Bodhidharma Tea Pet, ZiSha (Yixing Clay)

If you’ve taken part in a Gong Fu tea ceremony before, you might’ve noticed a small ceramic entity or animal sitting on the tea tray, slowly slurping tea alongside you. This Yixing clay tea pet right here is none other than a meditating Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was a 5th-6th century Indian monk who brought Chan Buddhism to China and inspired the creation of Shaolin Kungfu. He has popularly become known in Japan as "Daruma".   "The moon through a crumbling window". Bodhidharma, by Yoshitoshi, 1887.   What is a tea pet? A tea pet is a small clay figure that is used during gong fu cha for various purposes; most often decoration, but also used by tea lovers for good luck. They can also be used to get a perfect tea water temperature.   How to use a tea pet: Some tea masters believe that initially, a tea pet has no soul. Pouring hot tea over it, which has a soul, in turn, gives the tea pet a soul. During your tea ceremony, continuously hydrate the tea pet by pouring leftover tea over i