When sitting down to write my reflection, I could not find the words for what I wanted to write about. My mind was crowded with so many thoughts but when I sat down to write, I simply stared at the cursor on the blank page sitting unmoved. Some of the thoughts in my head were about how I feel that I have been implementing the 4 principles in my daily life, how I have made so much progress from this past year of learning them through tea. But I was trying to write my reflection on Wa Kei Sei Jaku and I couldn’t be farther from implementing them in my writing.. My ideas were cluttered in my mind, with no seeming connection to make it whole. As quickly I would write down any idea I thought was “good,” I had my pinky on the backspace key thinking my words were superficial. I was frustrated. I was trying to write about how I have learned so much by implementing the principles of tea in my life, yet I was not incorporating any principles while trying to write about them. I realized that for me living according to these principles is not just something you do once, but something for every part of your life, and that it was going to be a struggle for me sometimes. I need to be conscious at all times of how we can implement the principles. When I realized and accepted my lack of true embodiment of these principles, I was able to write. . I think that through this reflection of my relationship with Wa Kei Sei and Jaku, I can be more deliberate about making these at the forefront of my life and my tea studies. I think this change in perspective will allow me to have a better connection with my tea practice and hopefully allow myself to not only recognize the progress I have made, but also focus on where I really can improve. -- Jenna Wa, kei, sei, jaku. We hear this statement all the time when we practice tea, so theoretically, it should be rather simple to define and apply, but I think it can be quite difficult. Each of these terms are so complementary to one another, and can be defined by themselves, but there is still so much room for individual differences in interpretation, especially when applied to ourselves. When we consider these spirits in tea, we first think about the harmonious aspects that must be present in order to have a successful ceremony, both amongst the different implements utilized in the ceremony, as well as the host, guests, and other aspects. We are taught the importance of respect towards all of the aforementioned aspects mentioned above, and that if we do not adequately respect each varying aspect as a part of tea, we do not fully embrace the nature of tea itself. Purification is, of course, a large part of this as well. We show respect to the implements and our guests, and by making sure the tea rooms are clean. The equipment is clean, the tea garden is clean, because without this, we wouldn’t really be showing respect towards our guests, because it would appear as if we were preparing super last minute, and were perhaps, rather careless. Tranquility is often noted as the most difficult of the four spirits to define, being able to mean a lot of different things to different people. I think this kind of contributes to the nature of tea itself, and that we each feel connected to this practice, and we find some sort of solace in it, which may be different for each of us. I think this ties to konomichini hairamoto omou kokorokoso wagaminagarano shishōnarikere (to have the mind to enter this path is indeed, to have an inherent teacher), in which we each chose to be here. We each decided one day to send an email about joining the group and to come in to start studying. And we might not have been sure of what we were going to be getting ourselves into, but, we’re all still here, we're all still studying together, so evidently there was something about this practice and this art that made us want to stay and want to keep coming back to learn more. Of course, we can attribute the inherent teacher section of this to our wonderful teachers here, but I feel we also have to attribute that aspect to ourselves as well, because we ourselves were the ones who made the decision to join this group, and we discipline ourselves into coming in for lessons each each week, and practicing outside of class. For most of us, we can’t memorize the ceremony after seeing it only once, rather it takes a multitude of times of practice – part of the reason why we say all the time in tea that we never truly stop learning. I think it’s daunting for a lot of people, especially those who strive to have all of the knowledge possible in the field, in an art, and in a practice like this, it’s literally impossible to do just that. But we’re all still here and we’re all still learning, and we’ll have the discipline to keep learning, despite the seemingly endless path ahead of us. I think the final scroll, zuisho sakushu (be your own master wherever you are) also ties into this conversation as well, especially when we think about self reflection and discipline. This scroll stood out to a lot of people in the university chado class, especially the aspect of the importance of being aware and constantly presenting yourself as your true self everywhere you are. I think we can sometimes find ourselves putting on a certain façade in front of other people, and in certain situations to make ourselves appear a certain way, but we lose a part of ourselves when we do that, and we may feel like we aren’t necessarily ourselves. I think the scroll is a great reminder that no matter where we are, whether physically or mentally, we always have the option to be our true selves, and that we are in control of that presentation. -- Sydney
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AuthorTea students in the Urasenke Urbana-Champaign association Archives
January 2024
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