"Tea and Zen are just the same", its true meaning lies in Zen, and its main purpose also lies in Zen. The Japanese tea ceremony has always focused on perceiving the beauty of the nature of tea, including: the beauty of tea, the beauty of tea flavor, the beauty of tea fragrance, the beauty of tea color; it also pays attention to the beauty of utensils, water, flowers, scenery and people during the tea ceremony.
In the late ninth century AD, Japan stopped the tradition of sending Tang envoys to China. At this time, official one-way learning stopped and non-governmental two-way communication began. Japan's island civilization is different from China's mainland civilization. China is a large country with many people and rich products, while Japan is small and lacks resources. It is necessary to make the best use of what has been learned and draw inferences from one example to other cases. Therefore, although Japan was still learning Chinese civilization, culture and technology after the ninth century, tea ceremony, as an integral part of Japan's learning from China, also began to form its own characteristics. "If Murata Shumitsu, Takeno Shoou and Sen no Rikyu hadn't introduced the connotation of Zen into the tea ceremony, then Japanese cuisine might be popular today, and the tea during the banquet would have been replaced by Coca-Cola." The Japanese choose tea to give it special meaning, As long as you understand Zen, it is not difficult to understand the cultural connotation of Japanese tea ceremony.
Due to the influence of monastic Zen, people often pay too much attention to the relationship between Zen and Buddhism. In fact, Zen has the background of all Chinese culture. It is not only connected with Buddhism, but also has a close relationship with Confucianism. Confucius said: "The departed is like a man who never abandons day and night." Confucius was the first recorded enlightenment. Zen people. There may be an ultimate truth in the world. If people can fully understand this truth, then the world will be heaven. Unfortunately, human life is limited. Our short life is not enough to fully understand all Tao. This contradiction has become the root problem of all human philosophies. The predecessors made rules based on their own experience. By following these rules, future generations can understand life from a higher starting point than their predecessors and get closer to the truth.
The connotation of "Zen" in the tea ceremony is to hone people's hearts through complicated rules. When these rules no longer bore the tea drinkers, and when the tea drinkers follow the etiquette of the tea ceremony, they can Only when you understand the true meaning of tea can you drink a good cup of tea and finally reach the state of "tea Zen". The complex and skillful tea ceremony etiquette is to make people transcend the outside world. The tea soup as thick as bitter medicine is just like life. The ingenious flower arrangements show the endless vitality of human beings behind limited life. The wonderful verses tell people that the truth is everywhere. The Japanese tea ceremony uses a ritual to tell people the thoughts of Zen. Just as practicing Zen requires enlightenment, the life experiences contained in it require tea drinkers to spend the good time of their lives to understand.
2. The artistic conception of "peace and respect"
After Murata Shuguang and before Sen no Rikyu, the outstanding tea master in the history of Japanese tea ceremony was Takeno Shoou. Shaoou's tea ceremony is the inheritance and development of the pearl tea ceremony. Shaoou loved literature and art. He learned singing from the famous singer Shitaka Sanjonishi, and introduced the theory of singing into tea ceremony, which greatly supplemented and improved Zhuguang's tea ceremony. He reformed the pearly tea rooms and tea sets to make them more modest and elegant.
With such a family or family as the head, a large organization can often multiply. "Under the control of this Iemoto system. Each tea ceremony school is doing its best to develop its own organization, and new tea ceremony schools and tea ceremony organizations are constantly emerging. This is the reason why Japanese tea ceremony can be passed down from generation to generation and never fade away. This kind of The practice of moving forward bravely, never giving up, and constantly working hard in the technical world reflects the spiritual pursuit passed down from generation to generation by Japanese tea people.