Wednesday, March 30, 2011
San Francisco, the Tea Ceremony and More
Paul gave us a book on The Tea Ceremony, by the 19th Century scholar Kakuzo Okakura, and in my early morning wakeful hours today, i snuggled down to read it, in one of the chairs in our living room, perfectly situated to see a slice of the Bay and hear the foghorns though the mists.
It's one of the most enlightening books - and one of the most satisfying - I've read in a very long time.
Not only does it elucidate the Japanese Tea Ceremony and its evolution through time in China and Japan, but in so doing, the book gives a succinct history of Taoism, Shinto, Buddhism, Zen, and all the spiritual trends, as well as geographical influences, that made the Ceremony develop as it did through the ages. It is a book about what Okakura has dubbed "Teaism", and about how one little seed of an earthly plant has developed into the rich, multi-layered, fragrant and important liquid that has enveloped so many traditions, insights and ceremonies in human history. I've always felt that gardening is the perfect metaphor for human strivings of all kinds, and this book deepens that feeling , that intuition, in me. We've not only so much to learn from nature, we truly are Nature.
It's one of the most enlightening books - and one of the most satisfying - I've read in a very long time.
Not only does it elucidate the Japanese Tea Ceremony and its evolution through time in China and Japan, but in so doing, the book gives a succinct history of Taoism, Shinto, Buddhism, Zen, and all the spiritual trends, as well as geographical influences, that made the Ceremony develop as it did through the ages. It is a book about what Okakura has dubbed "Teaism", and about how one little seed of an earthly plant has developed into the rich, multi-layered, fragrant and important liquid that has enveloped so many traditions, insights and ceremonies in human history. I've always felt that gardening is the perfect metaphor for human strivings of all kinds, and this book deepens that feeling , that intuition, in me. We've not only so much to learn from nature, we truly are Nature.
Labels: SF Literary
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