Mukashi Mukashi

Tea ceremony from 1480. Need we say more? Sitting on SeiZa for an hour wasn't bad, since we were wearing jeans there wasn't much expected of us. Sirn Bisgaard, Sensei of tea ceremony, graced us with a rare and very formal ceremony, using the best antiques and tea wares that the utmost refinement required.
I don’t know much about tea ceremony. From what was explained and what I can gather, it is part entertainment, part training for spirituality and service to others. When you practice Chanoyu, Sirn says, you first abide by the multitudes of rules, sometimes involving how many inches to place your bowl within your space on the tatami, and the number of times you fold your cloth, angle and level of your elbow when you scoop the water. If there wasn’t a practical reason behind something, then there is a symbolic or historic. For example, the tea scoop was called Mu Ni. Mu means no, or none, and ni means two. Mu Ni means Not Two. In ancient India, it is often through the use of negation that one validates. The scoop was made of bamboo with a split in the center. That would have split the handle into two, but the two ends are joined. As a result, it is seemingly two, but is actually one. That is the nature of duality.
Of course, I find that Chanoyu is yet a form of the rules one must abide by to train one’s mind and understanding. There is symbolism everywhere. The trick is to apply any of these principles into real life practice, and how.
Sirn bade us welcome by performing for us in private, a very ancient, very formal tea ceremony from 1480. That choice in itself is an honour that was intentionally bestowed. With Asian art forms, symbolic gestures are everywhere, and one has to learn to read it and receive it properly. My dad, an artist and calligrapher of over 50 years, often said, leave space, leave room for the viewer of the painting to imagine. Leave more empty space than fill it with things. The empty space in a painting is what gives it value, not the things painted. It’s the hint, the suggestion that leads one to imagine, that the viewer then has the freedom to thrive in. If the host, or the painter, or the musician, gives it all away or, in often in the case of pop culture, everything is so in your face, and then there is no room for the recipient to thrive or reject.
So it is the consideration of others that Asia cultures are based, while the Western culture is based on the self, self expression, etc. Anyway, since Chanoyu is full of philosophy, I thought I would pontificate a little bit. For example, at the Teance teashop, I have learned to put prices on items or write out what teas are good for what ailments. I probably should put some road signs at the entrance too so people know where the teabar is. It is a far cry from the original intention, which was a non-commercialized shop for people to explore and discover on their own. However, sometimes being Asian became misunderstood as mysterious and aloof, where actually the intention was service, giving space, and allowing the beauty and magic of discovery to be a gift.

Taken from http://teapersonality.blogspot.com/