Tea ceremony and the mind

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The traditional tea ceremony is an art practiced over the ages in places like Japan. Other cultures too, have equivalent practices and ceremony - even if not quite so ritualised and purposeful.

What is the purpose of these enduring rituals?

Are they steeped in folklore or do they serve another deeper service - to nourish the mind, body and soul or to connect the community to earlier generations through a ceremony that has sustained?

  • Do they offer a moment of peace in a busy day - a moment of silence and true inner-reflection?

  • Does the ceremony pay tribute to the smaller things in life and by doing so promote a slowing of the mind and body - a moment of transformation or transition from the hectic pace of life and a multitude of tasks to juggle?

  • Is it a moment that on its face is a means to provide needed refreshment or is it a vehicle to provide so much more for the heart and soul as well as the body

In reality it serves as an opportunity, tested over generations, to take a moment, slow down, discard all concerns and burdens and enter into a slower, deliberate, reflective period - one where interaction with the ceremony and each other is the central purpose. A moment of silent, purposive, mindfulness that has been practiced by communities for an age - providing not only a connection to those you share the tea with but all of those who have departed over the many, many generations.

I feel the ceremony and its purpose resonate with me somehow.

  • I don’t make great ceremony of making and pouring a cup of tea - but I do find a state of mindfulness in doing so.

  • I find deliberate actions and thoughts attach to the process and provide a quiet slower moment to discard concerns and tasks.

  • I find that I do honour the moment - providing a point of reflection, a break in the proceedings of the day (tea break - it’ll never catch on) - it represents a few moments of calm, an opportunity for self-reflection and peace that I truly value. The aroma and taste of the tea is simply a nice by-product.

  • And you know it does connect me to my family - those here and those departed.