Tea Ceremony Part One
2011-01-03 @ 00:00:37
Drinking tea in Japan is not only a matter of ordinary life, primarily related to man's physical faculty. It is something more important, even for common people. This is a kind of art which is known as chado or sado. Bofth terms mean "the way of tea" and they are strongly connected with zen philosphy, especially with zen aesthetics. Generally zen was great influence in the development of chado. "Chazen ichimi" declared old tea master: "Zen and the taste of tea are one and the same".
Chado, also called chanoyu - the Tea Ceremony, has a long and rich tradition that begins with Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and probably he also was the "transmitter" of zen to China (and then to Japan). The legend has that one day Bodhidharma fell asleep during the meditation. When he realised this fact he was very angry and cut his eyelids which changed into the teabush. Since that time tea has been favourite monk's drink because of its qualities, especially refreshing.
But this is only the beginning of Tea Ceremony.
To be continued..
Chado, also called chanoyu - the Tea Ceremony, has a long and rich tradition that begins with Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and probably he also was the "transmitter" of zen to China (and then to Japan). The legend has that one day Bodhidharma fell asleep during the meditation. When he realised this fact he was very angry and cut his eyelids which changed into the teabush. Since that time tea has been favourite monk's drink because of its qualities, especially refreshing.
But this is only the beginning of Tea Ceremony.
To be continued..