The 15-minute video, Lessons from the Way of Tea , presents what I learned from Japanese tea ceremony, a gentle art centered on sharing a bowl of tea. With the help of its core principles – Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility – as seen on a scroll by Takase Studio in the video, I began to find a deeper beauty in everyday objects, in nature and in all those sharing tea. What is more, tea practice always left me feeling centered and at peace. While nothing is hidden – everything is fully accessible, this art seems to have infinite depth.
Few people, even in Japan, are interested in learning tea ceremony’s many detailed procedures these days, but I am convinced that this art’s “tea wisdom” has much to offer us in these highly stressful times.
I hope my experience with the art, and the story told in the companion video described below will inspire you to find your own ways to invite more moments of peace and connection into your life and into our troubled world.
This 25-minute companion video, Hannah’s World: Living Tea Values provides an example of someone who struck me as living her life by Japanese tea ceremony’s core principles. You will see her finding and preparing natural sources of dyes for “Color Harvest Moon,” a woven work of art that I requested she make so I could hang it up in my tea hut during practice.
Radiant Refuge 