Buddhist Aspects of Health and Wellness in Premodern Chinese Tea Culture

Buddhist ideas, institutions and individuals were influential in the creation of Chinese tea culture from at least the eighth century onwards. Given that tea was often promoted by Buddhists as an alternative to alcohol, and that it was extolled for its abilities to support strenuous meditation practice, were there particular Buddhist discourses of health and wellness with regard to tea drinking? In this lecture, we will explore the surviving textual, artistic and material evidence in order to understand better some of the virtues of consumption from a Chinese Buddhist perspective.