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chado
November 2009 
The place to practice
Posted on Dec 24th, 2007
by 
margie
margie
Tea anywhere
When studying tea, it often comes up that people do not have a tea room, there is no place to practice and they cannot study chanoyu. When I first began to study chanoyu, I measured out a four and a half mat tea room on my living room floor and used masking tape to mark the mats. I used my stovetop kettle and a ceramic cereal bowl and a carved wooden popsicle stick to practice making tea.
Chanoyu developed in Japan and originally took place in a tatami mat room, but it is a living tradition that has adapted with the times. Gengensai developed the ryurei or table style tea that can take place in any room or even out of doors. There is also chabako, a traveling tea set you can use to make tea anywhere. I have taken my chabako on hikes in the mountains, to parks, and other outdoor venues. With a thermos of hot water and a chabako, tea ceremony can be done anywhere.
The beginning tea procedure, ryakubon can be done without a tatami mat room. I have a set in my living room and have used it to make tea for guests on the coffee table with an ordinary tea kettle of hot water on a trivet. I even had a ryakubon set at the office that I used to make tea for my collegues, or even just myself when I needed to take a 15 minute break in a busy day.
The point is that you do not have to have all the utensils to practice chanoyu. Just use what you have, adapt the rest and make good tea for your guests.
Access: Public
I keep seeing parallels between Chanoyu and Aikido. In Aikido, the phrase “Jiki shin kore dojo” is also often used. It denotes that with correct mind and spirit, the world is the dojo (or everywhere is the place of practice). Fascinating.
My sensei has given a similar lesson in tea: when you have no tea room, just create one clearly in your mind. With proper intention, good practice is possible anywhere.
Hello and Merry Christmas, Steve.
This saying was brought home to me just before I left Japan. I was very sad to leave and Daisosho's late wife gave a talk to all of us and told us that studying chanoyu in Kyoto was not the only place in the world to practice. We had been given a foundation and that everything we needed to practice we will carry with us, then she wrote this saying on the board and translated it for us. Ever since, I have kept this in my heart and in my practice.
Take care,
Margie