I have friends who have asked me if I have completed my study of tea. They also ask if I am a tea master yet. I laugh and tell them that chado is a lifetime study and I will always be a student.
Little did I know when I took my first 10 weeks of tea ceremony class that I would be hooked for life. Even after 10 years of study, I was only hungry for more. My husband says that it ceased to be a hobby with me and instead became a lifestyle.
Chado encompasses so many aspects of Japanese culture: flower arranging, calligraphy, gardening, cooking, architecture, ceramics, Zen, history, literature – any one of which could be a lifetime study, so I need several lifetimes to explore them all, and then perhaps several more before I could call myself a master.
The former grand tea master’s wife would come to talk with us when I studied in Kyoto. She made a statement that describes what happened to me, “Aren’t we the lucky ones, those of us whose hearts were stolen away by tea?”
Aug 8, 2007
Haven’t you learned how to make tea yet?
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Yes, you are the lucky ones. Those with such a passion and interest are very lucky. Always more to know, to discover. Isn't that the meaning of happiness?
ReplyDeleteJudith
And I am lucky to have met you. Thank you so much for stopping by and making comments. It inspires me to know that someone is reading these entries.
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