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Tea Ceremony at Urasenke:
Urasenke is the most famous of the 3 famous tea ceremony schools in Kyoto. No one can just walk in, you have to be cordially invited, or have some type of connection and make an appointment.
KCJS set it up so all the students can go for free and it was a wonderful opportunity. Sitting in a room full of women, most of which were Japanese, we were given a lesson in tea ceremony. The women spoke English and described the beauty of the tea ceremony materials. For instance, the cup/bowl that the guest of honor drank out of was a piece from the medieval period, specifically the Momoyama period, 1333-1568. It was a beautiful piece, especially because of the asymmetry of its shape and color. The table/stand that held the water that would be heated to make the tea was a stand of 3 levels. The top level was a circle, the middle, a triangle, and the bottom, a square, which represented 3 out of the 5 natural elements. The whisk that was used to stir the tea powder was made of bamboo. And the tea powder was used by crushing the whole tea leaf (this is normal). High class, expensive tea is made by crushing the leaf buds, the leaves that have just sprouted.
And so, as I sat with my legs underneath me, my ankles were buckling under the pressure of my butt. I thought my ankles were going to crack. I don’t know how my male classmate was able to sit that way. I had to readjust myself every so often. But it was nice to be able to enjoy the beauty of the cups and the delicate procedure of the tea ceremony.
The Moss Temple: 西芳寺（さいほうじ）:
So there is this really exclusive temple in Kyoto that you have to make a reservation at least a week in advance to pay $30 (3000 Yen) to get in. Sounds ridiculous, right?
So I didn’t really know what I was in for, but was excited to go. The Moss Temple is a Zen temple, of the Rinzai school sect. We got there a bit late because if you reserve with 6 people you have to wait for everyone in the party to arrive before you are allowed to enter. We each did our meditation, which consisted of writing kanji characters that filled a long page. The meaning behind the kanji was equivalent to a prayer (般若心経 = はんにゃしんぎょう= hannyashingyo). After you completed this, then you were allowed to write your name, address, and, if you had enough strength left, your wish. It took each of us about an hour or so, I think. I lost track of the time. It was strange, but as I was writing, all I could think of was happiness. There were instances where I couldn’t think of anything, even if I tried. I felt at peace. But, other times, I felt stressed because it felt like I was taking a test and running out of time, and as people were trickling out of the room I wondered what instructions were given in the beginning that I might’ve missed because our party was 20 minutes late.
After the meditation was complete, we were allowed to wander around the moss garden. There was over 120 different species of moss in the temple garden. It was beautiful. I have never thought of moss as beautiful in my life (never really thought of moss at all, actually), but here I was able to admire the fuzzy, little, green bits of life from every angle as I was surrounded by a soft, lush paradise.
People tell me that the temple charges this much because the moss is so hard to keep. Too much water and it will die, too little and it will dry from the sun and turn an awful brown. I don’t think I was supposed to touch the moss, but I couldn’t help myself. The most looked so soft and well kept, I bent down and caressed the luscious plant with admiration.
Urasenke is the most famous of the 3 famous tea ceremony schools in Kyoto. No one can just walk in, you have to be cordially invited, or have some type of connection and make an appointment.
KCJS set it up so all the students can go for free and it was a wonderful opportunity. Sitting in a room full of women, most of which were Japanese, we were given a lesson in tea ceremony. The women spoke English and described the beauty of the tea ceremony materials. For instance, the cup/bowl that the guest of honor drank out of was a piece from the medieval period, specifically the Momoyama period, 1333-1568. It was a beautiful piece, especially because of the asymmetry of its shape and color. The table/stand that held the water that would be heated to make the tea was a stand of 3 levels. The top level was a circle, the middle, a triangle, and the bottom, a square, which represented 3 out of the 5 natural elements. The whisk that was used to stir the tea powder was made of bamboo. And the tea powder was used by crushing the whole tea leaf (this is normal). High class, expensive tea is made by crushing the leaf buds, the leaves that have just sprouted.
And so, as I sat with my legs underneath me, my ankles were buckling under the pressure of my butt. I thought my ankles were going to crack. I don’t know how my male classmate was able to sit that way. I had to readjust myself every so often. But it was nice to be able to enjoy the beauty of the cups and the delicate procedure of the tea ceremony.
The Moss Temple: 西芳寺（さいほうじ）:
So there is this really exclusive temple in Kyoto that you have to make a reservation at least a week in advance to pay $30 (3000 Yen) to get in. Sounds ridiculous, right?
So I didn’t really know what I was in for, but was excited to go. The Moss Temple is a Zen temple, of the Rinzai school sect. We got there a bit late because if you reserve with 6 people you have to wait for everyone in the party to arrive before you are allowed to enter. We each did our meditation, which consisted of writing kanji characters that filled a long page. The meaning behind the kanji was equivalent to a prayer (般若心経 = はんにゃしんぎょう= hannyashingyo). After you completed this, then you were allowed to write your name, address, and, if you had enough strength left, your wish. It took each of us about an hour or so, I think. I lost track of the time. It was strange, but as I was writing, all I could think of was happiness. There were instances where I couldn’t think of anything, even if I tried. I felt at peace. But, other times, I felt stressed because it felt like I was taking a test and running out of time, and as people were trickling out of the room I wondered what instructions were given in the beginning that I might’ve missed because our party was 20 minutes late.
After the meditation was complete, we were allowed to wander around the moss garden. There was over 120 different species of moss in the temple garden. It was beautiful. I have never thought of moss as beautiful in my life (never really thought of moss at all, actually), but here I was able to admire the fuzzy, little, green bits of life from every angle as I was surrounded by a soft, lush paradise.
People tell me that the temple charges this much because the moss is so hard to keep. Too much water and it will die, too little and it will dry from the sun and turn an awful brown. I don’t think I was supposed to touch the moss, but I couldn’t help myself. The most looked so soft and well kept, I bent down and caressed the luscious plant with admiration.
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