Tea and Zen, One Taste

Reading

The hand that prepares tea and the mind that sits and steadies its breath are not held apart.

Water is boiled, the bowl is wiped, a single cup is drunk — in each act, only this moment.

The taste of Zen and the taste of tea are not divided on the tongue.

Within one bowl, the two dissolve without a seam.

Origin

A Zen phrase that holds the way of tea and the way of Zen to be of one taste. Tradition says the Song master Yuanwu Keqin wrote these four characters and gave them away, but no authenticated calligraphy of the phrase survives — the extant Yuanwu manuscript is an inka certificate to Huqiu Shaolong — and the words appear in no classical koan collection, the Blue Cliff Record included. The set phrase took its current form only from early-modern times, and chiefly within modern tea discourse; it cannot be assigned to any single case or chapter.

Seal

Cut by hand in Tokyo by the artist. The angle of the blade and the depth of the stroke decide where the ink bleeds and where it holds. No imprint repeats.

篆刻 — 佐竹寶千　朱印

Specifications

Garment: Short sleeve: Bella + Canvas 3001 / Long sleeve: Gildan 2400 (Ultra Cotton)
Print: DTG print — front: the seal; back & inside label: 寳千 / Vermilion
Size: S · M · L · XL
Price: ¥6,980$70.00€65.00

Size guide

Short sleeve · Bella + Canvas 3001

Size	Length	Chest width
S	71 / 28.0	46 / 18.1
M	74 / 29.1	51 / 20.1
L	76 / 29.9	56 / 22.0
XL	79 / 31.1	61 / 24.0

Long sleeve · Gildan 2400

Size	Length	Chest width	Sleeve
S	71 / 28.0	46 / 18.1	85 / 33.5
M	74 / 29.1	51 / 20.1	89 / 35.0
L	76 / 29.9	56 / 22.0	93 / 36.6
XL	79 / 31.1	61 / 24.0	97 / 38.2

Garment measured flat, in cm / inches. Slight variation occurs between pieces. Sizes follow Japanese garment standards — check the measurements rather than the letter.