was a blissful experience. Although only about ten minutes long, it truly changed my life and perspective of the world. The tea masters at each table expertly scooped, brewed, and boiled the aromatic tea. As this ceremony was taking place, I thought of what the tea represented. It was boiling our vexations and worries away and bringing a feeling of peace into our minds. The slow and calm pace of the event made me feel like this is how we should live every moment of our lives. This taught me to slow down and to be aware of every single moment. Our lives can truly change for the better when we appreciate the little things. Just being aware of my arm reaching for the tea cup, the warmth of the tea passing my lips, the mild aroma and the peaceful atmosphere was very relaxing. As I mentioned earlier, I and many others had the opportunity to perform after the ceremony. I myself felt so much more relaxed and at ease after the ceremony. I’m sure many others would agree with me. All the performances were lively and amazing. It was great to just express what we love to do in front of an attentive and nice group of people. This was an experience I will never forget, and I encourage more people to attend in following ceremonies like this one. You never know what realizations you can attain.
(By Julianne)
(2) I thought that the ceremony was very fun. We first drank tea. To drink the tea, we have to take three sips. After we drank the tea there was cookies for us to eat! I mostly ate the panda cookies.(They were delicious) While we were eating, the people who are doing the talent show had to go in a room to get ready. My friend Vicky and I were dancing. There were 5 people ahead of us, so we had time to calm ourselves down. In front of us there was someone who was playing the violin, the cello, the flute, the bass clarinet, the guitar and the piano so we had a while to wait.
Also, while we waiting, Vicky and I made up a cheer so we will calm down. It went like this Christina: Who are we? Vicky: We are champion! Together(hash tag) one! We did that quite often and it was our turn. So we started to dance. We danced for about 1 minute until the music STOPPED. Well that was very embarrassing. We used YouTube, but the Wi-Fi must not have been very good. So my mom used the data on her phone and we started again and this time we did it till the end. After us was my awesome sister. She tap danced. She was very good! At the end Chang Wu Fashi gave everyone who performed a present! Vicky and I got Guylian chocolate, peach blossom tea and blessed rice. Thank you very much Chang Wu Fashi! Performing in front of people really made feel happy because I felt welcome to people I don’t know. It was a good experience to dance with a very close friend. Thank you to the donators who donated so that we can get very delicious foods! Thank you to Buddha and Dharma Drum Mountain. Thank you to everyone! Amituofu!
(By Christina Nieh)
