Zen and the way of Tea Part 1.
It is generally considered that Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the late 6th century during the course of trade between the two countries and so it is entirely conceivable that tea, as a form of herbal medicine, travelled with merchants and traveling monks. Whilst the Japanese monk Gyoki is reputed to have planted tea bushes in 49 Buddhist temple gardens sometime between 648 and 749, it is the Buddhist monks Saichō (767–822) and Kōbō-Daishi (774–835), who traveled to China during the early Heian period (c.804) to study the Mahāvairocana Sutra and returned with seeds from tea bushes and new cultivation and manufacturing methods, and Myōan Eisai (1141-1215) who in 1191, is credited with introducing Zen, (Chinese: Chan), Buddhism to Japan.
Tea in Japan was both rare, expensive, and only enjoyed by high priests and the aristocracy. The preferred method for making tea in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), was the preparation of powdered tea, made from stone ground dried tea leaves; the beverage was prepared by whipping the tea powder (matcha), and hot water together in a bowl. Eisai experimented with different ways to brew tea, finally adopting the Chinese whisked tea and the preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by Zen Buddhists in Japan.
Attempts by the Mongols to invade Japan in 1274 and again in 1281 were thwarted by typhoons that completely destroyed the fleet of ships carrying the invading army. The Kamikaze or “divine wind” that destroyed Kublai Khans invading Mongol army not only saved Japan from invasion, but contributed to saving her culture and the tea ceremony. Whilst the consumption of powdered tea gradually subsided in China after the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Yuan dynasty, the consumption of powdered tea in Japan continued.
It is generally considered that Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the late 6th century during the course of trade between the two countries and so it is entirely conceivable that tea, as a form of herbal medicine, travelled with merchants and traveling monks. Whilst the Japanese monk Gyoki is reputed to have planted tea bushes in 49 Buddhist temple gardens sometime between 648 and 749, it is the Buddhist monks Saichō (767–822) and Kōbō-Daishi (774–835), who traveled to China during the early Heian period (c.804) to study the Mahāvairocana Sutra and returned with seeds from tea bushes and new cultivation and manufacturing methods, and Myōan Eisai (1141-1215) who in 1191, is credited with introducing Zen, (Chinese: Chan), Buddhism to Japan.
Tea in Japan was both rare, expensive, and only enjoyed by high priests and the aristocracy. The preferred method for making tea in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), was the preparation of powdered tea, made from stone ground dried tea leaves; the beverage was prepared by whipping the tea powder (matcha), and hot water together in a bowl. Eisai experimented with different ways to brew tea, finally adopting the Chinese whisked tea and the preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by Zen Buddhists in Japan.
Attempts by the Mongols to invade Japan in 1274 and again in 1281 were thwarted by typhoons that completely destroyed the fleet of ships carrying the invading army. The Kamikaze or “divine wind” that destroyed Kublai Khans invading Mongol army not only saved Japan from invasion, but contributed to saving her culture and the tea ceremony. Whilst the consumption of powdered tea gradually subsided in China after the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Yuan dynasty, the consumption of powdered tea in Japan continued.
Over time the tea ceremony known as Chanou (“hot water for tea”), or Chado, (“the way of tea”), developed in an atmosphere of extreme cultural refinement with the ruling classes of fourteenth and fifteenth century Japan.
Further development of the tea ceremony in the
sixteenth century saw a new sense of beauty develop with emphasis on the "beauty of the imperfect", the concept of the impermanent and incomplete became known as “Wabi Sabi”. Whilst there is no direct English translation of wabi sabi, ‘Wabi’
invokes quietness and tranquility, and ‘Sabi,’ the appreciation of the beauty
in that which is old, faded and rustic. Wabi sabi then describes a quiet,
natural world where beauty is simple, modest and imperfect. Complementary to
wabi sabi, is the concept of “Yugen”, the power to evoke profound grace and
subtlety, a suggestion or hint of “something” rather than the “actual”.
A new visual and tactile culture
of Tea ceremony led by Murata Shuko (1422-1502) and then Sen no Rikyu
(1522-91), changed the emphasis from the appreciation of all that is rare and
valuable in the settings of the social elite, and the realisation that each
coming together of guest and host creates a unique set of variables that can
only happen at that one moment in time. "Ichi-go, Ichi-e", "One time - One
meeting", became the spiritual basis of the Tea Gathering.
Leon Edwards
© The Stillness Project
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