Zen and The Way of Tea

Zen and the way of Tea Part 1.   

It is generally considered that Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the late 6^th 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

The Health Benefits of Tai Chi

The Health Benefits of Tai Chi

There are many benefits to health when we include exercise as part of a daily routine, lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancer. Tai Chi differs from other types of exercise in that it is a low impact exercise. Working through the form in slow motion ensures the movements are never forced, the joints are neither over extended or bent and connective tissue is not stretched. You breathe deeply, focus your mind on the movement creating a relaxed, meditative sensation that creates stillness and inner peace that reduces blood pressure, lowers heart rate, tension and anxiety. Tai Chi is said to have the aerobic capacity to leave you breathless, but no more than a brisk walk, and it address key components of exercise by increasing muscle strength, improving flexibility and balance, as well as increasing blood flow. 

In a 2006 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Stanford University researchers reported benefits of tai chi in 39 women and men, average age 66, with below-average fitness and at least one cardiovascular risk factor. After taking 36 tai chi classes in 12 weeks, they showed improvement in both lower and upper-body strength. (Altern Ther Health Med. 2006 Mar-Apr;12(2):50-8).

In a Japanese study using the same strength measures, 113 older adults were assigned to different 12-week exercise programs, including Tai Chi, brisk walking, and resistance training. People who did Tai Chi improved more than 30% in lower-body strength and 25% in arm strength, almost as much as those who participated in resistance training, and more than those assigned to brisk walking.

“Although you aren’t working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm in Tai Chi exercises strengthens the upper body,” “Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.” (Dr. Gloria Yeh, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School).

Tai Chi improves balance and according to some studies, reduces falls, by increasing "Proprioception" — the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space which is known to decline with age. Tai Chi helps train this sense, which is a function of the sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai Chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. And a study in 2006 from Stanford University found that Tai Chi significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility and strength with women.

Finding Stillness

O-Tsukimi

O-Tsukimi, The Autumn Moon-viewing Festival. 

(28^th, 29^th, 30^th September 2012).

O-Tsukimi, or the Moon viewing festival, is the traditional Japanese festival, which honors the last full moon before the autumnal equinox, (and corresponds with our “Harvest Moon”).

The festival dates from the Heian period, (794-1185), a period when Buddhism, Taoism and the cultural influence of the Chinese Tang dynasty was at its height. The aristocrats of Japans cultural elite would gather to recite poetry, listen to music, eat specialties, and drink tea under the full moon. 

It is said that every year at the Moon-viewing festival a retired imperial prince would sit patiently on the polished bamboo floor of the veranda of the Katsura Imperial Villa, waiting for the moon’s reflection to shimmer across the pond in the garden. When the reflection of the moon appeared on the surface of the lake he would lift his sake cup to catch the reflection of the moon in the cup and this would bring him good luck in the next year.........

The Autumn Moon

The moon appears in every season, it is true,

But surely it's best in fall.

In autumn, mountains loom and water runs clear.

A brilliant disk floats across the infinite sky,

And there is no sense of light and darkness,

For everything is permeated with its presence.

The boundless sky above, the autumn chill on my face.

I take my precious staff and wander about the hills.

Not a speck of the world's dust anywhere,

Just the brilliant beams of moonlight.

I hope others, too, are gazing on this moon tonight,

And that it's illuminating all kinds of people.

Autumn after autumn, the moonlight comes and goes;

Human beings will gaze upon it for eternity.

The sermons of Buddha, the preaching of Eno,

Surely occurred under the same kind of moon.

I contemplate the moon through the night,

As the stream settles, and white dew descends.

Which wayfarer will bask in the moonlight longest?

Whose home will drink up the most moonbeams?

Ryokan (1758-1831)

Source: Stevens. J, (1993) Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf (Zen Poems of Ryokan) Shambala Publications Inc London (page 30).

Photo by courtesy of: http://mattsko.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/the-full-moon-in-japanese-art/

Meditation has no purpose?

The writer and philosopher Alan Watts (1915 - 1973) is quoted as saying:

"We could say that meditation doesn’t have a reason or doesn’t have a purpose. In this respect it’s unlike almost all other things we do except perhaps making music and dancing. When we make music we don’t do it in order to reach a certain point, such as the end of the composition. If that were the purpose of music then obviously the fastest players would be the best. Also, when we are dancing we are not aiming to arrive at a particular place on the floor as in a journey. When we dance, the journey itself is the point, as when we play music the playing itself is the point. And exactly the same thing is true in meditation. Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment".

Meditation is the discovery that the very point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.... this "Present moment", the "Here and now", and the same is true of Tai Chi. When we practice Tai Chi we are not aiming to arrive at a particular place or achieve a particular goal, we practice Tai Chi in order to practice Tai Chi, the "Supreme Ultimate".

When we bring meditation and Tai Chi into our lives in this way the benefits of the practice then become a gift, a bonus not a means to an end. We learn to enjoy the practice, the practice of just sitting, just walking, just practicing Tai Chi.

Dogin Zenji taught that zazen, (sitting in meditation), is to just become present in the process of zazen itself; this is shikantaza. It is not something you acquire after you have done zazen. It is not the concept of the process; it is to focus on the process its self. (John Daido Loori (2004) The Art of Just Sitting page101).

So what is the "Gift" that is meditation? Sitting meditation is very healing. We realize we can just be with whatever is within us – our pain, anger, and irritation, or our joy, love, and peace. We are with whatever is there without being carried away by it. Let it come, let it stay, then let it go. No need to push, to oppress, or to pretend our thoughts are not there. Observe the thoughts and images of our mind with an accepting and loving eye. We are free to be still and calm despite the storms that might arise in us.

Sitting meditation is like returning home to give full attention to and care for our self. We sit upright with dignity, and return to our breathing. We bring our full attention to what is within and around us. We let our mind become spacious and our heart soft and kind. Like the peaceful image of the Buddha on the altar, we too can radiate peace and stability. The purpose of sitting meditation is to enjoy. Don’t try to attain anything!

If our legs or feet begin to hurt during the sitting, we are free to adjust our position quietly. We can maintain our concentration by following our breathing and slowly and attentively change our posture. At the end of the sitting meditation session, allow a few minutes to massage your legs and feet before standing up again.

There are numerous suggestions for guided meditations in Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “The Blooming of a Lotus”.