Respect and tranquility in a Japanese tea ceremony

Rituals can have many effects on the human psyche. Like all human formalities there can be a mixture of values attached to them, some of which can be beneficial, neutral, or even deleterious. Apart from the main effect which reflects the value of the object of the ritual, bonds between the participants can be strengthened, which in turn can promote the same gamut of values mentioned earlier. A glorified ritual of serving tea handed down from an era of leisure and lack of challenges might seem, in our tumultuous age, to be a form of escapism, a distraction from tackling the accelerating bombardment of problems that demand our attention lest worse befall us. Sometime, of course, some people need an escape hatch from the too heavy demands thrust upon them.

Rather than being a distraction or form of escapism, Robert, I'd suggest the state of mindfulness associated with Japanese tea ceremonies would put someone in better stead to tackle the bombardment of problems in modern life.

If Jesus had incarnated in Japan, the liturgy of the eucharist would probably be a tea ceremony.

Penny - well-written and laudable in understanding - your experience of the tea ceremony. Especially considering that MURATA Juko (1423-1502) was creating this atmosphere in a very unstable warring era in Japan. I lived nearly two decades in Japan and was able to enjoy tea ceremony on many occasions - including some with component parts lasting three to four hours. It was a privilege. A century later SEN-no-Rikyu's disciple YAMANOUE Soji created one of the most known maxim's in Japan - hanging as a calligraphic scroll in many a tokonoma (formal Japanese living room focal shelf alcove): "Ichi-go Ichi-e" - literally "One-time One-meeting" suggesting a kind of "carpe diem" sensibility - not wasting the chance which might not come again - or that if indeed it takes place again - that might be the final meeting. Thanks for transporting me back to the quiet place of traditional Japan.

Penny's account of the tea making ceremony provides peaceful reading, reflecting the peace of the ceremony itself. Meanwhile in Japanese homes, tea houses and restaurants, people frequently make tea as part of a meal or just to linger a while and refresh, without performing the cha-no-yu ceremony. In our own country, Indigenous Australians, especially in the more traditional communities, look forward to periodic ceremonies as time and place for creative participation and strengthening of culture. All through my childhood and well into my adult years, weekly Mass was compulsory, a ceremony one attended even if not deeply inclined to do so. Nowadays, many Australian Catholics have turned away from regular attendance at Mass, choosing to participate only on the major holy days of Christmas and Easter. While not arguing that these are the only days 'holy enough' to warrant formal celebration in community, I think this change of practice reflects a more personal response to the idea of ceremony. We are invited to participate; we do not feel compelled to be there.

In response to Ian Fraser - you'll be interested, Ian - given your references to the Mass - that the sipping from the communion chalice/wiping of the edge is thought to have influenced aspects of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, too - from the latter half of the 16th century when Francis XAVIER SJ and those who followed him as missionaries were in Japan. So I was told. The time of Sen-no-Rikyu and of Yama-no-Ue Soji to whom I referred earlier. Ideas and practices were - and indeed are - transferred backwards and forwards across the world and then translated afresh - adopted and adapted. Like our kids' game Rock-Scissors-Paper - as fair a method of ensuring objective randomness in decision-making as any (better than the short-straw draw method) - as brought back by Australian PoWs observing it used by their Imperial Japanese captors of WWII. Or our footwear - formerly and unselfconsciously known as thongs (flip-flops/NZ jandals)!

Lovely article and very informative. Such a relaxing activity and one that we can all seek to incorporate in our lives in other ways.

"An intimate affair, a simple act practised in a tranquil atmosphere" as a description of the Zen Tea Ceremony, fits perfectly with another spiritual experience I know, today called "The Christian Meditation Group". Many Christians are simply unaware of this practice or discipline in their tradition, which, originating in the 4th Century, far predates the Tea Ceremony, yet respectfully acknowledges that it shares a spiritual or mystical fellowship with Zen and all the major world and native religions each of which have a precious contemplative practice. It is what we all have in common that can respectfully unite us as spiritual beings. One centre for the renewal of this Christian movement today is the World Community for Christian Meditation, which, when it celebrates the Eucharist together encourages a contemplative, quiet atmosphere (too often missing in our busy Masses) which brings to the surface the contemplative aspect of Christ's Supper - very much like what seems to emerge within the Tea Ceremony.