Heart to heart connection

Nichi nichi kore kojitsu

I have been little discouraged lately. After years of study, teaching, and writing about Chado, I feel like I am making little headway in sharing the way of tea. Teaching cultural concepts that seem to be at odds with modern American life sometimes is an uphill battle. Because American life has become so casual, semi-formal and formal occasions are almost foreign to people. Comfort and inward focus on what affects people personally seem to be more important than thinking about others or how actions and words affect other people.

That was how I was feeling the other day, but today is another day because something happened to me yesterday. I was invited to a spontaneous chaji by a Japanese friend of mine. It was to honor the new Emperor of Japan and the beginning of the new Reiwa era.

There was only me and one other guest. There was nothing fancy for the meal: simple miso and rice, a bit of fish, some vegetables and pickles. My host knows I like sake so served some from our local brewery. We then had sweets and tea and I could taste the love that went into them. The utensils were nothing special, but oh my gosh, I felt like a princess the way that she treated me.

The chaji was warm, intimate and caring. I think she could sense that I was a little downcast at the beginning, and she did her best to make me feel important, loved, and that I matter. At the end she thanked me for coming saying that she was sure that I could appreciate her chaji without judgment of the food or the utensils because of my tea heart.

It is special moments like this that make me commit all over again to the way of tea. True heart to heart connection and being truly seen straight through to my heart makes it all worthwhile. The way of tea has transformed my life and made me a better person. I am so grateful that I discovered this path.

So I am back and ready to share tea with as many people as I can. Thank you everyone who has encouraged and helped me with my journey.

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Issoan Website Updated

In the past year or so I have neglected to update parts of the website, but today, I went back and updated all the broken links in the “Links” section, confirmed all the links in the “articles” section, and added several new recommended books (with links as to where to obtain them) in the “For Further Reading” section. Next I will be updating the seasonal notes. I hope to have everything updated on the site by the end of next week, so please take a look at www.issoantea.com and other parts of the site besides the blog.

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Clear mind

Your temae will be better if you can do it with a clear mind. My Sensei used to say that my mind was always cluttered and that made it hard for me to concentrate and focus. When my mind is cluttered there is no room for new knowledge to enter. I needed to clear my mind. But how do you do it? Just like clearing up the clutter in your house, there are many ways to clear your mind.

I have written before about breathing your temae. Just by taking a few deep breaths before entering the tea room, you can clear your mind. When you are in the middle of your temae, bringing your breathing under control also helps clear your mind. Breathe in when picking something up, breathe out when putting it down.

Another technique I use in clearing my mind is to think about the doorways or gates that I go through as I enter the tea room. Outside each doorway or gate, I mentally leave something outside. I let go of traffic, work, phone calls and texts, housework, kids, shopping, chores. I can certainly pick them up again when I leave.

Slowly counting to ten and then counting to one again is another way I use to clear my mind. When I am working out at the gym, counting reps or push ups, I count to ten and then count backwards as one set. Clearing my mind to just counting makes the reps easier as I don’t have room to think about how hard it is or tired I am. Like they teach you in meditation to count your breaths from one to ten and then start again, it will help clear your mind.

The act of purifying utensils can also be used to clear the mind. As I go through the movements of temae, I try to do only the movements. I concentrate on just picking up the whisk, or just emptying the water into the kensui without worrying how I look, or wondering if I forgot something. Without thinking ahead or worrying about mistakes, keeps my mind clear to just concentrate and focus on what I am doing right now.

When I am shooting arrows, I do much better with a clear mind. I can see it in where the arrows go if I shoot with a cluttered mind. Even the smallest loss of focus or distraction shows up in where the arrows go. A couple of weeks ago I had my best round with all five of my arrows in the gold with a score of 47 out of 50. All of them hit at the same angle in the center of the target. My mind was so clear that I didn’t even realize the rest of the class had finished up.

平常 心是道 heijoshin kore do. ”The undisturbed (clear) mind is the way. This is a scroll that is often hung in the tokonoma.

Clear mind is not just about focus, concentration and meditation. Clear mind is also about being honest with myself. Sometimes it is a hard thing to do. For example, when I make a mistake, to have a clear mind is to apologize rather than defend the mistake. Sometimes, I have a hard time asking for help when I really need it.

Clear mind also means being transparent, with no hidden agendas. Instead of asking my husband what would the neighbors think about my housekeeping since the kitchen looks so messy. I could ask him to clean it up or just clean it up myself.

Clear mind is having a clean conscience. If I hurt someone, I should apologize. Apologizing and trying to make it right, rather than covering it up and trying to get away with it is a way to clear your mind. Lying and carrying secrets are no way to keep a clean conscience.

Clear mind is having integrity and being in alignment. Part of integrity is your word. When you say you will do something, you will do it. If you speak, it will be the truth. The famous saying, “Do what I say, don’t do what I do,” is not being in alignment. Having a clear mind is not asking someone to do something that you would not do yourself.

Clear mind is knowing what you know and admitting what you don’t know. Sometimes I don’t own up to knowing about something so that I won’t have to take responsibility, or get involved. It is when we don’t admit to ourselves that we know more and should do more that clutters the mind. Likewise, clear mind is admitting what you don’t know rather than making it up or bluffing your way through something.

Clear mind is seeing things in perspective. It is looking at the whole rather than just how it affects me. Just because it is raining doesn’t mean that the weather is conspiring to make my day terrible.

