ZEN TEA JOURNEY Vol.8
The Living Legacy of 1,370-Year Tongdosa:
Where Daily Spiritual Devotion Unfolds into Art and Zen Tea
“If Sagrada Família in Spain is being completed over 150 years,
Tongdosa, even after 1,370 years, remains a work in progress.”
Visiting Tongdosa Temple nestled in Mount Yeongchuk for our August Zen Tea journey, Supreme Patriarch Master Seongpa personally took the wheel to guide us through various active restoration sites across the temple grounds.
Beside the tea fields he planted by hand two decades ago, soft pink lotus flowers bloom quietly. The traditional earthen house used for roasting tea was also built by his own hands. In the middle of a recently cultivated 100,000-pyeong buckwheat field, a single ancient tree stands firmly, witnessing the passage of time.
Rooted in Monastic Discipline:
A Seamless Synthesis of Spiritual Practice and Fine Art
Under his guidance, monks ferment their own traditional pastes to achieve temple self-reliance, while his lacquerware techniques—originally initiated to preserve wooden cultural heritage—have reached an extraordinary artistic peak. Crafting tea bowls led him to ceramics, and his daily meditative calligraphy seamlessly evolved into grand museum exhibitions.
Following the Zen principle of "A day without work is a day without food," Master Seongpa’s daily labor and spiritual practice themselves constitute a profound work of art.
Tea and Zen Are One (茶禪一味) :
Realizing Harmony and Peace Through a Single Cup
Even today, Master Seongpa warmly offers a cup of tea to every visitor entering his tea room without condition. Sharing the pure joy of life like a crane taking flight, the ancient teaching of 'Da-Seon-Il-Mi' (Tea and Zen are of the same flavor) is realized not through grand discourse, but within the humble warmth of this bowl.
Ahead of his upcoming solo exhibition at the Harvard Art Museums this December—marking the first time a Korean artist is featured individually—the master's quiet authority shone most brilliantly in his most humble gesture: serving a bowl of tea.
Tea Note : Zen Tea at Tongdosa
Sanctuary : Tongdosa Temple, evolving continuously through its 1,370-year history.
Philosophy : Monastic labor transforming into fine art and the equality of 'Tea and Zen Are One.'
Upcoming : First Korean artist solo exhibition at the Harvard Art Museums in December.
August 2026, MORU MATCHA Zen Archive
ZEN TEA JOURNEY Vol.8
The Living Legacy of 1,370-Year Tongdosa:
Where Daily Spiritual Devotion Unfolds into Art and Zen Tea
“If Sagrada Família in Spain is being completed over 150 years,
Tongdosa, even after 1,370 years, remains a work in progress.”
Visiting Tongdosa Temple nestled in Mount Yeongchuk for our August Zen Tea journey, Supreme Patriarch Master Seongpa personally took the wheel to guide us through various active restoration sites across the temple grounds.
Beside the tea fields he planted by hand two decades ago, soft pink lotus flowers bloom quietly. The traditional earthen house used for roasting tea was also built by his own hands. In the middle of a recently cultivated 100,000-pyeong buckwheat field, a single ancient tree stands firmly, witnessing the passage of time.
Rooted in Monastic Discipline:
A Seamless Synthesis of Spiritual Practice and Fine Art
Under his guidance, monks ferment their own traditional pastes to achieve temple self-reliance, while his lacquerware techniques—originally initiated to preserve wooden cultural heritage—have reached an extraordinary artistic peak. Crafting tea bowls led him to ceramics, and his daily meditative calligraphy seamlessly evolved into grand museum exhibitions.
Following the Zen principle of "A day without work is a day without food," Master Seongpa’s daily labor and spiritual practice themselves constitute a profound work of art.
Tea and Zen Are One (茶禪一味) :
Realizing Harmony and Peace Through a Single Cup
Even today, Master Seongpa warmly offers a cup of tea to every visitor entering his tea room without condition. Sharing the pure joy of life like a crane taking flight, the ancient teaching of 'Da-Seon-Il-Mi' (Tea and Zen are of the same flavor) is realized not through grand discourse, but within the humble warmth of this bowl.
Ahead of his upcoming solo exhibition at the Harvard Art Museums this December—marking the first time a Korean artist is featured individually—the master's quiet authority shone most brilliantly in his most humble gesture: serving a bowl of tea.
Tea Note : Zen Tea at Tongdosa
Sanctuary : Tongdosa Temple, evolving continuously through its 1,370-year history.
Philosophy : Monastic labor transforming into fine art and the equality of 'Tea and Zen Are One.'
Upcoming : First Korean artist solo exhibition at the Harvard Art Museums in December.
August 2026, MORU MATCHA Zen Archive