The ancient sages never put their teachings in a systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths. They began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise.

We take refuge in pride, because we are afraid to tell the truth to ourselves.

Tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities. We have good and bad teas, as we have good and bad paintings - generally the latter.

It is not the accumulation of extraneous knowledge, but the realization of the self within, that constitutes true progress.

Translation is always a treason, and as a Ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade- all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design.

Tea...is a religion of the art of life.

Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage.