joy in suffering

 

joy in suffering

 

Agudengba left his hometown and practiced asceticism in various places. He went to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Now he and his friend, girl Dawa, as well as his young partner hunter Chu Sanxing and his wife Xiang Qima, set out from Bangladesh to the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar.

The Irrawaddy River originates from the Nyingchi region of Tibet, China, flows south through central Myanmar, and finally empties into the Andaman Sea. Most of Myanmar's population lives in the Ayeyarwady River Basin.

In a small teahouse, Agudengba and his party tasted Burmese tea and tea food.

Burmese people are inseparable from teahouses. Therefore, Myanmar’s tea table culture is also unprecedentedly developed. It has penetrated into all levels of society and various social etiquette activities. Burmese people like to drink tea very much. Drinking tea three or five times a day is no big deal.

In Myanmar, there are thousands of large and small teahouses in the Yangon area alone. The tea seats are all small in size, including the coffee table and simple Chinese tea sets. Tea culture is an important part of China-Myanmar relations.

The Burmese people are spiritually influenced by Indian culture, with the prevalence of Buddhism, and materially influenced by Chinese culture. China is the first country in the world to discover and utilize tea. Tea as a drink originated from the Shennong family and was famous among the Dukes of Lu and Zhou. It arose in the Tang Dynasty in ancient China, flourished in the Song Dynasty, declined in the late Qing Dynasty, revived in the founding of the People's Republic of China, and flourished in the contemporary era. According to Myanmar historical records, the exchange of tea culture began in the late Tang and early Song Dynasties, when it was introduced to Myanmar through the Tea Horse Road. By the Song Dynasty, the custom of drinking tea had become very common in Myanmar. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to today, Burmese tea culture is not just about drinking tea, it is not only an indispensable part of daily life, but also penetrates into various important aspects such as social etiquette, becoming an important part of Burmese culture.

Chu Sanxing said:

Myanmar’s tea culture is also very rich, and the ways of drinking and eating tea are also diverse. This is also related to the Burmese people’s habit of tea. Among the major tea-drinking countries in Southeast Asia, it is relatively rich. This is due to the geographical location of Myanmar and China-Myanmar, the world's major tea countries, which are connected by mountains and rivers. It cannot be ruled out that it is influenced by the Chinese people's addiction to tea. Myanmar, which has always had the custom of drinking tea, mainly produces black tea, green tea and oolong tea. Among them, black tea has the largest production volume, the most consumed tea type, and the most imported tea type.

Myanmar people have "three favorites" in their diet. Their favorite fruit is mango, their favorite meat is pork, and their favorite "leaf" is tea. The "tea" mentioned here is actually the product of fermented tea leaves. It is often served with sweet beans, ginger shreds and edible oil to make a cold dish, called "tea mix". This is the most soul-stirring Burmese food and is most often used to entertain guests and yourself.

Said to Chima:

The Indian tea custom that has the greatest influence on Myanmar is mainly the custom of drinking teh tarik. Whether in big cities or small towns, wherever there is a teahouse, there will be tea and black tea. This special tea-making method of mixing Indian teh tarik and Burmese tea leaves is very popular in Myanmar. It is made and eaten by almost every household. It is also the key to the highest level of tea drinking in Burmese tea culture.

The most common types of tea consumed by Myanmar people are sweet tea and bitter tea.

Sweet tea is called "La Pei". It is made with thick black tea as a base, served with creamer and sugar. It is brown in color and tastes extremely sweet with a hint of tea. Sweet tea first appeared in Myanmar as afternoon tea for the British.

Bitter tea is called "leaf base", which is a Burmese tradition. Bitter tea is dark red in color and has a bitter but not strong taste. Almost every Burmese household has at least one thermal teapot containing this bitter tea. Bitter tea in the city appears on the tables of breakfast shops, food stalls, and sweet tea houses, for diners to drink for free, and has become a vassal, playing a supporting role.

People in the city rarely serve bitter tea to guests, as it would be a loss of status. But in the countryside, bitter tea is the undisputed protagonist.

There is also a famous variant of bitter tea called "Lape Bean". In Burmese, "Lape Bean" means tea, and bean means the action of mixing. Therefore, "Lape Bean" means cold tea as the name suggests. To put it in a nicer way, it’s called tea leaf salad.

