On a mountain north-west of Hangzhou, the path climbs through bamboo so dense that the light turns green.
For centuries this was one of the great Zen temples of the south. Monks grew tea on the slopes and served it to guests in a slow, silent ceremony: water heated, tea whisked, a bowl passed from hand to hand.
Monks from Japan crossed the sea to study here. When they went home they carried the bowls, the seeds and the silence with them. In time it became the Way of Tea.
Everything that matters can fit in one bowl. That is what the mountain teaches.
This chapter is for calm, and for doing one thing with your whole heart.
