Training for
Tranquility in the Kurimoto Japanese Garden -page 2
The detailed rules of dress, posture, manner of walking, and
precise handling of items are overwhelming to most beginners. We
learn patience and humility, sitting quietly on our knees for the
seemingly endless time required for the preparation of a bowl of
tea. Legs tingle, cramp, become leaden and numb. It is an exercise
to ignore legs and focus on the procedure. Earnest students of
chanoyu must learn to concentrate, not to memorize sequences of
gestures or perfect placement of utensils, but rather to prepare
tea or receive and drink tea with a flow and feeling. Movements of
timing, care and grace, when done correctly, create a unique
harmony between people.
Sen Soshitsu, the current 15th-generation grand master of Urasenke
(school of tea), writes that these rules are "not meant as
obstacles, nor as an end in themselves. They are only as a finger
pointing to the moon." In the diligent and disciplined study
of these rules and steps, even the beginner finds a window of
wonderful discovery-perhaps a spiritual opening.
As with much that is most precious and elusive, chado cannot be
easily acquired or quickly understood. Members of our group come
from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. However, each of us has a
sincere interest in studying chanoyu. With humour and patience we
practice monthly, fortunate to have an excellent and inspirational
teacher who comes regularly from the Urasenke Foundation of
Vancouver. It is not only learning the performance of tea ceremony
which draws me, but the cultivation of new awareness and inner
tranquility which enriches and enables me in everyday life.
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
