a pause at the chai shop

On the way to the temple

A pause at the chai shop

Picture an old monk, walking uphill on a well-trodden, ancient path through the forest, heading for the temple. But this old monk has not dropped all his baggage yet and he is heavily laden. And halfway up the hill, he comes to a chai shop. He puts down his sack and rests. He drinks a chai and enjoys the view. But when he has finished his chai and recovered a little energy, he picks up his sack and continues on his way.

Walking the spiritual path can be demanding. At times it requires all our energy. At times there is great hardship. And it is natural, when the going is tough, that once in a while we take a break. We might pause for a cup of chai. We might feel we have stepped out of the path for a while.

Not only may such pauses be useful for us to rest but they too, eventually, are seen as part of the path. As we journey, to begin with, there is this distinction between the spiritual side of life and the mundane – the chai shop. But later, later we come to see that all of life is spiritual. Drinking a cup of chai, we are at one with existence at least as much as when we are in the temple. And resting, relaxing and simply enjoying the view, this too is a deeply spiritual part of life. And when we are struggling uphill, weighed down, feeling we are walking the spiritual path, that is no more spiritual than sitting drinking chai.

But if all we do is drink chai, if we become so distracted by the comfortable side of life, if we are merely being entertained the whole time, then we may lose our impetus. So whilst on the way to the temple, it is a good thing to take a pause for a cup of chai but perhaps we should not sit in the chai shop forever. We should not forget to walk on.