I uploaded a bunch of photos to my Flickr account this morning. You can also view this Flickr slideshow. If you don’t have a Flickr account you will find info on how to sign up here.
Tomorrow morning I am doing an interview with this radio show via linkup through a local station. I don’t think it’s live and will try to find out when it will be broadcast. I am unfamiliar with the program, but it looks interesting and I decided to subscribe to it via iTunes.
Joan Halifax Roshi is in India. Found this photo on her Flickr:
the thank you finger tap on Flickr – Photo Sharing!
how to say “thanks” quietly at the dining table.“When someone is pouring tea, you will often see the recipient tap the table with three fingers three times. This is a polite form of saying thank you and has its origin in an incident from Chinese history.
Legend says that during the Qing Dynastyan emperor wanted to see how the common people really lived and decided to inspect his lands by going incognito and pretending to be an ordinary traveler. While visiting South China, he once went into a teahouse with his companions and in order not to arouse suspicion to his special status, took his turn pouring tea for his courtiers.
His shocked companions wanted to kowtow (ritual bow) to him for the great honor he was doing them, but this would reveal his identity. Therefore, the emperor told them to discretely tap three fingers on the table. One finger represented the bowed head and the other two the prostrate arms. This is the origin for the custom of discreetly ‘tapping-your-thanks’ whenever someone pours you a cup of tea. Likewise, when offering a match or light for someone’s cigarette they may tap the back of your wrist also signifying thanks.” www.chinastrategies.com/cbeexcerpt.htm
Here is a slideshow of photos I took in Spain last November.
