Harmony tea ceremony is the way of leading oneself into harmony with nature and which emphasise human relationships;

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1 A cup of tea, a simple thing that many of us will have had today. Perhaps a cup on its own or a cup with family or friends. Simplicity itself. You probably don t even think about it when you are making it it is so ordinary and uneventful. All you need is some boiling water, some tea and something to brew it in. Simplicity itself. Water is and was dangerous to drink if there are unsanitary conditions - many illnesses can arise from drinking unclean water. Of course when you boil water the pathogenic organism are usually killed so it is safe to drink. In northern Europe people brewed ale which was made by boiling water while in the east tea was the drink. What is this to do with Buddhism you may ask? Well, the Buddha s teaching tell us to refrain from alcohol so it s unsurprising that Buddhist monks would not drink this. Ahh a cup of tea, that will do instead. Tea drinking was common across South East Asia, particularly China. Buddhist monks observed people making tea for others, either on its own or with food and realised it could be used for mediation. Some people devised rituals about making tea and used exquisitely crafted materials like fine porcelain tea bowls made by the finest craftsmen and artists in the land. Japanese monks took these tea rituals but developed them in a way that reflected their Buddhist philosophy. These became codified into what we now call either Chado or Chanoyu the way of tea. Similarly, there is Kendo the way of the sward or Karate Do the way of the empty fist. Many of these ways are martial and are used in warfare or defence. The way of tea is different and there are four basic principles of the philosophy of tea: harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity. These have become the embodiment of tea ceremony as a whole procedure: its meaning, spirit and enthusiasm, as well as its separate components, down to the smallest detail. Each of the four principles can be in the abstract and philosophical sense, as well as in the concrete and practical. Harmony tea ceremony is the way of leading oneself into harmony with nature and which emphasise human relationships; To consider harmony we must also consider disharmony what causes this? The Buddha s teachings tell us of three ultimate causes of suffering: Greed and desire for material goods Ignorance or delusion Hatred and destructive urges

2 In order to avoid these we must consider the 8 Noble Truths - Right Action - Sammā kammanta Harmony - Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure. Respect is a polite, cordial relationship with others. With tea you invite and show respect of your guests in the way you treat them. In order to be fully respectful of your guest you must consider yourself and have some an understanding of your own self-respect. This reminds me of the concept of loving kindness where we first offer this to ourselves before we offer it to the rest of humanity; Not everyone sees your worth as a person make sure that person isn t you. Right Speech - Sammā vācā Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech. Purity is purity of the mind, heart and intentions. On an everyday level this is expressed in cleanliness and attention to detail. Purity of the heart involves eliminating confusion and distracting thoughts. The tea ceremony allows us to be pure and calm, without being lost in wild fancies. You ritually purify yourself before you enter the teahouse Tranquillity is the culmination of all three preceding principles. Tranquillity is a harmony of the moment, acceptance of the surrounding, respect for people and things with purity of intentions, peace of mind and appreciation of nature. Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states and preventing them arising in future. Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings and states of mind. Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness. A Zen tea master said that The essence of tea is knowing contentment. It teaches a means of knowing satisfaction with each and every thing - it teaches contentment with what we have.

3 The tea ceremony should be harmonious it is about simple, honourable behaviour which causes us to reflect in our hearts on behalf of all living things about the teachings of the Buddha. Tea was taken in Tea houses within Teagardens which are designed to reflect the 4 seasons and let a person take delight in the natural harmony of heaven and earth with transplanted mountains, rivers, trees and rocks so there is a cosmic wholeness. These Teahouses are often very small e.g. a mere two metres square with its door made deliberately a little too small, so that all who came into it, even the mightiest, would have to bow and feel equal to others. The idea was to create a barrier between the teahouse and the world outside. The very path to the teahouse was to pass around trees and stones, to create a meander that would help break ties with the ordinary realm with ordinary thought like the start of mediation. The fall of the year is not merely the falling of the leaves the fall of the vital powers in many natural things including man and this reminds us of the importance of the transient nature of existence. When you enter the Teahouse it would be very simple. There would be the shrine area, with a wall hanging and a vase with a flower. Sandalwood incense would be placed into the braziers - its associated with Buddha and used in Buddhist temples and at funerals to convey a sense of purification and transcendence. The materials and utensils to make tea would be there. These would be very simple the posts and rafters would be visible as though it was a small heritage in the mountains. In such a place you would find simple unadorned utensils made from local materials. They may even be cracked or repaired. It is in this that we see the concept known as Wabi which is often called the aesthetic of poverty. Wabi creates a simple, unpretentious beauty, suggestive of the basic unity and simplicity that underlie all things and which we all share, wherever we may be or whatever position in society we may occupy. When the Chanoyu was codified Wabi was intended so that people would be to be free from any attachments and passion for possession. It invites humility, that is, a negation of self.

