Chapter VI · The Drinking: Vessels and fire — Winged creatures fly, furred creatures run, and those with mouths…
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
The passage
“Winged creatures fly, furred creatures run, and those with mouths speak — all three dwell between heaven and earth and live by drinking and eating. How far-reaching is the meaning of drinking!”
Vessels and fire
The passage points toward vessels and fire: “Winged creatures fly, furred creatures run, and those with mouths…” is also a question of what the tea is made in.
Material, thickness, shape, and heat change the water and the extraction. A vessel is a tool for controlling time.
Old implements are not automatically better. Understanding them helps us see what a modern gaiwan or teapot is actually doing.
Reading note
Read the passage once for the image, once for the judgment, and once for the practice it implies.
Practice
- Name one thing the passage asks you to notice.
- Compare it with a tea you know.
- Keep the question open.