Season’s greetings and Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. I hope your holidays are healthy and safe.
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At the turn of the year
Broken things can be mended, to be made stronger and more beautiful.
In the darkness, there is a light to guide your way.
In winter, the turn of year will eventually bring the spring.
What troubles you today, will pass.
Here we are at the turn of the year 2020. For so many it has been a hard year. Covid has disrupted most people around the world. We can no longer gather freely as we once did. Friends and family members lost, economic hardship. It seems like it will never end.
And yet nature continues oblivious of our woes. The winter solstice means that the days will begin to lengthen again and the light will return. Spring will come, and broken things can be mended.
With the announcement of Covid vaccines, there is hope at the end of a long year. And that is what I want to focus on. As big and overwhelming our lives have been, eventually it will pass as night follows the day. The sun will shine, birds will sing and flowers will bloom again. This is what gives me hope and gratitude that I am part of this endless cycle of living.
This year end makes me contemplate my own attitude of gratitude. And there is much to be grateful for. Even though Issoan is empty and lonely, I have never felt so connected to the tea community at large. Beginning in May with the Midorikai OneWorld chakai, lectures, workshops and sweets demonstration have been so generously offered. I am thankful that we live in this time that technology can connect us. It is wonderful to see so many friends’ faces on the Zoom. Thank you to all of you who have so freely offered your time and expertise to allow us to continue our Chado education. And thank you to all of you who have participated in these activities to show us your interest and dedication to the Way of Tea.
I cannot say enough how grateful I am to my partner Craig who has put up with me these past nine months with just the two of us in the house. We have strengthened our relationship by spending so much time together. We have learned to cook many new recipes together, and grown more philosophical in our conversations. We really like each other.
So even though we are still locked down due the Corona virus restrictions, I have Chado, teaching, cooking, gardening, Shodo calligraphy, and now watercolor painting to keep me occupied. There is a return of the light and spring will come. 2021 may not instantly return to normal, but there is hope that eventually we will be able to gather, share tea, and come together again.
Thank you all for reading the blog and for your kind comments.
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Sitting Alone
There is a scroll hung in the tea room 独坐大雄峰 Dokuza Daiyūhō, Sitting alone on the great sublime peak. Or sometimes translated as Sitting alone on the great hero peak. Doku (alone,) za (sit), dai (great), yū (sublime), hō (peak).
The Zen story is that Hyakujo Zenji was asked by a monk, “What is the most fortunate thing in the whole world?” To which he replied, “Sitting alone on the great hero peak.” Great Hero Peak was the name of the mountain where his teacher lived, and as a place of practice it was known for the strictness of both Hyakujo and his teacher.
In this time of Covid-19, sitting alone for these last six months in my tea room has not been, to my thinking, the most fortunate thing in the whole world. As social entities, people have come to rely on others to share burdens, sorrows, and work. Together we can accomplish greater things than we can alone. Working for something greather than oneself and being part of a team can feel empowering and uplifting.
And yet, sitting alone these past few months sometimes feels like a prison, isolating, and lonely. I haven’t held tea lessons in the tea room, I haven’t done any Chanoyu demonstrations, and I haven’t made tea for anyone or received tea from anyone either.
But consider the alternative. This past weekend, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. has surpassed 200,000 passed away, and the world has lost more than 900,000 people. None of these people can sit anymore, not even alone, on the great hero peak. So in this sense, the most fortunate thing is to be able to sit alone on the great hero peak. It is a matter of perspective. Change your perspective and we can be grateful for the circumstance that we once thought debilitating.
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Loneliness of the tea room
About a year ago we opened Issoan, the tea room built for me by my husband. It took him two and a half years, but it was worth the wait. I have been teaching Chado for about 25 years and I was thrilled to have a tea room with a raised floor for a sunken ro, a real tokonoma, shoji windows, fusuma wall and nijiriguchi. The students and I enjoyed having class there for about six months until the Corona virus hit and we had to close the tea room for events, demonstrations, chakai, workshops and classes. Now the tea room is empty and silent.
In the mornings I go to sit in the tea room. The light in the morning is so beautiful. Even though it is empty and silent, it is still peaceful. I clean the tea room in the morning, hang a scroll and arrange flowers. Sometimes I put on kimono and heat the water. Then I make myself a bowl of tea. Occasionally I will hold my zoom classes in the tea room, but it is not the same as having guests to tea. Who will eat the sweets? Who will drink the tea? Sadly, it is me, by myself to enjoy this stark beauty.
Being alone in the tea room has made me appreciate having guests to make tea for. As I kansha before drinking my tea, I am thankful that is possible to drink tea surrounded by such beauty. Often I find myself “sitting alone in contemplation” about the circumstances we find ourselves in with the Corona virus. There is loss of sharing with other people, but also through technology, we can also share time with people we would not otherwise be able to see.
Until we can meet again safely, Issoan will be closed. In the meantime, I will be here in the silence of one host, no guest.
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First Virtual Chakai at Issoan
Yesterday for Memorial Day, we had our first virtual chakai at Issoan. The theme was “Then and now.” Since we are still on lock down for the Corona virus in Oregon, we had to do it via Zoom. There were many innovations since the students cannot come to Issoan for lessons, and creative interpretations of “Then and now” were abundant Each student did a temae in their own tea space at home. It was the first time that the students got to see each other’s tea spaces, since I do 1-1 temae lessons and I am the only one who gets to see the tea spaces every week.
We had three special guests, Bruce Hamana-sensei from Kyoto, Heather Loden from Portland, and Karla Tomanka from Austin. Karla was part of our shachu before she went to Midorikai in 2015, and now resides in Austin, Texas. Heather is a student studying in Portland.
One of the things students miss coming to lessons are the sweets I make for them every week. As the gift for the chakai, I made a sweet for them. Each student got a unique sweet.
Most of the students dressed in kimono. All of the students had a choice of which temae to do. We had a variety of temae from Chitose bon with a cookie tin from Costco, to chabako, to hira demae, to a home made nagaita for so kazari. Each student got to talk about their toriawase and tea space, and it was so interesting to see the interpretations of the theme and the stories the students told about their dogu.
At the end the last temae was in Issoan, where the scroll read “Shoju sennen no midori” The pine tree is green for a thousand years. Peony flowers from my yard in a Korean celadon vase.
The tea bowl was one we used for koicha for many years until it was broken and then repaired with gold lacquer. The mizusashi was another familiar piece that students used many times for okeiko. The chashaku was named “Dokuza” I sit alone, from the saying “Dokuza dai yu ho.” I sit alone on the great sublime peak.”
I love that Minako-sensei is looking down on us above my monitor. She would have loved this endeavor and joined in most enthusiastically.
Thank you everyone for the hard work, and beautiful temae and toriawase. I am sure that we will have more of these.
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