On April 19, 2025, coinciding with the grand opening of the Osaka World Expo, Chinese tea culture ambassador Bao Lili and her TeaFairy team brought a millennium-spanning "Awakening Seven Bowls of Tea" experiential event to Manpuku-ji Temple on Kyoto's Ōbaku Mountain, recreating the Oriental aesthetic vision penned by Tang Dynasty tea sage Lu Tong.
With robust support from the Japan-China Tea Culture Exchange Association and the Ōbaku Cultural Promotion Society, this "Awakening : Seven Bowls of Tea" ceremony—hosted by Tea Fairy Bao Lili—made its debut at Kyoto's Manpuku-ji Temple, launching a groundbreaking "journey of awakening" through Chinese tea culture. Chief Abbot Kondo Hiroyoshi of Manpuku-ji Temple, Head Administrator Araki Shōkyoku of Japan's Ōbaku Sect, and Japan-China Tea Culture Exchange Association Chairman Yu Haonan were among the Sino-Japanese guests who attended and participated in the immersive experience.
In the temple's Western Abbot's Chamber, Bao Lili's team crafted tea settings using purple clay, celadon, white porcelain, silk, and bronze vessels, serving aged "Awakening" Yunnan Pu'er tea .Chinese and Japanese guests progressively experienced the tea's essence through seven symbolic bowls, echoing Lu Tong's verses: "The first bowl moistens the throat, the second dispels loneliness, the third stirs creativity..." From "limbs lightened" to "spiritual transcendence," and finally the sensation of wind beneath the arms, the ceremony elevated the joy and aesthetics of tea drinking to their zenith. Bao Lili's poised demeanor and unwavering focus during the ritual, embodying mindfulness and presence, deeply moved all participants.
After experiencing the "Awakening :Seven Bowls of Tea" ceremony, Chief Abbot Kondo Hiroyoshi expressed his delight: "This is my first encounter with the charm of tea presented through China's 'Awakening Seven Bowls' format. The profound Zen atmosphere left a lasting impression. The journey from the first to the seventh bowl sublimated tea appreciation into the spiritual realm of Zen." He encouraged Bao Lili's team to jointly compose a new chapter in Sino-Japanese friendship.
Tea Fairy Bao Lili's Zen tea practice began at China's Jiuhua Mountain, the sacred site of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Over two decades of visiting tea mountains and studying ancient texts, she developed the "Awakening Seven Bowls of Tea" ceremony to refine the mind and cultivate Zen insights. The event's location in Manpuku-ji's Ming Dynasty tea hall transformed the Zen koan "Go drink tea" into an immersive cultural experience, fostering a cross-temporal dialogue between Chinese and Japanese tea traditions.
In the late Ming Dynasty, Chinese monk Ingen Ryūki brought the "Yuecha method (a Ming Dynasty tea brewing technique)" to Japan, establishing Manpuku-ji Temple as the birthplace of Japanese Sencha tea ceremony. This historic connection significantly impacted Sino-Japanese cultural exchange and Zen development.
Amidst the Osaka World Expo's global dialogue of civilizations, this "Awakening: Seven Bowls of Tea" ceremony held at the cradle of Japanese tea ceremony not only revived the "integrity, clarity, harmony, and refinement
" of Chinese Zen tea spirit but also addressed contemporary society's spiritual yearning for Oriental aesthetics. As cherry blossoms drifted onto the tea soup during the ceremony's finale, they symbolized Lu Tong's poetic line, "RRiding this ethereal breeze, one transcends earthly bounds" marking a fresh interpretation of Sino-Japanese tea dialogue as a "path to enlightenment through tea."
