There is also a famous legend connecting tea directly with Bodhidharma, the figure traditionally associated with the transmission of Chan Buddhism to China.
According to the story, Bodhidharma once fell asleep while meditating.
Angered by his own drowsiness, he cut off his eyelids and threw them onto the ground.
From the place where they fell, the first tea plants grew.
The leaves could then be brewed and drunk to help practitioners remain awake during meditation.
It is a powerful story, but it should be understood as legend rather than reliable historical fact.
Its symbolism, however, is striking.
Tea becomes a symbol of wakefulness.
And Buddhism itself is deeply concerned with awakening.
The word Buddha means, in essence, “the awakened one.”
This creates a beautiful parallel:
Tea awakens the body.
Chan awakens the mind.
Perhaps this is one reason tea and Buddhism came to feel so naturally connected.