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Zen and the art of tea - the role of the guest
Weekend retreat at Great Vow Zen Monastery in Oregon
Hakone Dai Chakai in Northern California
Tea Practice By Rev. Tozan

Zen and the Art of Tea - the Role of the Guest
by Diana Saltoon

2nd Sunday series at the Japanese Garden Pavilion, Portland, OR, on May 8th
It’s said that the role of the guest is that of the host, and the role of the host that of the guest. They are not separate, but form a seamless choreography of interaction. This intimate exchange is fundamental to any tea gathering; however the guest needs to be sensitive to tradition, rules, and etiquette that help create a ceremony. Even tea for two, requires a host and guest. Ultimately every gathering is about relationship, intimacy and making a heart-to-heart connection that dissolves separation. Thus tea brings us closer and opens a way to intimacy and sensitive consideration of others.

In discussing the role of the guest, we deal with the question: “Why tea, why ceremony?” How a shared removal allows detachment from the trials and limitations that hinder experience of awareness. Learning how to receive and drink a bowl of tea deepens enjoyment of the beverage as well as the experience of being a guest.

By exploring the Zen art of tea we touch on the history of Chado, The Japanese Way of Tea, and discuss how the principles and essence of tea can transform daily life. Finally, how a tea gathering can open the heart as we leave behind all status and self-concern. Thus, by entering tea we include all that we see, hear, touch and take into the body. With this kind of awareness - accepting each arising moment openly and freely - we experience an underlying peace in and about us.

However the role of the guest goes beyond the tea room. It can be seen in every moment of life itself and how we relate to that moment. Every breath that comes to us is an invitation, a gift. Each of our senses is a given door to the wonder of never-ending phenomena. Understanding this can change what we take for granted and, too often, disregard. It illuminates the presence of benevolence and love, and brings natural gratitude, humility and inspiration to the role of the guest.

For questions, please call 503-223-1321.

Introduction to Chado, the Zen Art of Tea
by Diana Saltoon
Weekend Retreat at Great Vow Zen Monastery
Residential Weekends typically run from 6:00pm, Friday, October 11th, through 2:00pm Sunday, 13th.
There are many ways to put into practice the teaching of the great masters of the past. In Zen, truth is pursued through the discipline of meditation in order to realize enlightenment, while in Tea, we use training in the actual procedures of making tea to achieve the same end. In studying Chado, also referred to as Chanoyu, we learn how this Zen art restores a vital sense of awareness to grace and beauty, and gives form and order to everyday life that creates balance and harmony. This weekend retreat offers an introduction and demonstration of the tea ceremony, study of basic rules, principles and etiquette - focusing on the role of the guest, entering a tea room, taking sweets and usucha (thin tea), and some hands-on practice of how to whisk and serve a simple bowl of tea.
Participants are requested to dress appropriately in a way that reflects respect for the tea room, the teacher, and fellow students. Neat, modest, loose-fitting clothes are recommended. Avoid casual attire such as tight jeans, cut-offs, shorts and mini-skirts as well as jewelry, watches, and perfume. Also bring clean white socks to wear in the tea room. A "guest kit" containing kaishi (a packet of handmade paper for holding sweets) and a small fan will be provided to each participant.
Diana Saltoon is a member of Wakai Dokokai, a school of tea in Portland. Wakai Dokokai is affiliated with the Urasenke Foundation, Kyoto, one of three major schools of tea with roots dating back to Sen no Rikyu, Japan's famous tea master of the 1600's. Ms. Saltoon was first introduced to Chado at Green Gulch Zen Center near San Francisco where she began her Zen practice in 1981. Currently, she is a member of Zen Community of Oregon and Kashinteikai at Portland's Japanese Garden. Ms. Saltoon's presentation has been given previously in Zen Arts courses in Salem, Oregon, and is derived from Tea and Ceremony, a book in progress.
For questions or to register, please call 503-318-8243 or email zcoregistration@zendust.org.

