TOSCANO-San Golgano

  He had a vision. A vision of the angel St. Micheal saying to him: "Do something you fool. Stop this nonsense." The Christian word is repent. So already we know his life was not so pure, not so virtuous. Unlike us writing and reading this, he was probably completely involved in a life of entertainment, and the pursuit of happy-ness. In this case, repent= "Stop it! No! Do something you fool!" So he did, but the only one who trusted him was his horse. His mother, his friends, his fiancee all laughed "Ha Ha Ha" and tried to dissuade him. " C'mon, stay with us." So, whom did he follow? Of course, the horse. When we listen to "First Thought Best Thought," this is called following our horse. And this usually leads us to some high place, like the top of a hill.

Here we have some panoramic vision, which is just confirmation that we trust what we are doing. But like our friend, doubt sets in. And to test this doubt, this choice between ordinary happy-ness and the command of his heart, he thrust his sword (he was a Christian Knight, you know) into the earth.

A test. He must have been greatly surprised to feel his sword so completely stuck in the rocky soil of Toscano. Unable to pull it out, he probably smiled and uttered something like "naruhodo."  Japanese naruhodo= "Hmmm, I thought so, Just as I thought, Ah so, I got it." Horse and rider looking at each other. Wisdom mind looking at wisdom mind. There is no escape. All this is the story of Senor Galgano Guidotti, 1148-1181. So really a very young guy. At this place of personal surrender, he built a small hermitage
.

Of course other Knights joined him in his quiet life of personal reflection and contemplation. This place with the sword became his grave-site. And as things expanded, an abbey grew-up about 20 years later.

And probably there were quite a few followers and patrons, because from the ruins, we see an impressive Gothic style abbey in the shape of a Christian cross, with rose window,

side chapels, carved capitals, cloister, and bell tower. Imagine the sound of those bells ringing out the "Angelus" across the Hills and valleys of Toscano 800 years ago. It must have been most inspiring to ordinary grape farmers and olive farmers, the people preparing pasta lunches, the wine makers. Probably Senor Galgano would have been quite happy about all this. Certainly, quite surprised. Afterall, all he did was to just say "NO" to a life of the sword. Anyway, his decision certainly inspired others.....but by 1550 only five monks remained. Then only one. Then 650 years later, the bell tower collapsed, large parts of the roof collapsed. The abbey was abandoned in 1786, only a couple hundred years ago! Today it is not a place of practice. What remains is a touristik attraction. One of the not so well known visited places close to Firenze, but so close to Montechiano with such wonderful wines.

This is not Camelot. Not the sword "Excalibur" nor the cup of the Holy Grail. Not the world of Arthur and Guineviere. Just the story of Senor Galgano, not so different from you and me. Except.... except that he really had the guts to turn away from a world of passion and aggression. To build a hermitage, a practice place for self and others. The sword was struck. And it stuck. He is stuck. The horse is happy. I saw the  endless fields of grass. There is no cup of the Holy Grail, or maybe there is; maybe we need only to look up at the ceiling and we can see the inside of the cup.

Like looking into the Holy Grail. Few however have eyes to look in this profound way; so few can see this. Like looking into the interior of a beautiful tea bowl. Like looking deeply into your own mind.

A sword placed into Mother Earth, the promise that   "I will fight no more forever!" This was the beginning of his spiritual journey. The journey always begins with "the giant NO!" The sword in the stone is still there, I saw it. I heard the sound of the sword in the stone. And now a replica of that sword is in the roji tea-garden of Shotoku-an. Guests passing through the roji see this sword, and they too have a choice. What remains of this story is just so simple: human beings have the choice to follow the horse or to follow the leader, conventional authority. One is easy, the other is more easy. Here on the original alter of San Galgano, unused for the last 225 years, at this place of natural beauty, this place of human beauty, this place of sacred beauty, Ruth and Evi and Hiromi  and I offered  "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."  With the chawan called "KOSMOS."

Easy to reach from Firenze/Siena/Roma. So close to the wonderful vinyards of MonteChiano.  Mass every Sunday at 11:30.

SACRED WATER-Mother Ganges, Lucca,......

                     Emerald green waters,

flowing clear and beautiful, a good place to offer ashes of husband and father, a good place to offer "A Bowl of Tea for Peace," a good place to share a bowl of tea with local people.

