Donne Tempo - Sunrise Springs
With body and soul in place, step outside to the Japanese Tea House, the Jo Shin An, or Hut of the Nurturing Heart and meet Natsuko West. As a young girl in Japan, Natsuko learned the ancient Tea Ceremony as it has been done for over 300 years. The Way of the Tea celebrates a philosophy of compassion and refinement and is a ritual based on Taoism, influenced by Zen Buddhism. During the ceremony, Natsuko, who is traditionally dressed, performs a series of distinct movements during which matcha, or green tea, is prepared and served to a small group.
The ritual of the tea removes participants from the everyday world taking them to a place to experience the here and now of the present moment.
During the ceremony guests are invited into the Jo Shin An, through a small door that Natsuko explains causes the guest to bow down and crawl, with face down in a sign of humility and that is too small to accommodate large swords, causing ancient Sho Jin warriors to leave their aggression outside the hut.
The interior is traditionally spare, yet warm. The room has been created to show Natsuko’s mastery of flower decoration and appreciation of craftsmanship in the building materials, painted scroll and the arrangements of objects in the tokonoma or scroll alcove
Natsuko is attired in a splendid traditional Kimono and there is a single peony flower and scroll brush painting accompanied by a smooth river rock resting on pristine white linen square. The alcove has been arranged specifically for this ceremony- which as I am the only guest, I interpret to signify the spirit of my solo, albeit guided, journey.
With great ceremony, Natsuko welcomes me with serene graciousness quickly making me feel that nothing could please her more than what we are about to share.
She bids me to be comfortable, which is unfortunately not in the seiza, or knees folded position. However she is quite polite, understanding of my being very much an American without years of seiza in my past.
Stepping out of the room and silently returning with the tea ceremony utensils one instantly becomes involved in this simple, yet complicated ritual. Each movement is precise as the items are placed down with reverence. And they are each beautiful.
The bowl, the vessel in which the tea is made and consumed from, is pristine. It is not adorned, but simple and open. A blank canvas that tells me not how to feel but only to feel.
The ceremony is remarkable. Natsuko displays a beautiful pale blue scarf, adorned with symbols of the sun and moon and delicate flowers that is obviously very special. She folds, admires and reveals in the smooth cloth, a sense of happiness radiating from within. I learn later this cloth was given to her as a special gift and I am humbled that she has chosen to share it with me.
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