五味八苦:五月茶

Complex of Love

- Five Flavors and Eight Distresses:  Chinese Laurel (Antidesma bunius)

果有五味，人生有八苦．佛教中所說人生離不開八苦：生老病死，愛別離，怨憎會，求不得，五陰盛．只要積極面對人生，既來之，則安之，日子還不是這樣子的過．

Chinese Laurel (Antidesma bunius) is a Hong Kong native tree, alias 「Wu wei zi」 (five-flavored herb).  Its fruit is edible.  When you chew the fruit, you can taste five flavors.  The flesh is sour when immature and sweet when ripe.  The seeds are a bit bitter, hot, and salty.  One of the characteristics of the parks in Hong Kong is that not many native trees are grown there.  It』s a bit difficult to get to know Chinese Laurel, but you can try to look for them in Nan Lian Garden. 

There are five flavors in fruit, and there are eight distresses in life.  According to Buddhism, we cannot get away from these distresses and they are:  birth, age, sickness, death, parting with what we love, meeting with what we hate, unattained aims and all the ills of the five skandhas.  Despite of all these distresses, let us take life in a positive way.  As we have come to this world, let』s just stay and enjoy everyday of our life.

*translated by Mary Chung

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