It creates sustainability to mental alertness. The property of this type of Green Tea to keep your mind relaxed and calm is the first reason Buddhists monks choose to consume Green Tea over any other tea type. The health benefits of Green Tea make it more popular and most consumed the drink.
Matcha has been used by Buddhist monks dating back to the 9th century. Not only did the monks find consuming matcha tea to be energizing and help with their meditative experience, but they also considered the preparation of matcha to also be a calming and relaxing experience.
Buddhism deems that tea helps with cultivating the body and mind. Therefore, drinking tea has become a common practice of monks. As recorded in the Song Dynasty, monks “get up, wash their face and hands, and drink tea in the morning. Then, they sit during meditation and then take a nap.
Since over 800 years Zen Buddhist monks have used Matcha tea as meditational drink.
While the jury is still out on coffee consumption, most Buddhists believe coffee in moderation is perfectly fine, as long as it does not interfere with the fifth precept, a guideline of morals for practicing Buddhists.
The general Buddhist rejection of alcohol consumption is further reflected in the way the issue is addressed in the various codes of ethics. Along with the vows of killing, stealing, lying, and sexual misconduct, the vow to abstain from alcohol is part of the eightfold set of the 1-day fasting vows ([6], pp.
Theravada and Mahayana: often do not eat meat and fish, some are vegan. Theravada and Mahayana from China and Vietnam: do not eat garlic, onion, chives, shallot or leek (five pungent spices – believed to increase one's sexual desire and anger) Tibetans: never eat fish, usually will not eat foul.
People who are sensitive to caffeine may also want to pass on matcha because it could cause anxiety and disrupt sleep. In general, Dr. Hu said, matcha can be a healthy addition to your diet, as long as you're mindful of how much sugar and other unhealthful ingredients you're consuming along with it.
Side Effects of Matcha
If your caffeine tolerance is low, consuming matcha in excessive amounts may also lead to diarrhea or an upset stomach, but these, too, are temporary. Excessive amounts of caffeine may cause: An accelerated heart rate and palpitations. Feelings of restlessness or anxiety.
Generally speaking, it is estimated that theine remains active in the body for 8 hours. So if you are sensitive to theine and go to bed at 11pm, you should stop drinking matcha tea after 3pm.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Zen Buddhist monks strive for minimalism in their meals as well as in all areas of life. The first meal is breakfast, which is shoshoku. It usually consists of rice and pickles. Lunch, called tenshin, is also rice or soup, also with pickled vegetables.
Yes, Buddhists can and do eat eggs. There is a very prevelant stereotype that Buddhist are exclusively vegetarian. That's simply not true. The decision to be or not be vegetarian is left up to the individual, in many schools of Buddhism.
Tea Type for Meditation
Green tea is good for relaxation and also provides a mental boost that can be an excellent pairing for meditation. However, tea meditation is best when drinking a variety of tea you enjoy.
So it's no wonder it's often the preferred variety among Zen monks. Both drinking green tea and meditating are known to promote the production of a brainwave linked to inner peace and clarity, so it really does make sense for people to drink green tea as a helpful tool in meditation.
We have an Indian legend regarding the discovery of tea. Boddhidharma, an ancient Buddhist ascetic, cut off his eyelids because he fell sleepy during meditations. It is said that ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids. The leaves of those plants, when put in hot water and drunk, banished sleep.
Matcha contains an antioxidant known as Tannins. Tannins have a range of benefits, from fighting inflammation to helping balance blood sugar levels but can also irritate your natural digestion due to their interference with enzyme function.
If you're drinking too much matcha in a short period, then you may end up with an upset stomach. It's because caffeine stimulates the central nervous system that can lead to feelings of jitteriness and anxiety.
2) Special shout out to green tea – L-theanine is a compound commonly found in green tea. Though the literature suggests that this compound can reduce anxiety, it can actually cause it in many individuals seeking their morning pick-up without the jitters coffee can cause.
Drinking matcha every day results in a noticeable mood boost, optimized all-day energy, and potential benefits like weight loss, heart health, lower blood pressure, metabolism balance, and even totes cancer-fighting properties.
It Can Cause Headaches
Many of the benefits of drinking matcha are derived from this subtler, gentler caffeine content, but if you have a sensitivity to caffeine, if you consume too much matcha, or if you're not properly hydrated, you may notice that matcha is causing headaches.
Since green tea acts as a mild stimulant, you shouldn't use it with other stimulants. It may change the effects of other medicines.
Some Buddhists who follow a strict diet not eat the five pungent vegetables: onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks. The Buddha said that these adversely affect those who are in the early stages of cultivation. If eaten cooked, they produce hormones.
Therefore, during the Buddha's time, people consumed milk in five ways: as milk, cheese (curds), whey, butter, and cream. These are common food staples and well-needed nutrients, so they are not forbidden to Buddhists.
The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.