The Way of Tea
Green Gulch Zen Center
Sowing the Moon Teahouse
And the heart, unscrolled,
Is comforted by such small things:
A cup of green tea rescues us, grows deep and large,
A lake.
The Way of Tea has been described as a
spiritual practice, a performance art, as how to hold a social
gathering, and as simply making a fire, boiling water, whisking green
tea, and serving it to one’s guests. Its essence is heart to heart
meeting through full awareness of transiency; its form is the making,
giving, and receiving of tea and a bite to eat.
A monk asked Ummon: “What are the teachings of
Buddha’s whole lifetime?”
Ummon said: “An appropriate response”
The Way of Tea is an approach to practicing
with this koan of how to respond appropriately, how we can truly meet.
As host, one studies how to create an intimate setting within the four
bare walls of the tea room, choosing calligraphy by a respected teacher
– usually a phrase from a Zen text – to place in the
tokonoma along with seasonal flowers; selecting tea bowls and other
utensils, keeping the particular guests and occasion in mind. In the
role of guest, we train in mindful awareness from the time of entering
the gate of the garden, to rinsing hands at the tsukubai, entering the
tea room, and noticing the objects in the tokonoma, the sound of the
kettle, the steam rising, the smell of incense, how we walk across the
tatami, the taste of the tea, the feel of the tea bowl in the hands. In
the quiet space of the tearoom, the traditional forms of The Way of
Tea, the formal movements and handling of utensils offer us the
opportunity to express our hearts and deepest intention. Both in
conversation and with the whole body, host and guest express
appreciation and respect for each other and for everything and everyone
who made the gathering possible. Host, guest, unseen helpers, fire,
water, tea bowls, tea, and flowers, join with the poetic phrase
displayed in the tokonoma to call forth the Dharma.
encapsulate our Tea and Zen heritage - Green Gulch / Bay Area landscapes - hillsides,coast and foggy mountains - done by a Californian who trained in Japan in a tradition that came from China.
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