The Way of Tea: Reflections on a Life with Tea

209 Pages·2010·5.93 MB·English

by  Aaron Fisher

The way of tea

The way of
t a
e
Reflections on a
Life with Tea
A F
Aron isher
無 為 海
(Wu Wei Hai)
Tuttle Publishing
Tokyo • Rutland, Vermont • Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with
editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 U.S.A.,
and at 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167.
Copyright © 2010 Aaron Fisher
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior
written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fisher, Aaron.
The way of tea : reflections on a life with tea / Aaron Fisher. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8048-4032-3 (hardcover)
1. Tea--Asia--History. 2. Cookery (Tea) 3. Drinking customs--Asia. I. Title.
TX415.F52 2010
641.3'372095--dc22
2009022453
ISBN 978-0-8048-4032-3
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North America, Japan Asia Pacific
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First edition
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Printed in Singapore
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a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Endpaper – Front:
Eighteen Scholars of the T’ang. Traditionally attributed to Emperor Hui-tsung.
From the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
Endpaper – Back:
Preparing Tea. Illustration traditionally attributed to Lin Sung-nien, Sung Dynasty.
From the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
This book is for my first teachers, before there were any
masters or teas to learn from, Daniel and Carol Fisher.
“Yet another book on the Tao?”
The old monk asked politely,
Though the stillness in his weathered hands
Seemed in askance of the need for noise in a quiet place.
“Inspired by the Tao,”
Was what I wanted to say;
But “I am moved to write” seemed more true.
“I see” he smiled,
And paused,
“But why the Tao of tea? Why not cabbage soup?”
I couldn’t help it,
Glanced briefly down
At his old teapot on the shelf there.
More aware than I,
The wise old man followed my eyes—
“Ahhh” he said,
Reaching for a kettle of water to place on the stove,
“Perhaps it is well after all.”
Contents
A Brief Introduction ..........................................................................9
ChAPTEr 1: The Tao of Tea .........................................................11
ChAPTEr 2: The Veins of the Leaf ..................................................27
ChAPTEr 3: Chanoyu ...................................................................77
ChAPTEr 4: Calm Joy ................................................................109
ChAPTEr 5: Quietude ................................................................117
ChAPTEr 6: Presence ..................................................................127
ChAPTEr 7: Clarity ....................................................................135
ChAPTEr 8: Completion ............................................................145
ChAPTEr 9: Ceremony ...............................................................151
ChAPTEr 10: Teaware .................................................................157
ChAPTEr 11: The Tea Space .......................................................167
ChAPTEr 12: A Life of Tea .........................................................181
Living Reflections on the Way of Tea..........................................185
Acknowledgments ........................................................................191

A Brief Introduction
Though there is information flowing through the lines you will read
in this story, I write not to add to a growing list of scholarly facts
on tea. I instead want to approach my reflections on tea—its history,
development and preparation over time—from an intuitive perspective;
that is, to inspire the heart not the mind. So much of what tea is about,
from ancient to modern, water to leaves to liquor, takes place deep
inside us where words can never hope to reach. Therefore, allow me,
my friend, to breathe a bit of life—a bit of mythology—back into the
story of tea, that it have the transcendent power it once had.
I have tried my best to use what knowledge I have of tea history,
art, culture and preparation to paint a more spiritual landscape, based
not on the logical, data-oriented criteria that one evaluates a scholarly
book, but instead on the values that define art—the rules of the heart,
mine to yours. Please don’t travel with me in intellect alone. Allow the
coming chapters to be what any bit of ink, carefully drawn or flung
with artistic abandon, might be: a mere suggestion of the Tao of Tea,
not a statement of fact. The best stories are performed in the brewing
of tea—sipped stanzas that the minstrel but suggests, leaving us to
imagine the rest.