4 Whereas Tea requires a degree of contemplation of, and concentration on, beautiful ritual action, it also invites the participant to look into himself or herself, to discover a self that is no longer separate and potentially antagonistic, but in harmony with the environment and all others. Every aspect of the tea ceremony, from the patient boiling of the water to the measuring out of green tea powder, even if it s only lifting a tea scoop you give your heart unreservedly to this tea scoop and think of nothing else. Focus yourself solely to what is in front of you. In this way it is said that Chado is a means of seeing the basis of one s own being - whisking tea is zen practice in its truest sense leading to understanding of our own deeper nature. It is a method of contemplation and a means of revealing the self - In this state of contemplation one spontaneously handles the utensils correctly. Chanoyu should be made with the heart, Not with the hand. Make it without making it, In the stillness of your mind. - Hamamoto Soshun.

5 When we consider the eight noble truths they can be grouped into 3 facets of the Buddha s teaching; Wisdom (right understanding and intention) Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood) Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration). All these can be made real through the simple act of making someone a cup of tea. was coherently related to Zen s philosophical tenets about the importance of humility, the need to sympathise with and respect nature and the sense of the importance of the transient nature of existence. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing the world as it actually is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one's mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of

6 things. Vices, such as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this ignorance. The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the end of suffering in this life, on earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. When one has achieved Nirvana, which is a transcendent state free from suffering and our worldly cycle of birth and rebirth, spiritual enlightenment has been reached. The Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Moreover, there are three themes into which the Path is divided: good moral conduct (Understanding, Thought, Speech); meditation and mental development (Action, Livelihood, Effort), and wisdom or insight (Mindfulness and Concentration) The Second Noble Truth Origin of suffering (Samudāya) Our day-to-day troubles may seem to have easily identifiable causes: thirst, pain from an injury, sadness from the loss of a loved one. In the second of his Noble Truths, though, the Buddha claimed to have found the cause of all suffering - and it is much more deeply rooted than our immediate worries. The Buddha taught that the root of all suffering is desire, tanhā. This comes in three forms, which he described as the Three Roots of Evil, or the Three Fires, or the Three Poisons. The three roots of evil These are the three ultimate causes of suffering: Greed and desire, represented in art by a rooster Ignorance or delusion, represented by a pig Hatred and destructive urges, represented by a snake Language note: Tanhā is a term in Pali, the language of the Buddhist scriptures, that specifically means craving or misplaced desire. Buddhists recognise that there can be positive desires, such as desire for enlightenment and good wishes for others

7 The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way: it avoids both indulgence and severe asceticism, neither of which the Buddha had found helpful in his search for enlightenment. 2. Right Understanding - Sammā ditthi Accepting Buddhist teachings. (The Buddha never intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly, but to practise them and judge for themselves whether they were true.) 3. Right Intention - Sammā san kappa A commitment to cultivate the right attitudes. 4. Right Speech - Sammā vācā Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech. 5. Right Action - Sammā kammanta Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure. 6. Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in intoxicants or weapons. 7. Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states and preventing them arising in future. 8. Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings and states of mind. 9. Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness. The eight stages can be grouped into Wisdom (right understanding and intention), Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood) and Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration).