Like everything else in life, tea is easy to make adequately, but takes practice and a bit of…
The winter harvest is all over the map this year as various regions are hit by rain/typhoon/rapid cold. It is uncertain what we will be getting, but our current small batch of High Mountain Light is one of the most fragrant and rich batches in memory. At least we have that…..’ Burnt Sugar Red’ from our Miaoli Taiwan Beauty far arriving next week!
Winter Tea Harvest 2015, Oct 30: purchase your tickets online now and let’s enjoy my rare tea finds together: http://www.teance.com/collections/events
The 1400 year old temple of Kannon, where Shinran had a revelation that an easier way to Buddhist practice was through the vow of the Amitabha and his Pureland. Thus, the Pureland Sect, Jodoshinshu, was born. Situated right in the epicenter of Kyoto, only here can you have something so old look completely in harmony with its modern environment. I guess what I like about Kyoto most was its ability to preserve its ancient history and culture seamlessly into the future. Many modern cities can take a page from them! But if the taste of tea and Zen are one, what is the taste of tea and the Pureland?
My winter tea tour went smoothly, without missing a beat, or anyone for that matter. Phew, another year without anyone falling off a mountain or poisoned by a centipede, bitten by a spider, or carted off to jail for breaking some rule in Japan! Success!
These tea trips are strenuous for me, but in a way, less so when there is a tour, since I can’t expect folks to pack it in like me. As I get older, I reflect on the purpose of these tours. Tell the stories? Convert one person at a time to be a true tea believer? That’s called a religion, not a business… I should get tax exempt status!
Why do some places develop more culture than other places? I’d say, reverence to the connection to our ancestors, predecessor masters, and our excellent peers. The respect for a collective value system for art, everyday aesthetics, well made crafts, living as part of nature and congruently with each other, are some of the deeper values of Kyoto. The ubiquity of tea and fine wood work is on one end of the spectrum, all the way to the most convenience available for hassles, and cleanest civic places, are on the other end. This can only happen to a culture that has respect and accountability built in. There are a lot more ways to say ‘I am sorry’ (15 ways without even counting conjugations) in Japanese than we say WTF in English, for example. But I felt a sense of success in introducing a context to my tour group at the very least….