Quotes by Venerable Pŏpchŏng Sŭnim

The taste cannot be described but can be appreciated with experience.

Tea is said to be a "way" (tao). This is because it is something one learns to appreciate through feeling, not through verbal instruction. If a person maintains a state of oneness, only then will he appreciate the quietness inherent in tea. If he is excited, he will never recognize the tea's quietness. For this reason it is said, that "tea and meditation are of one taste." If one's meditation is not single-pointed, one will fail to appreciate the true qualities of tea.