Clear mind is living in reality rather than in a story. Sometimes we like to embellish reality to make it seem better than it is, or make ourselves look better than we are. Having a clear mind is acknowledging the true state of how things really are rather than concocting a story to fit our own wishes of how it is supposed to be.

Clear mind is free from anxiety. I cannot just say “Don’t worry, or everything will be alright.” Excessive worrying and projecting worst case scenarios clutter your mind. If you can keep worry and projection to a minimum, it will help to clear your mind.

These are all lessons we already know, but sometimes are hard to put into practice. A clear mind will spark joy. And isn’t that our mission, to live a joyful life?

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Anything worthwhile takes time

Things that are worthwhile require investment. Investment means devoting time, money, energy and effort to achieve something. Things like gardening, playing an instrument, learning a language, having a relationship, having a healthy body, being a good parent, building a successful business, saving for retirement, changing a habit, fine wine, or sharp cheese all require investment.

With our society focused on short-term results, investment seems rather old-fashioned. Who has time these days to spend energy and effort to do something when you can google a result or pay someone to do it for you. We see on reality TV, competitions where people can win a career in music, a million dollars, a fashion design house. All you need to do is spend a few weeks beating out 15 other contestants. There are so many schemes that guarantee quick results: Be wine connoisseur in three easy lessons, a 2 hour workshop to get rich flipping houses, the video to become a tea master in a day

A seminar or workshop does not substitute for experience and knowledge gained from time and effort. Without the time spent learning and making mistakes, when you get to a rough patch or in over your head, it is even more difficult to figure it out, problem solve and keep going.

How fast you go does not directly impact how far you make it. In truth, it is a myth of overnight success because there are no shortcuts. If something comes easily its value isn’t fully appreciated. The length of time it takes for you to succeed is generally a good measure of how long you will be able to sustain—and enjoy—something.

When we rush, we also risk missing integral parts of the process. Going too fast sometimes risks doing more harm than good, skipping steps and getting sloppy along the way. Great things take time. Don’t think your endeavor is any less great because it took longer than anticipated to get there. And don’t think it is any less great because it took longer than someone else did to get there.

Investment over the long term will get you to your goals. It’s the small steps that matter most. It is those small daily improvements that, over time, lead to results that last. They build confidence and competence from which you can launch into the next phase.

So where you are with your tea studies is where you can invest in doing the small things right, deepening your knowledge, and keeping your eye on your goal. The way of tea is worthwhile, I guarantee it.

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Building a charcoal fire

Rikyu says: Lay the charcoal so it boils the water.

When I first went to Japan to study the way of tea, I didn’t know how to build a charcoal fire. My sensei really did not teach us how to do it. We would have a charcoal fire for events such as Robiraki or Hatsugama, but always the senior students were the ones who did it.

One of the first lessons on building the fire, sensei taught us to choose the charcoal carefully. There are specific sizes in length and width for each piece and we had to learn the names of each one. We also had to learn the specific place each one had in the sumitori, the charcoal basket.

Once we had chosen the charcoal, the next step is to wash it. This must be done very gently and carefully. The charcoal still has the bark attached to it and when you wash it, you must be careful that it doesn’t break off.

Washing the charcoal minimizes the dust that causes sparks and the water adds oxygen to help the fire burn better. The charcoal should be dried overnight standing up on newspapers to help the water drain out of it.

Next the charcoal should be arranged in the sumitori. As I said previously, each charcoal has a specific place in the basket and as you build the fire, it comes out of the basket in a certain order. All of the rest of the fire building utensils are also arranged in the basket in a certain order so you can just take them out without fumbling around.

Three pieces of charcoal are reserved for the shitabi, or starter charcoal. I remember sensei said that you must choose these shitabi carefully, especially in the furo season because the first fire is built after the meal is served. The shitabi must last through the meal to start the fire.

Shitabi, the starter charcoal

Sensei said that the charcoal that isn’t perfect are the ones you should choose for shitabi. She said that the ugly ones with knots or twists have overcome hardship. These are the ones that last. Like people who have overcome hard times in their life, they are more resilient and better able to overcome obstacles and set backs. Those who have had an easy life may look good, but have a harder time dealing with adversity and burn faster.

Light the shitabi, and put them in the furo or ro. Hopefully, your ash form will help the fire breathe and keep it alive until it is time for the first laying of the charcoal.

When you lay the charcoal in the furo or ro, here are a few tips to help you build a better fire. Lay the charcoal so that they touch each other. If they are too far apart they will not catch fire. Also do not lay them too close together or they will smother and go out. By giving some space at the bottom near the ash, the air can get in to make the fire burn. Most of the charcoal should be placed inside the gotoku (trivet). Avoid placing the charcoal too high that it touches the bottom of the kettle.

The charcoal fire is the timing device for the chaji. The two layings of charcoal bring the fire to the perfect temperature to make the koicha, then you rebuild it and make usucha. When the fire dies down, you will know it because the sound of the boiling kettle stops. If the guests are paying attention, this is the signal to hopefully wrap up and not inconvenience the host to rebuild the fire to finish the tea.

It takes practice to build a good fire. It is a good idea to observe how the fire has burned when you take the kettle off at the end. It is also good to remember that no matter how beautifully you lay the charcoal, it is no good unless it can boil the water.

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