Sadoo: The Japanese Way of tea

Hello Ozzies!

Long time no see! So we're gonna try to update this blog a little bit.

This may surprise a few (or not, it just depend how well you know me...but since everyone thinks I'm a bit of a weirdo, I suppose it won't be a blast): Last Saturday I started my Tea ceremony classes (or Sadoo, as the Japanese call it)!

But what is this funny thing old Willie is popping out of his hat? Well, for those who don't know it, here's a  couple of links with info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony  (Wikipedia was kind of an obligation...)

http://www.kato3.org/chanoyu/frame.html    (this one is more home-made, but also nice)

As you may see, it is something pretty old, and very attached to the Japanese zen roots. Personally speaking, I find it very interesting, both esthetically and from a philosophical point of view.  Even though its main idea may seem a bit simple (in the simplest version the tea master serves pastries and tea to a number of guests), it conveys many of the most important teachings of the zen buddhism. And since esthetics is a topic very dear to me (philosophically speaking), the Japanese mixing was a must. It may sound weird, but there is a lot of things common to the tea ceremony and Wilde, Nietzsche and Berger. And of course. But I will spare you of all this rhetoric about esthetics (unless someone asks, of course! Dorothy and Toto are very tired of hearing me talking about these things...).

Ok, back to the Tea Ceremony! Our first lesson took place in a real tea room, in a real Japanese house (photos will come as soon as I download them from my camera). This time, we were something like 9 (a lot for a tea ceremony!), and in the following classes we will be around 11. All of us Vulcanus students eager to learn a bit more about Japan and its culture.

We were there for something like 3 hours, and man, it was amazing. Up to some point, it was like coming back to my lessons of Kuk Sool Won, and I really appreciated it: even though the scenario was completely different, the principles at stake were surprinsigly similar. Like coming back home...I'm going to sound very hippie here, but at some points I felt as if the room, the decoration, the ceremony and I were only one. It is also true that the night before I didn't sleep much (partying and zen rime quite well!)...

Enough of the "heartfelt revelations minute"!

See you ozzies (enjoy that hour you just gained, here there's no change of hour...)!