Chapter 4-"Pure Land Buddhism and the Tea Ceremony." In Pure Land Buddhism in Modern Japanese Culture (original) (raw)

2008, Pure Land Buddhism in Modern Japanese Culture, Chapter 4

Images of Chanoyu When speaking of chanoyu , or chadō, sadō, , the tea ceremony, the way of tea, 1 it would be included according to the usual perception in the vast range of dō arts commonly associated with Zen Buddhism, especially, but not only, in their presentations intended for an European and American audience. Th e idea of a close connection between chanoyu and Zen Buddhism (Rinzai school) is to be found in well-known representations, such as Th e Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō, or in the writings of Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, or again in Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki, to which some references have been provided earlier. Besides, the great amount of literature which deals, for example, with the history, theory, practice, and religiousness of the tea 1 In the following, all these terms will be used with the same connotation. Chadō and sadō are alternative readings of the same combination of characters, and mean literally "the way of tea", while chanoyu means literally "the hot water of tea".