A pot of tea at 3 AM

(NLĐO) - In the life of a Buddhist monk or nun, there are very small habits that accompany us through many stages of our lives. For me, that is the warm tea we drink in the mornings.

Tea cup in the room

For many years, I've been used to waking up around 3 a.m. While everything is still quiet, I brew a pot of tea, sip it slowly, and begin studying before starting my meditation practice at 4 a.m. The tea has a slightly bitter taste on the tip of my tongue, then gradually softens in my throat, helping my mind become alert. In the quiet of the early morning, the small pot of tea is like a pause, allowing the practitioner to reflect before starting a new day.

Morning tea

When I went to India to study at Banaras Hindu University, I still brought tea with me. The university is located in Varanasi, one of India's oldest cities, on the sacred Ganges River. In a foreign country with a different climate and pace of life, that small teapot became a familiar part of my daily life.

Winters here are very cold, with temperatures sometimes dropping below 10 degrees Celsius. In that cold, leaving my warm bed at three in the morning isn't always easy. But I still maintain the habit of brewing a pot of hot tea. In my small room, the steam from the tea quietly rises in the tranquil winter night. The cup of tea in my hand warms me and reminds me to uphold the disciplined lifestyle of a monk.

Tea Talk

There were afternoons when we – fellow monks studying far from home – would sit together with a pot of tea. From those cups of tea, conversations would gradually unfold: about studies, about monastic life, about life in a foreign land. These simple tea gatherings were not noisy, but they often left listeners with quiet reflections.

The small teapot serves as a moment of quiet reflection for the practitioner before beginning a new day.

Amidst my studies abroad, I still maintain the habit of brewing a pot of tea every morning. In the warm steam of the tea in the early morning, I feel more acutely the awakening of a new day – and somewhere, the taste of home quietly accompanies me on my path of learning.

(Entry for the "Impressions on Vietnamese Coffee and Tea" contest 2026, part of the 4th "Celebrating Vietnamese Coffee and Tea" program organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper).

Source: https://nld.com.vn/am-tra-luc-3-gio-sang-196260316081402884.htm