Zazen is the most important part of our study, and we practice Zazen with regard to Tea.

My mentor who is almost 90 years old, and still leads us through the way of Tea, says, “Tea is about the communication between the host and the guests in openness and serenity”. 

I wondered what it means by in “Openness” and “Serenity”

There is a word that I often hear in the Tea world. 一座建立  Ichiza-Konryu. Ichiza means “one place or one company’, and Konryu means “to build up”. One interpretation of 一座建立 would be: People occupying one place at the same time create one universe.  I wonder how I would build one universe with my guests.

There is anther word. 茶禅一味 Chazen Ichimi. Cha is tea, Zen is Zen, and Ichimi is one taste. Chazen Ichimi means “Tea and Zen is one thing”. I understand each word. I understand it means that by doing Tea you can attain the same level of serenity and openness by doing Zazen, a seated meditation practiced by Zen Monks. But How? What does it really mean in practice. How can I attain the same level of serenity that Zen Monks experience by doing Tea ?

My mentor says,” everything starts with “Breathing” from Tanden.

Zen Monks train themselves by Zazen to gain mental control and physical strength. They sit for hours, breathing slowly. While they meditate, they purposefully keep their eyes open so that they can clear their minds even in noisy bustling surroundings. They are totally aware of everything going on in the outer world, while attaining serenity in their inner world. Their minds are open.

Any Japanese arts; performing arts and martial arts that have DOU (道) at the end of the word, such as Ju-do 柔道 (Judo), Ken-do 剣道 (the Way of sword), Kyu-do 弓道 (the way of archery), Karate-do 空手道 (the way of empty hands), Aiki-do 合気道, Sho-do 書道 (Calligraphy), Cha-do 茶道 (the way of Tea), Ka-do 華道 (the way of flowers) and so on, have one thing in common. That is “Breathing”.

My friend practicing Ken-do (剣道) explained to me. Facing to your opponents, you stand still, looking straightforward. You breath from your inner body deeply, slowly and calmly. You are seeing everything around you just like when Zen monks practice Zazen. When you breath from your lung not from Tanden, your center of gravity is higher, your balance breaks, and your body moves. Once your opponent detects your out-of-balance move, they know when to launch an attack on you.

You might wonder why your breathing is important for Ka-do, the way of flower (or commonly called as flower arrangement in English). When you bend a twig or a branch, the branch snaps off if you do not have the “breathing”, If you do it with “breathing” from Tanden, you can successfully bend the branch as the way you like.

Now I started understanding “Openness and Serenity”. I make Tea as I breathe out as slowly and as long as possible with a focal point around the inner center of the body. Breathing slowly and deeply brings about serenity to my minds. When my mind has serenity, my guests can feel it too. Although the focus is on making a tasty bowl of Tea, I am aware of what’s going on with my guests. I am not confined in my own world of tea-making, but my mind is open to the outer world.

When your mind is open and peaceful, you can easily see the other side, beyond self.

I came to know, When the host and the guests breathe the same air and at the same rhythm, and when their breathing becomes one, they are in one universe, timeless and spaceless void. They created a universe together.