Hakone Dai Chakai
by Stewart Lenox
The Trustees of the Hakone Foundation will host the SECOND HAKONE DAI CHAKAI (Grand Tea Gathering) on October 6, 2002 at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. The FIRST HAKONE DAI CHAKAI was held in June of last year and attended by over 150 participants. It was such a success that as soon as it was over many participants were eagerly anticipating the next one. Like last year, this year's event will bring together tea practitioners from throughout California, and beyond, in their common love of sharing a bowl of tea. Tea will be served by the principal groups in Northern California representing Omotesenke, Urasenke, Mushanokojisenke, and Dai Nippon Chado Gakkai traditions of Japanese tea ceremony in the Japanese buildings, pavilions and grounds of Hakone Gardens throughout the afternoon. This year we have added additional areas for tea service, including a special outdoor style, and some groups will be serving thick tea. Even if you have no experience with the Japanese tea ceremony you will enjoy this event. Please join us in making this year's Dai Chakai even more enjoyable than last year's!
The fee for the event is $40.00 per person, which includes a bento, drink and a bowl of tea and sweet at three different locations. Participants may be admitted to more locations if space is available. In order to reserve a place at this unique event please contact Stewart Lenox, trustee, at (831) 462-1876 or by e-mail at lenoxlaw@cruzio.com.
Hakone Garden is becoming one of the premier locations for the Japanese tea ceremony in Northern California. We have been given a beautiful tea house from Japan which we will be placing in the garden in the near future. Help support the gardens and the tea ceremony at Hokone. Join us.

Tea Practice
by Rev. Tozan
June, 2001
We often hear of the Tea Ceremony being performed, but in reality it is a Practice always; and when we focus on that element of this effort, it makes a good basis for all we try to accomplish when we walk out of the Mizuya into the room.
I have watched people in Japan getting ready to do their temae, and it was often the case that someone was back in the corner telling them what to carry first and asking if this or that were ready. It seems to me that a good approach to this preparation might be a ZAZEN-like attitude where the person focuses themselves, quietly and alone, in order to be there for whatever comes up in the temae.
When I first began to teach the Tea Ceremony to people four years ago, I found that the way this might be accomplished was to have people sit down around a table and imagine the entire Ceremony and speak it out loud from the first opening of a shoji door to the final bow. It is hard to do that, but in the long run, it seems that those who can make this kind of plan in their mind, before they try to implement it, have a much better chance of holding the whole process together.
One person starts with the first step, then I point to another, who takes it from there and so on until we go around the table many times to get the process finalized. Then of course, we do it physically to reinforce the mental practice and centering that has occurred in the exercise.
The Urasenke manuals are a blessing to us all, and they should be reviewed often. Just the folding of the Fukusa alone, can take up half a class. As it is one of the most important moves in the temae, it can never be taken for granted. Nothing can ever be taken for granted in the making and serving of Tea. "Ichi Go Ichi E" reminds us that there is only one meeting, one time. The next time it is different, and we have to pay attention every moment to whatever we are doing. In fact, I believe that the Practice of Tea enhances the lives of those who do it, because they are always more focused and mindful in all endeavors.
Sometimes, people can realize how inconsistent they are in their lives and come to a better understanding, through Tea Practice, of mindful living. In the Urasenke School, such great care has gone into the refinements of all the different ceremonies, and just to realize how much more efficient and beautiful these refinements help us perform Tea Practice, is in itself another wonderful lesson.
Tea is really Zen in action, as I tell my students, and as in Buddhism, all dharmas, or occurrences in our lives, good and bad, show us where our edges are. They help us to see the places where we need to work on ourselves and make our Practice the center of our lives always. I hope you can enjoy this great experience of host and guest intertwined into a meaningful dance of life.
Rev.Tozan Hardison
Seidoan Zen Temple
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
Rev. Tozan has been practicing Japanese Tea Ceremony for more than ten years under the tutelage of an Urasenke teacher, Sokaku Sato, in Sendai, Japan. Rev. Tozan teaches Tea at his temple, Seidoan Zen Temple in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Visit Seidoan site