I do not think that, considered from the point of view of human culture and happiness there have been more significant inventions in the history of mankind directly contributing to our enjoyment of leisure, friendship, sociability and conversation, than the invention of smoking, drinking and tea. All three have characteristics in common. Firstly, they contribute towards our sociability. Secondly, they do not fill our stomach as food does and therefore can be enjoyed through the nostrils by acting on our sense of smell.
Drinking tea now has become a social
institution.
The three enjoyment of tobacco, drinks and
tea can only be developed in an atmosphere of leisure, friendship and
sociability. Take a way the element of
sociability and these things have no meaning.
Enjoyment of these things like the enjoyment of moon, the snow and the
flowers, must take place in proper company.
Certain kind of flowers must be enjoyed
with certain type of person, certain kinds of scenery must be associated with
certain kinds of ladies, sound of raindrop must be enjoyed , if it is to be
enjoyed fully, when lying on a bamboo bed in a temple deep in the mountains on
a summer day. In short, the mood is the
thing, that there is a proper mood for everything and the wrong company may
spoil the mood entirely.
Anyone who wishes to learn to enjoy life
must, as the absolutely necessary condition, find friends of the same type of
temperament, and take as much trouble to gain and keep their friendship as
wives take to keep their husbands or as good chess player takes a journey of a
thousand miles to meet a fellow chess player.
Different types of friends must be selected for different types of
enjoyment. For enjoying flowers, one
must secure big hearted friends. For
going to sing song houses to have a look at sing song girls, one must secure
romantic friends. For boating, one must
secure friends with an expensive nature.
For facing the moon, one must secure friends with a cool
philosophy. For anticipating snow, one
must secure beautiful friends. For a
wine party, one must secure friends with flavor and charm.
An atmosphere of familiarity will then
invest the place. In my get together all
formalities are abolished and only the most intimate friends are admitted. They are treated with rich or poor fare such
as I eat and we chat and laugh and forget our own existence. We don’t discuss the right and wrong of
others and remain indifferent to worldly glory and wealth. We discuss the ancient and modern and play
mountains and rivers. Then we have soup
to fit into the atmosphere of delightful seclusion. This is my conception of the pleasure of
friendship.
Tea is invented for a quiet company as wine
is invented for a noisy company. There
is something in the nature of tea that leads as into a world of quiet
contemplation of life. It would be a
disastrous to drink tea with babies crying around or with loud voiced woman or
politics talking men, as to pick tea on a rainy or a cloud day. Tea is and will always be the beverage of the
intellectuals.
The essence of the enjoyment of tea lies in
appreciation of its colour, fragnance and flavour, and the principles of
preparation are refinement dryness and cleanliness. An element of quietness therefore is
necessary for the appreciation of these qualities, an appreciation that comes
from a man who can “look at a hot world with a cool head”. It is important in
drinking tea that guests are few. Many
guests will make it noisy and noisiness takes away from its cultured charm. To drink alone is called “Secluded”, to drink
between two is called “Comfortable”, to drink with three or four is called
“Charming”, to drink with five or six is called “Common” and to drink with
seven or eight is called “Philanthropic”.
Moments for Drinking Tea
When one’s heart
and hands are idle
tired after
reading poetry.
When one’s
thoughts are disturbed
listening to
songs and ditties.
When a song is
completed
Shut up at one’s
home on a holiday.
Playing an
instrument,
Looking over a paintings
Engaged in
conversation deep at night
Before a bright
window and a clean desk
With charming
friends and slender concubines
Returning from a
visit from friends
When the day is
clear and breeze is mild
On a day of
light showers
In a painted
boat near a small wooden bridge
In a forest in a
tall bamboos
In a pavilion
over looking flowers on a summer day
Having lighted
incense in bed room
After a feast is
over and the guests are gone
When children
are at school
In a quiet,
secluded temple
Near famous springs
and quaint rocks.
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