Most commented posts

  1. Heart to heart connection — 8 comments
  2. April update, a Midorikai interlude — 6 comments
  3. Making a good bowl of koicha — 6 comments
  4. It is harder than it looks — 6 comments
  5. Seeing things as they are — 6 comments

Author's posts

How long does it take?

“From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had attained some reputation, but nothing before the age of 70 is worth bothering with. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants …

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The ties that bind

The student teacher relationship is so important in Chado.  Your teacher is like your parent in that they have brought you up in the world of tea.

My sensei, Minako-sensei, was my first teacher.  Even though she passed away 13 years ago, she is still my sensei.  When I talk about Sensei, I mean Minako-sensei.  …

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Chashaku Workshop

This summer students got to carve a chashaku from bamboo. To make it a little easier, I bent the bamboo before we started, so the students got to do the shaping and final sanding.

There have various instructions on how to do this bending, but the method I used this time was steam.  After thinning …

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Ieyasu words of wisdom

“Life is like walking along a long road shouldering a heavy load; there is no need to hurry.

One who treats difficulties as the normal state of affairs will never be discontented.

Patience is the source of eternal peace; treat anger as an enemy.

Harm will befall one who knows only success and has never …

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Time stands still

I have been reviewing the early entries of this blog, some were written more than eight years ago. I am surprised at how they have held up and the entries are as relevant today as they were when they were written years ago.

I  have also been looking at the blog statistics.  Some of these …

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