The microcosm of the tea room
Sensei says: How you are in the tea room is how you are in the world. Haji o sute hito ni mono toi naraubeshi kore zojozu no motoi narikeru A person must discard all embarrassment... More »
Sensei says: How you are in the tea room is how you are in the world. Haji o sute hito ni mono toi naraubeshi kore zojozu no motoi narikeru A person must discard all embarrassment... More »
Students who practice Chanoyu are asked by their teachers to think of gomei or poetic names for tea utensils. Many students think it is a chore or silly to come up with names for your... More »
It is not often that we give ourselves permission to love, or let alone talk about the things we love. These days it is hip and cool to be cynical and make fun of others... More »
I have talked with many people who don't like rules. These people think that too many rules in tea restrict them and don't allow them to be free to do as they please. But think... More »
I was looking for something to watch on TV the other day. I have digital cable with more than 168 channels, and there was nothing on. Yet I kept flipping from channel to channel for... More »
Doing temae in class is sometimes intimidating, especially when we are learning a new procedure. We want to get it right from the very beginning. Many students have performance anxiety and can do procedures at... More »
I had one day left in New York after the Friends in Tea conference. Roger had given a couple of us a ride as far as a train station near his house and we took... More »
At the Friends in Tea conference, the tea space was improvised, so there was no mizuya to prepare for chakai . Thanks to our resourceful mizuya cho , Jan, she set up a temporary space... More »
During the Friends in Tea conference, there were two formally scheduled chakai, the opening chakai the first day and the closing chakai on the last day. In between, there was what they called open chakai.... More »
It was a little early for me to sit zazen at 4:30 am with the monks, but I did get up for the 6:00 Chabako tea that was planned for that morning. We were to... More »