|
sunshinemiss -> RE: 'Training' makes me crazy (8/9/2012 6:28:52 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: UnownedCOBeauty
Someone mentioned earlier that they were once trained on traditional tea service (it escapes me now if it was Japanese, Korean, etc.) but when 'trained' in precision practices such as service or presentation, what would it then be called? Couldn't I 'add that to my resume', as it were, later on? "I am also trained in traditional Japanese tea service. Would you like a cup now, Sir?" Then again, if that Dom weren't in the slight bit interested in this 'degree', would it just be something you held onto (way off on the back burner) until it came in handy again?
That was me. I went to a traditional Korean tea house, paid attention, got a set, practiced, and voila! Trained. Not much different than attending a yoga class, paying attention, getting a mat, practicing, and voila! Trained.
(By the way, the scenario you mentioned would never happen with a traditional Asian tea service. It's actually a really beautiful, meditative experience in which the people appreciate the beauty of life by doing it together.)
When I did that service for the fellow, I had to train HIM on how to receive the tea. There are specific ways you hold the cup, how many sips you drink, who drinks first, etc. While I'd have to refresh my memory if someone were to ask for it, I certainly appreciate the learning experience and could do it again pretty easily.
In fact there is a wonderful story about tea and Korea and meditation... Lemme see if I can find it.
I couldn't find the website that I originally got it from several years ago, but luckily I had copied the story into my computer (and subsequently did some art work with it!) You can see Paul Reps art work from his story here.
********************
A story about Paul Reps as told by Joel Levey
At one point the writer on Zen, Paul Reps had traveled to Japan, with plans to visit a respected Zen master in Korea. He went to the passport office in Japan to apply for his visa and was politely informed that his request was denied due to the war that had just broken out in Korea.
Reps sat down in the waiting area. He had come thousands of miles with the plan to train with this master in Korea. He was frustrated and disappointed. What did he do? He practiced what he preached. Reaching into his bag, he mindfully pulled out his thermos and poured himself a cup of tea. With a calm and focused mind, he watched the steam rising and dissolving into the air. He smelled its fragrance, tasted its tasty bitter flavor, and enjoyed its warmth and wetness. Finishing his tea, he put his cup back on his thermos, put his thermos in his bag, and pulled out a pen and paper upon which he wrote a Haiku poem.
Mindfully, he walked back to the clerk behind the counter, bowed, and presented him with his poem, and his passport. The clerk read it and looked deeply into the quiet strength in Rep’s eyes. The clerk smiled, bowed with respect, picked up Rep’s visa and stamped it for passage to Korea. The Haiku read:
Drinking a cup of tea,
I stopped the war.
|
|
|
|
