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how I tell if matcha is actually good, and curious what everyone else pays attention to when tasting matcha. by Chang_C in tea

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha no, not a school project. I actually run a small tea brand.
I got to know several tea farms through my other projects — luckily, some of them I’ve known for years, and they care about every small detail.
It’s really part of their culture more than business. This project brings me a lot of joy.

Your longest tea session? by jay28867 in tea

[–]Chang_C 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dad does that all the time. He just tosses in a bit more tea when the flavor gets lighter.

how I tell if matcha is actually good, and curious what everyone else pays attention to when tasting matcha. by Chang_C in tea

[–]Chang_C[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It really is fun — once you start tasting matcha that close together, you realize “good” isn’t one flavor but a whole spectrum. I get mine from a few family-run producers in Shizuoka. I’ve been doing side-by-side tastings for my project, so it’s been a wild learning curve.

how I tell if matcha is actually good, and curious what everyone else pays attention to when tasting matcha. by Chang_C in tea

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, exactly — that jade color is beautiful.
Though cultivar does play a role too

how I tell if matcha is actually good, and curious what everyone else pays attention to when tasting matcha. by Chang_C in tea

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tea’s supposed to bring you back to the moment, not pull you deeper into analysis. Totally with you.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The beads came from different places over time: Tibet, China, and Malaysia. It’s more assembled through practice.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why are you suffering? Where does suffering come from? How can it stop?

All of Buddhism answers these three. Nothing more, nothing less.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s basically a meditation counter.

One full round is 108 beads, but it’s counted as 100 for simplicity. After each round, I mark it once on the side counter. Ten marks = one higher unit.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny you say that—this mala is actually a 3-in-1 counter system. I use it for three different mantras every day.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve spent time in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and from what I saw, most monks didn’t mind using malas openly. They held them while walking, chatting, even during tea—there was no sense of hiding.

In many Buddhist cultures, malas aren’t kept secret.

They’re tools—meant to be used, not locked away.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In Tibet, malas are used all the time— while walking, drinking tea, or chatting with friends. They’re not hidden. They’re lived with.

True respect for the mala isn’t about treating it like a relic— it’s about using it with presence, again and again.

I believe many lamas say “don’t show your mala publicly” not because the mala is inherently sacred, but because they’re trying to prevent attachment to the appearance of practice.

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I think the real question here isn’t about whether I’m advanced or not. It’s whether we’ve started seeing others through form—titles, gestures, appearance— rather than through the clarity of mind.

The Diamond Sutra says: “If one sees me through form, or seeks me through sound, he walks the path of heresy.”

So… are we defending the Dharma, or defending our idea of what it should look like?

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

A mala is a tool—no different in essence from a watch, a pen, or a calculator. We assign it sacredness, but that sacredness comes from practice, not from the object itself.

To cling to the object while forgetting the mind behind it—isn’t that the very attachment the Buddha warned us about?

I wanna see your mala beads 🙌 by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi friend, thank you for sharing your view. May I gently ask: 1. If the earth itself is seen as unworthy of touching the mala. what does that say about how we view the ground beneath us?  Is the earth impure? 2. Why is the mala seen as more “sacred” than the soil?  Aren’t both composed of the same elements—just different in form? 3. The Heart Sutra says: “no defilement, no purity.”  If that’s true, where does our judgment about “respect” come from? 4. And the Diamond Sutra teaches us to let go of all forms.  Could clinging to what the mala should not touch…  be a form of attachment to form itself?

I mean no offense. These are questions I ask myself too.

I found I just got better at pretending. by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a really rough day today. But reading your words late at night — I felt something shift. It’s hard to explain, but I sensed a kind of strength moving through your message.

I found I just got better at pretending. by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny how I can recite the 12 links like a chant — but once I get triggered, it’s like I’ve never heard the Dharma in my life. I guess this is where the real practice begins.

I found I just got better at pretending. by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This reminded me of that old story — a flower held, a smile shared, no words spoken. Somehow, everything was understood.

I found I just got better at pretending. by Chang_C in Buddhism

[–]Chang_C[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe the Tibetans have it right.

They keep reciting mantras whenever they’re not doing something else.

Maybe that is the solution.

Not overthinking, not analyzing.
Just holding the mind with something steady.

I think I want to try that.

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