RHC Hollydaze Quotemail #2

Hello everyone –

Yesterday, December 13^th, marked the 13^th anniversary of my first-ever visit to Japan House. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I’m reprinting an article that I had adapted for the Illinois Administrative Professionals’ February 2015 newsletter, in my capacity as the then Chair of its Legacy of Leadership Committee.

I would like to encourage all listmembers to visit Japan House’s website to learn about all the excellent virtual programs that they are offering online during this academic year like no other. Japan House and its wonderful staff continue to carry out their intercultural educational mission with videos and resources to enrich our lives and our appreciation for the numinosity that can be found in our everyday world.

 

February 2015 Leadership Reflection:

Leadership and a Cup of Tea

                Leaders live in a fast-paced, multi-tasking world, full of responsibilities and split-second decision-making. Therefore, it’s important for leaders to take some time away (every now and then) to slow down, stop, and reflect on their circumstances and how they can use their leadership skills and position to make the world a better place, not only in the present, but also in the future. An excellent way to cultivate this type of reflection is to learn about – and experience – chado (the way of tea) for oneself in an authentic setting. Fortunately, at the University of Illinois, the way of tea can be experienced at Japan House through its regular schedule of Japanese tea ceremonies.

                What can leaders learn from the Japanese tea ceremony? The greatest tea master in Japanese history, Sen Rikyu, described the ideals of chado over 400 years ago: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. The core concept behind the tea ceremony is the realization of the principle, “Ichigo, ichie” (which means “one life, one opportunity” in Japanese). This means that we should learn how to recognize and savor the numinosity in each moment of our lives, because each moment is truly unique and will never come again. The following article, which is reprinted (in a condensed and updated form) from my Presidential column in the IAP’s April 2008 newsletter, describes my own first experience of the Japanese tea ceremony and how it has impacted my life ever since.

 

A Visit to Japan House by RHC

                In December 2007, ACES James Scholar Shannon O’Laughlin invited me to visit Japan House to take part in a tea ceremony hosted by its Director, Professor Kimiko Gunji. Shannon, a longtime member of the James Scholar Activities & Communications Team (JS-ACT), was enrolled in Professor Gunji’s ARTD 209 (Chado: The Way of Tea) course during the fall semester. According to its catalog listing:

In this course, the study of Zen aesthetics and philosophy, as well as special rituals and equipment for serving a bowl of tea will be introduced. Serving a bowl of tea is an ordinary act, yet in the tea ceremony this very ordinary act has been elevated into an extraordinary art form. When one wishes to serve a bowl of tea in the sincerest and the most pleasant manner, one has to pay detailed attention to each movement, and the recipient is to enjoy a bowl of tea not only with the palate but also with all other senses. Thus, both host and guest can enrich life through a bowl of tea. Through this course experience, it is hoped that students realize that any simple and ordinary act can be extraordinary and can contribute to their success in all human endeavors. One of the most important objectives of this course is to learn what it means to be a fine human being. (Archived @ http://japanhouse.art.illinois.edu/en/education/university/chado)

Shannon was eager to share her experience of chado with me, so I was pleased to accept her invitation.

                On a cloudy Thursday afternoon [12/13/2007], we arrived at Japan House, which is located at 2000 South Lincoln Avenue in Urbana (not far from the College of Veterinary Medicine). As Shannon and I hung up our coats and removed our shoes in the cloakroom, we (along with the other guests) were greeted by a Japan House volunteer: Dr. Morton Weir, Chancellor Emeritus of the Urbana campus. Dr. Weir gave us a tour of the house (including the tearooms) and showed us (through the large glass windows) the gardens that surround it (a traditional Japanese garden on one side and a Zen rock garden on the other). We then entered the classroom where academic courses are taught; there, we were introduced to Professor Gunji and received an overview of the tea ceremony before it began.

                The Japanese tea ceremony is a beautiful and complex art form that has been developing in East Asia for over a millennium. Professor Gunji, as our host, prepared the tea – a special variety of green tea called matcha, imported from Japan. Before the tea was served, however, we each received and ate a small sweet; then, after the tea had been prepared with a bamboo whisk and other ceremonial utensils, tea was served to each guest in a bowl decorated with traditional designs (such as flowers). It is customary for the guests to take a few moments to admire the artwork on the bowl before drinking the tea. We then proceeded to savor the matcha tea, which was delicious! J

                The tea ceremony created an atmosphere that was both contemplative and mindful. It was wonderful to participate in a time-honored ritual that opens the door to new levels of intercultural understanding. Each portion of the ceremony was conducted gracefully and graciously by our host, and although the basic form of the ceremony is fixed, it was unhurried, and the format invited each participant to watch, learn, and appreciate the ceremony in every detail. One lesson (among many) that I took away with me from the tea ceremony is that “simple” things, such as enjoying tea with friends, can have a numinous beauty all their own, and so we need to keep our eyes open for this “everyday numinosity” lest we miss out on the enchantment that it can bring into our daily lives.

In this photo from 12/13/2007, taken by Japan House staff, Yours Truly is at left, and Shannon is to my right, as we receive bowls of tea during the ceremony from Professor Gunji.

 

Webliography

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony (Japanese Tea Ceremony)
• http://japanhouse.illinois.edu (Japan House)
• http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tea.htm (The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura [1863-1913])
  

May the calendar keep bringing Happy Hollydaze to you! 😊

Rob