One of the most famous stories linking tea and Chan Buddhism comes from the Chan master Zhaozhou Congshen.
According to the well-known koan, a monk came to visit Zhaozhou. Zhaozhou asked him whether he had been there before.
The monk said that he had.
Zhaozhou replied:
“Go drink tea.”
Another monk later arrived and said that he had never been there before.
Zhaozhou again replied:
“Go drink tea.”
The monastery director became confused and asked why both monks—one who had visited before and one who had not—received the same answer.
Zhaozhou called out to him.
The director answered.
Zhaozhou said:
“Go drink tea.”
The story captures something essential about the relationship between Chan and tea.
Chan often does not ask us to accumulate another theory or intellectual explanation. Instead, it repeatedly directs attention back toward what is immediately present.
The water is hot.
The tea is steeping.
The bowl is in your hands.
You drink.
That is all.
In this sense, “Go drink tea” is not simply an invitation to enjoy a beverage. It points toward a movement away from excessive conceptual thinking and back toward direct experience.