There are generally two ways to eat tea salad: one is the original flavor, which is eaten directly without seasoning. It is relatively bitter, so ensure that the strong taste of fermented tea is not compromised. The second is the hot and sour taste. It is a common tea salad that is mixed with minced tea leaves, fried peas, fried bean sprouts, fried peanuts, fried garlic, tomato slices, raw garlic, shredded cabbage and sesame seeds, with a squeeze of lemon juice. How to eat. This dish is so versatile that it can be served as a snack, an appetizer, or paired with a plate of rice to make it a complete meal.

Xiang Qima smiled again and said:

Tea leaves are not only used for drinking tea in the lives of Myanmar people, but can also be used to make delicious snacks. Tea leaves are also used in hot dishes. I usually make egg fried rice at home, but if I replace the eggs with tea leaves, it becomes Burmese tea fried rice. There are also pickled tea leaves, which are a bit like pickles, and you can choose from sour, sweet, or spicy flavors. The fermented tea leaves are mixed with cabbage, minced garlic, millet pepper, peanuts, broad beans, etc. The taste is extremely rich and layered, combining bitter, sour, spicy, fragrant and salty. It is one of the favorite snacks of Burmese people. one. This dish is so versatile that it can be served as a snack, an appetizer, or paired with a plate of rice to make it a complete meal.

Chu Sanxing said:

The Bada Mountain in Yunnan, where the 1,700-year-old king tea tree once grew, is adjacent to the Shan State of Myanmar and is 70 kilometers away from the national border. The people who discovered this ancient tea tree were the Hani people. The internal branch of the De'ang ethnic group, which has the same roots as the Hani ethnic group, became known as the Benglong and Shan ethnic groups after the De'ang people who migrated to eastern Myanmar settled in Shan and Kachin states.

Not far from Mount Bata, in a place called Namusang in Shan State, there is Mount Lao Aisa with a temple on the top of the mountain. This temple has a history of more than 2,000 years, and there is a legend circulating to this day:

About eight hundred years ago, when King Alonsitu of the Bagan Kingdom visited this temple, he worshiped seven birds. It was a bird called Burmese caught nearby. Two of the birds had bulging throats. When they took out the contents, they looked like fruits from some kind of tree. King Alonsiddu thought it was a sacred object and awarded it to Tanweng, the elder of Tanma village. Tanweng then performed the highest etiquette of Tanma Village, knelt down to the king, stretched out his right hand and received the divine fruit. Then, a tea tree grew where Tan Weng planted the magical fruit. In Burmese, one hand is called "lete" and the leaf is called "pe". From then on, tea was called "letepe" in Bagan.

Agudengba, girl Dawa, Chu Sanxing and Xiang Qima chatted about Myanmar's tea culture while drinking bitter tea and chewing betel nuts.

Chu Sanxing said: The villagers here like to sit together in groups, drink bitter tea and chat. They often squatted together under the big tree, drank tea and chatted. Some people come and go, and there is never a shortage of people under the trees. People change various topics, from national elections and political party disputes to risqué news and family affairs. This is the simplest and cheapest way to relax in rural life in Myanmar. Villagers drink bitter tea. and rumors to pass away those days with no end in sight.

Xiang Qima said that it is not that the Burmese people have no sense of time, but that they believe: "Misery is destiny. No matter how hard you try, you still can't stand in vain and stare at the sky."

Chu Sanxing suddenly asked Agudengba:

Why, I always see you reading a book? Don't you find it boring to read all the time? All people who come to Myanmar will do as the Romans do. Myanmar is very "Myanmar". When it's time to drink tea, you will sit around and watch others. Of course, you will also be watched by others. Both you and I will drink tea and watch. Watching time slowly crawling past in front of your eyes.

Agudemba did not answer directly.

At this time, the Dawa girl sang a song "Drinking Bitter Tea":

 

​We have had sorrows and joys,

We experience lows and highs.

I have flown over the dangerous hurdles where I couldn’t fulfill my wish,

I also enjoyed a peaceful and stable time.

There are things you don’t want to encounter but you encounter them,

There are things you want but can’t get.

 

The sky will not always be blue and the sea will be calm,

Sometimes there are heavy rains and strong winds.

All suffering can bear the fruit of peace,

We should learn to know joy in suffering.

Drinking bitter tea is a necessary lesson in life.

Forgetting suffering is an inevitable process in life.

 

Life is like a cup of bitter tea with milk,

Taste the bitterness of life with its sweetness.

Not restricted by the physical environment,

Drinking bitter tea is joy in suffering.

This does not mean taking pain lightly;

Because joy and suffering always coexist.