Peace.

"There is no way to peace, peace is the way" Thich Nhat Hanh

The Samurai and the Tea Master

The Samurai and the Tea Master
A long time ago there lived a Tea Master. He was an elderly, small and frail man. He was known throughout the countryside where he lived for his beautiful Tea Ceremony. His work was so good that one day the Emperor heard about him and summoned him to the Palace to perform this special ceremony. The quiet, little Tea Master received this invitation from the Emperor. He packed his belongings, placed them on his back and started on a long journey by foot to the Palace. After many long days the little man arrived and performed the ceremony for the Emperor. The Emperor was so impressed! He presented the Tea Master with the highest honour that he was allowed. He presented him with the two Japanese swords of the Samurai. The Tea Master accepted the swords. He bowed to the emperor, placed the swords on his back, picked up his belongings and started his journey home.

Two days later the little man was walking through a small country village when he was spotted by the Samurai that protected that area. He was a great and powerful Samurai. At first the Samurai could not believe his eyes. Where those swords? What was this little frail man doing with them?! The Samurai confronted the little man. “How dare you make a mockery of all Samurai! I can not stand for this dishonour. " The Samurai challenged the Tea Ceremony master to a duel to the death with swords, and said: "Meet me here today at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and we shall fight.”

Honour would not permit the Tea Ceremony master to refuse the challenge, so he had to agree. But he was frightened, and went to his own teacher of Tea Ceremony, to ask him what to do. "I have never held a sword in my hand in my life," he said. "He will surely kill me". The older Tea Ceremony master replied with a calm smile. "Do not worry," he said. "Go meet him at the appointed time, and do what you know how to do. Perform the Tea Ceremony."

At four o'clock, the Samurai arrived with swords. But the Tea Ceremony master arrived with charcoal, matches, a tea kettle, water, cups, and began to prepare the tea. The Tea Master opened his tea container and the pungent smell of the green tea mingled with the fragrance of the flowers. Quietly and purposefully, the tea master scooped a small amount of green tea into a cup. With the ladle he dipped hot water from the kettle and poured it onto the tea. The Samurai watched, caught up in the quiet intensity of the tea master’s movements. Taking the whisk, the tea master applied it vigorously until the tea foamed. Then bowing with complete calmness, the tea master handed the cup to the Samurai.

The Samurai sipped the tea properly. When he finished, he said to the Tea Master: "I am defeated. You have united body and soul so perfectly, you defeated me. The only thing I can honourably do to a man like you is ask you to teach me. Will you instruct me in the ways of the tea ceremony?"

“Of course,” said the Tea Master. “Meet me at sunset tomorrow."
With greatful thanks for the story to Sweetpersimmion at Blogspot.com.
http://sweetpersimmon1.blogspot.com/2007/11/samurai-and-tea-master.html

The Great Bell Chant

The Great Bell Chant

May the sound of this bell penetrate deeply into the cosmos
In even the darkest places, may living beings hear it clearly
So that understanding comes to their heart, and without hardship
They transcend the cycle of birth and death

Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve
My mind becomes calm, my body relaxed, and a smile is born on my lips
Following the sound of the bell, my breath guides me back to the safe island of mindfulness
In the garden of my heart the flower of peace blooms beautifully

John Daido Loori 1931 - 2009

John Daido Loori, author, artist, Zen Master founder and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York. Died at Zen Mountain Monastery on the 9th October 2009. One of the most influential Zen masters in the West, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer eighteen months earlier. Under John Daido Loori’s direction, Zen Mountain Monastery has grown to be one of the leading Zen monasteries in America, widely noted for its unique way of integrating art and Zen practice.

http://www.mro.org/daido/

Promise me,

promise me this day

while the sun is just overhead

even as they strike you down

with a mountain of hate and violence,

remember brother,

man is not our enemy.
Just your pity,

just your hate

invincible,

limitless,

hatred will never let you face

the beast in man.

And one day,

when you face this beast alone,

your courage intact,

your eyes kind,

out of your smile

will bloom a flower

and those who love you will behold you

across 10,000 worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,

I'll go on with bent head

but knowing the immortality of love.

And on the long, rough road

both sun and moon will shine,

lighting my way.

Thich Nhat Hanh

(1987) BEING PEACE by Parallax Press

Silent and Serene

Silent and serene, forgetting words
Bright clarity appears before you,
When you reflect it you become vast
Where you embody it
You are spiritually uplifted.
Zen Master Hongzhi

The Chinese Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival.

The Chinese Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. This is the day on which the festival activities reach a climax.
The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Shangyuan Festival", because it is the first full moon night. Due to the custom of watching bright lights, it is also called the Festival of Lights. According to folk legend, this festival has been significant since as early as the Western Han Dynasty when Liu Che, the Western Han Emperor, worshipped the god in the Ganquan Palace on that night. However, it became a real folk festival only later in the Eastern Han.

The introduction of Buddhism in the Eastern Han Dynasty is an important part in promoting this festival. Throughout the Han Dynasty, Buddhism flourished in China. One emperor heard that Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddha's body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light lanterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, this Buddhist ritual developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded from the Central Plains to the whole of China. Till today, the Lantern Festival is still held each year around the country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets, attracting countless visitors. Children, extremely excited, hold self-made or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets.
"Guessing lantern riddles" is an activity that emerged during the people's enjoyment of lanterns throughout the Song Dynasty. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owner to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a small gift. As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular activity among all social ranks. People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on this day, so it is also called the "Yuanxiao Festival". Yuanxiao was initially known as the "tangyuan", due to increased consumption during the Lantern Festival, and are also known as the "lantern". Businessmen also euphemistically call it "ingots". They are small balls made of glutinous rice flour with a variety of fillings, such as sugar, rose petals, sesame, bean paste, jujube paste, walnut meat, dried fruit and edible oil, etc. offering a variety of flavors. They can be boiled, fried or steamed, tasting sweet and delicious. What's more, tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with "tuanyuan", meaning reunion. So people eat it to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family.

In the daytime, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing are staged. At night, besides the magnificent lanterns, an array of firework exhibits form beautiful scenes. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off during the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters, people become really intoxicated by the impressive fireworks and bright moon in the sky.

From: Chinese Voice Newsletter (newsletter@chinesevoice.com) 03 February 2009