DogMa wrote:
> There may be two salient lessons here. One is that there is great tea,
> tea service and tea conversation available in (great?) restaurants, but
> apparently the Tao Te Ching is as relevant to fine tea as to all else:
> those who advertise don't always deliver, and those who deliver don't
> always advertise. The other is that despite a truly ab-initio
> relationship with this fine establishment and its owner, my relationship
> and experience there have experienced a step-change upward as a result
> of asking about tea. A salutary event indeed. May you have such fortune.
>
> -DM
>
> PS - That wasn't decadent enough, so we strolled down the block to make
> sure that Toscanini's still has the world's best cocoa-pudding ice
> cream. Corax, ever the classical loyalist, is holding out for gelato at
> some little shop in Rome, so we'll just have to have a re-match.

Great stuff. As for the Tao Te Ching, it is a perfect match with tea
and life. I began reading and following the philosophical teachings of
Taoism over 8 years ago, and it has enhanced my love for and enjoyment
of tea and life. To me it is simple, to the point, real, and as
applicable today as it was when penned. I don't get preachy or on any
soapboxes for any religion or philosohical teaching, but between my
love of art, Taoism, and tea I can take a step backwards in time and
remove myself from the hustle and bustle and technology and appreciate
a lot of things that go unknown to many today in favor of shopping,
money, and the endless pursuit to get ahead (of what I'm not sure, but
to just get farther ahead than the guy next door at any cost.).

And as for the cocoa-pudding ice cream vs. the gelato, I'm with the
gelato every time.

- Dominic