Buddhist Bowl
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Offer Set Sale Price: $30.00  |
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Crystals Empowerment Bowl Sale Price: $139.99 |
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Making Offerings to Me Now & Future will Produce Equal Merit This is blessing power of Buddha, ordinary beings cannot understand this. A proper altar holds images or representations of Buddha's enlightened body, speech & mind which serve as reminders of the goal of Buddhist practice-to develop these qualities in oneself so as to be able to fully benefit all sentient beings... |
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Copper Bowl for Buddhist Altar or Shrine Offering, 3.75 Inches Wide, 2 Inches High with Brass Symbols List Price: $19.00 Sale Price: $14.95 |
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5" Wide Copper Bowl for Buddhist Altar or Shrine Offering, 3 Inches High with Decorative Etching and Brass Symbols List Price: $32.00 Sale Price: $15.00 |
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Buddhist Spiritual Greeting Cards (Pack of 12) List Price: $35.40 Sale Price: $29.98 |
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These eco-friendly 5" X 7" full gloss Greeting Cards are made in the USA and are printed on recycled cardstock with soy ink. This information is printed on the back of each card, along with a description of the featured saint, spiritual figure, or Deity, and additional small images... |
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3 Bowls : Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery List Price: $20.95 Sale Price: $10.37 |
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3 BOWLS presents the outstanding vegetarian specialties that draw thousands of visitors each year to Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a traditional Zen monastery in New York's Catskill Mountains. From Sesame Crepes with Portobello Mushrooms in Port Cream Sauce and Spaghetti with Chipotle and Garlic to Coconut-Pecan Carrot Cake with Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting, these recipes are deftly creative, yet all are simple to prepare. |
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One Bowl: A Guide to Eating for Body and Spirit List Price: $15.95 Sale Price: $6.45 |
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One Bowl proposes a simple but extraordinarily powerful idea: By adopting a single bowl as the vessel for your meals, you will become more aware of the food you eat, how you eat, and the effects (large and small) of particular foods on your body and your spiritual and physical well-being... |
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The Zen Monastery Cookbook: Stories and Recipes from a Zen Kitchen List Price: $16.00 Sale Price: $111.13 |
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This cookbook includes low-fat vegetarian recipes for main dishes, soups, breads, and desserts as well as compositions from American Zen monks?those who were head cooks and those who assisted. These inspiring stories are funny and touching, and all reflect the difficulty, challenge, joy, and freedom inherent in living as a Zen monk. |
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The JOURNEY TO WILD DIVINE Wisdom Quest, Meditation Training for Mind & Body, 4 Install Disks for Windows Sale Price: $74.99 |
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Software Version 1.0 WDPX249 40103. 4 installation disks for Windows. Instructions for Installation of the PC Software on back in 3 steps. |
The Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which green tea known as matcha is prepared and ceremoniously served by a skilled practitioner to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting such as a garden tea house. Chanoyu which means “hot water for tea” refers to a single ceremony that involves only tea, while the longer version known as Chaji “tea meeting” entails a full tea ceremony in which a light meal is also served, and can last up to four hours. Mastering the art of the tea ceremony includes years of study that can last a lifetime, as the student must be familiar with several interrelated disciplines such as flower arranging, calligraphy, ceramics, incense, and the proper technique for wearing kimono. Guests who participate in the ritual must also be aware of the proper conduct in regard to utilizing certain phrases and gestures required to maintain the integrity of the ceremony.
If tea is to be served in a tea house guests will initially be shown to a waiting room called a machiai, which is usually a separate structure such as a simple gazebo. After being summoned by the host they purify themselves by rinsing their mouths and hands with water from a small stone basin known as tsukubai, and then continue through the garden to the tea house. Removing their shoes they proceed through a small sliding door that is only thirty six inches high, thus symbolizing that all who enter are equal in stature irrespective of status or social position. The roomis not decorated save for a scroll painting called kakemono, which has been selected by the host and reveals the theme of the ceremony. The Buddhist scripture on the scroll is called bokuseki (ink traces) and is admired by each guest in turn before being seated seiza style on the tatami mat floor.
If a meal is not served the host will present each guest with small sweets eaten from special paper known as kaishi, which each person carries in a decorative wallet tucked in the breast of the kimono. All utensils to be used in the ceremony such as tea bowl, tea scoop, and whisk, are ritualistically cleansed in the presence of the guests in a precise manner and order before being fastidiously arranged according to the ceremony being performed. Upon completion of cleaning and preparing the utensils, the host will place a carefully measured proportion of green tea powder in a bowl along with the appropriate amount of hot water, and then whisk the tea using a precise set of movements. Guests relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the simple surroundings and conversation is kept to a minimum. The host then serves the bowl to the guest of honor, bows are exchanged, and the bowl is raised to the host in a gesture of respect. The bowl in then rotated by the guest to avoid drinking from it's front, a sip is taken followed by a prescribed phrase, the bowl's rim is wiped and rotated back to its original position, and is then passed on to the next guest with a bow. The protocol is repeated until all guests have tasted the tea from the same bowl, and it is then returned to the host who rinses it. The scoop and tea container are then offered to the guests for examination, each item being treated with extreme care and reverence as they may be irreplaceable handmade antiques passed down for generations. The host then collects the utensils, and as the guests leave the tea house bows as a sign that the ceremony has officially come to an end.
About the Author
Jim Sherard is the author of "Land of the Rising Sun, A Guide to Living and Working in Japan", which can be found at: http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Living_and_Working_in_Japan/Living_and_Working_in_Japan.html