This is Ganga Maiya, Mother Ganges. A quiet family event with not so much to say. Just these words from Naomi-san:  "It was my pleasure. I am very glad to offer "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions. With our children at Ganga Maiya. I think this River Ganges is one of the most peaceful places I know in the world. Thank you again.....Naomi."

This place is close to the place of Shakyamuni's birth in Nepal, and close to the place of his first teachings at the Deer Park in Varanasi.

SACRED WATER-Lucca in Toscano
Most well known for excellente balsamico, Lucca is the place of a completely unassuming water well that has a history of almost 2000 years.

Usually we say Chado, but some people say cha-no-yu, or hot water for tea. In both cases there is profound respect for the water that is central to a tea gathering. Traditionally, the host will rise at the Hour of the Tiger, go to the well, request permission from the spirits who guard this well, then with great respect haul-up the cold water that will be used for cooking the rice and soup, for rinsing the hands and mouth and heart in the roji tea-garden,

for the flower container, for the cold water container, for the kettle over the charcoal-fire, and for the several bowls of tea. All this is for the guest who will arrive hours later. The Hour of the Tiger is from 4-6 in the early morning, and is regarded as the Beginning of Activities. Basically, water is at the core of our existence, water is what we need if we are to continue life on this planet. This reliance on water, this deeply felt respect for water; this is basically what we celebrate in the Way of Tea. And so sitting in an ordinary outdoor ristorante (which of course means wonderful pasta and pizza and wine!),

looking out onto the plaza of just one more water fountain, it was quite a surprise to learn that this water fountain has been a source of water for the people of Lucca since 182. For almost 2000 years, people come here to take pure water.

And overlooking all these comings and goings is the Roman guardian of this well. She is so youthful and so beautiful and so careful to protect this source of water for us. With great gratitude and appreciation, we spontaneuosly offer "A Bowl of Tea into the Four Directions."  May we return to the ancient wisdom which respects the spirit of water, the spirit of earth, the spirit of fire, the spirit of wind. This respect and this return to ancient wisdom, this is one reason why we study this ancient art.

PEARL HARBOUR

（日本語で読む）

War planes simultaneously attacked bases in Hawaii, Singapore, Davao, Guam, Wake, Luzon, Phillipines, and Shanghai Harbour. It was the day and the time of the morning star arising, when people traditionally celebrate the enlightenment of Gautama.

And now 70 years  later, the 15th Grand Tea Master has just offered his traditional Ken-cha at the memorial site of the U.S.S Arizona. The purpose of this Tea-offering ceremony was to commemorate the many Americans who died there, and to express his desire for reconciliation. Here at Shotoku-an, we joined together with him by offering "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."  The tea-bowl for this offering was a gift from Shibata Kanjiro-sensei, with the name  "Lightning of Blessings." Made in Hawaii, a very black bowl with a tinge of blue, and an impressive repair in silver that looks like a stroke of lightning in a black sky. The scroll in the tokonoma has the five kanji  Ichi-Wan-Ken-Kon-Uruosu:  "one bowl of tea has the power to refresh everything between heaven and earth."

It was my very good fortune to study with Hounsai Daisosho at the Urasenke school, and so it is with great appreciation and great pride that I send this to you. And it is my great delight to invite you to also offer  "Ichi-Wan" or one bowl of tea. In this simple way, the spirit of reconciliation through Chado, The Way of Tea, The Way of Peace, can spread out into the Four Directions.

Some of the thoughts of this great teacher are at the bottom of this page.

TURKEY-church and mosque

                                                            
                     CHURCH of HAGIA SOPHIA                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Where the spice roads of Persia meet the trail heads of Europa, where the Black meets the Mediterranean, a great city grows-up. Once it was named Byzantium. Then  Conatantinople. Now we know it as Istanbul. Like most jewels, the city has been sought after and fought over by emperors throughout the ages. First the eastern seat of the Roman Empire, Byzantium was blessed by the Roman proclivity for monuments in stone. Then came the change-over to the new Christian religion and the struggle with new architectural forms. After the demise of two churches on the same spot, a new building style was discovered
.

