Aug 18, 2008

Questions, questions

When I first began to study tea, I had a million questions and I asked them all the time of my sensei. Often she would not answer my questions and I thought that it was because her English was not so good. But that didn’t stop me from asking questions or asking them repeatedly. I was there to learn and I thought that asking questions was the best way for me to do that. It showed sensei that I was active, engaged and participating. Quite often, sensei would answer my questions with responses like, “You already know the answer,” or “Because it has been decided,” or “If I give you the answer, you will not remember.” None of which were appropriate answers as far as I was concerned.

It wasn’t until I went to Japan to study that I realized that what I was doing was very disruptive and quite disrespectful of my sensei. Although there are no inappropriate questions, there were definitely inappropriate times to ask them.

I take that back. There are inappropriate questions – those questions that are asked to show off what you know and questions that are meant to embarrass the teacher. Questions asked sincerely are appropriate, and only the student can regulate these questions.

As for inappropriate times to ask questions, it is bad form to ask questions when the teacher is actively teaching another student and there by taking attention away from another student’s learning. It is inappropiate to ask questions that will sidetrack the teacher from what is being currently being presented. It is better to wait until the teacher asks if there are any questions. If the questions only engage one student in a back and forth that leaves out the rest of the class it is better to take it off line and ask the teacher outside of class.

Just because you ask a question, doesn’t mean that you will receive an answer that you like. The learning style of question and answer is only one form of learning. As I learned from my sensei, “Because it has been decided,” is a perfectly good answer. This teaches us that there are things we accept now without understanding it may lead to a deeper understanding later. A hard concept for our culture, I know.

The response of “If I give you the answer, you will not remember,” teaches us that not everything is given to us. We must work hard to come by knowledge. By trying to work out an answer or researching it, trains you to think for yourself and seek out the answer by yourself.

If there are any questions, I’ll try to answer them in the comments.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Margie,
    Another wonderful post!

    I liken the nature of inappropriate questions to your sensei and her frustrating answers to the famous Koan Chao-chou's Dog
    A monk asked Chao-chou, "Has the dog Buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou said, "Mu."

    "Mu" meaning no, or nothingness, or not even no, depending on the translation.

    Of course there are many different interpretations of this koan, but it seems to fit your post quite well at the moment.

    Take care, and thank you for the lesson!
    Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for this beautiful moment and simple answer to life. Toki

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jordan,

    Thank you very much for your comment. I do like the story about question of whether a dog has a Buddha nature or not. I guess sensei was training me in Zen without my knowing it, yes?

    Take care,

    Margie

    ReplyDelete
  4. toki,

    Thank you for coming to read the blog and taking the time to comment. It is a beautiful moment, but I am not sure that questions are the simple answer to life.

    Take care,
    Margie

    ReplyDelete
  5. MU!



    OK, I had to get that out of my system, but seriously, I think that the way of Tea is infused with the way of Zen, and that you express it beautifully.


    Take care,
    Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  6. hahaha... Thanks Margie. -toki

    ReplyDelete
  7. toki,

    Thank you and it was funny to me,too.

    take care,

    Margie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Perhaps the better question would be,

    "Does Toki's dog have Buddha nature?"

    ;)

    All joking aside,

    What a wonderful post,

    Thanks for transmiting a bit of Zen Margie.

    Peace

    ReplyDelete
  9. Matt,

    Thank you for your comments. It is always a pleasure to have you comment here.

    Take care,
    Marige

    ReplyDelete
  10. of course, Matt. All being have buddha nature...
    human, dogs and plants... first reaction to enlightenment is happiness, then tea : )

    Cheers, Tok

    ReplyDelete