The Story of Tea

About two thousand years ago, there was a prince in India. He lived in a beautiful palace but he was not happy One day he left his palace. He went to different places in his country. Then he became a teacher. He told people to be kind to each other and to animals, not to be greedy and not to kill. Many people listened to his words. People called him Buddha. He died when he was 80 years old.

Many, many years later, there was a very good man. His name was Bhodi-Dharma. He studied Buddhism - the words of Buddha. One day he left his home and his family, and he became a Buddhist monk. Monks did not want beautiful homes, nice clothes or money. When they were hungry, they went to people's houses with their empty bowls, and people gave them food. They did not usually wear any

shoes, and they wore the same clothes in the summer and in the winter. Sometimes they slept outside, on the ground. Sometimes people let them sleep in their homes. They moved from place to place and told people about Buddha.

Bhodi-Dharma walked all over India and China, and told people about Buddhism. Everybody loved him and listened to him. The animals loved him, too. The tigers, crocodiles, snakes and leopards were quiet and gentle when they saw Bhodi- Dharma. They did not fight, or make a noise; and they never tried to hurt Bhodi-Dharma. He was their friend.

Bhodi-Dharma studied Buddha's words while he was going from place to place to teach people about Buddhism. He learned many things. He learned to forget about his body. He stopped feeling hungry, and he was never thirsty. He was never too cold, too hot or too tired. He was never angry, sad or afraid. 'I don't need much food or drink, and I don't need to sleep,' he told himself. 'I only need to study the words of Buddha.' Bhodi-Dharma was very happy!