Japanese Tea Ceremony

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What is Japanese Tea Ceremony? In Japanese, Tea Ceremony is the way of tea, which is called “chado”. It is a Japanese traditional activity from the Zn Buddhism. The host sends out invitation letter to the guest to join a formal tea ceremony called chakai, which means tea meeting. The host will have to prepare tea products, Japanese traditional clothing, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics and incense for this occasion. It is not easy to held a tea meeting without careful studies in tea ceremony. The practice of tea ceremony allows people to enjoy the warmth tea meeting with a peaceful mind. The four principles of tea “harmony, respect, purity, tranquility” allow the guest to enjoy the spiritual time. The word harmony in Japanese is “Wa”. The meaning of harmony in dictionary is the different pitches, and chords in music. But in tea ceremony, the harmony is the beauty in nature that brings in to the tearoom. The tearoom usually is located next a garden. Before the guest enter the tearoom, the guest will have to walk pass the garden along a dewy path in to the tearoom. To have the guests walk pass the garden to the tearoom is to allow the guests to feel the beauty of nature and leaves all the pressure behind. The guests will enjoy this spiritual moment in a natural environment with the balance of the garden and the items in the tearoom. Everything in the tearoom is in harmony. Respect is the second word in the tea philosophy. The guests will have to respect all object surround him or her. The guest will have to forget his or her status and position in everyday life. After the guest walked along the dewy path to the tearoom. The guest would have to crawl though a small entrance, which is called Nijiriguchi, to get in to the tearoom. Once the guest crawl into the tearoom, then guest would be equal without the matter of status and position in life. Respect is
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