Emperor Justinian chose a physicist and a mathematician as the new architects, and together these two men used ideas of geometry to achieve something never before achieved on such a grand scale. People spoke of these two architects as "having understanding," because it was only they who had the daring to stand under the huge stone arches and domes and to dismantle the wood platforms and supports, the wood on which the huge stone work was resting. Imagine building stone arches high above, then standing underneath all this and removing the wooden pieces one by one. Until there was not wooden support, and only you standing there in space, looking at the stonework suspended in that space! This is "understanding."

Isidore and Anthemius manifested this understanding to a degree never again to be rivaled for hundreds and hundreds of years. Justinian asked them to build Hagia Sophia, "church of holy wisdom," and it became the glint of divine light refracting from within the jewel city of Constantinople. Though the city would be traded back and forth between Christendom and Islam for a thousand years, forever would Hagia Sopia be maintained! During the height of her Islam period, Hagia Sophia hosted a few architects from the north of Europe, men who were searching for the majesty of Isadore and Antemius. Hagia Sophia moved the architects to a state of rapture by the way she floated in space, and the way she allowed light to enter.

So very different from the churches of the middle ages, built as dark places of contemplation, and sometimes as fortifications in the many times of strife. These visiting architects were just astounded. On their return home, they spoke movingly of God's presence in such a church filled with light. Churches needed to admit God's light into the sanctuary.

This the first stirrings of something coming, and so the great schools of geometry dedicated themselves to designing and building of the Gothic churches. This "church of the holy wisdom" is then the great-grandmother of most/all of what to follow, up to now and Modern architecture. First she was a church and cathedral ("seat of a bishop"), then a mosque ("place for prostrations"), and now a museum ("house of the muses"). She has been adaptable, she has inspired us to be adaptable and tolerant and flexible.

In this place of human beauty and sacred beauty, this church of "Holy Wisdom" we, Angela and Jason, offer "A Bowl of Tea in the name of Peace."

                   MOSQUE of SULEYMAN
 An imperial mosque dedicated to Suleyman: Sultan, warrior, poet, statesman. He spent half his life doing what all emperors do: expanding his territory into other lands and controlling other cultures.

It took half his life before he finally understood that the health of his empire had to found from within, that expansion meant the expansion of majesty at the local level of the empire, at the human level. He lived at the time when the Spanish drove the Moors out of Spain. When the Jews fled from the Spanish Inquisition and found new homes in Constantinople. When hostages and conscripts from the lands conquered by Suleyman also found a new home here. Most were educated in the schools and universities of Constantinople. One of these was Sinan from ...?... He became the architect of this mosque. He designed the entire complex with the tomb for Suleyman, the huge mosque for all the citizens, and other buildings for public baths, kitchens for feeding the poor, hostel for travellers, a primary school, an Islam College, a hospital, and a medical college. Sinan took the Sultan's ideas and worked them into his stonework. Some of the inspiration came from the great church of the Hagia Sophia. The result was this mosque: more buoyant, with more light streaming in than ever before imagined. The vast space inside seems to reach up beyond the sky, high up into the heavens.

At this place of great human beauty, this place of sacred beauty, at this gift from the Sultan to the citizens of Constantinople, at this place of flaw-less design by the architect Sinan, at this place of exquisite hand-craft by thousands of workers, we (Angela and Jason) offer "A Bowl of Tea in the name of Peace."

Sinan the architect was buried just next to the mosque of the Sultan Suleyman. May these tea offerings in Istanbul at church and mosque benefit simple and ordinary people who are trapped inside wars of religion, and suffer greatly from killings, rape, torture, and hunger. May the children know a world of kindness, free from suffering brought-on by ruthless desire for territory and control and expansion.

"Kind-ness is my religion." Dalai Lama said this.

TURKEY-fire and water

                 
                Fires of Chimaera

In western culture, chimera means an impossible or foolish fantasy, something hard to believe. In Greek culture, in the Illiad, Homer describes the chimera as a mythological creature; not human, but an immortal creature with a lion front, a goat middle and a snake back. And snorting out the terrible flames of bright fire! But in Turkey, the real Chimaera is fantastic. Eternal flames erupt from the rocky mountain side, not far from Olympus, the ancient mountain of the Greek gods. It is also known as "Yanartas" or "flaming rocks." This fascinating natural phenomenon burns with the breath of Mother Earth. About 12 flames rise-up from the rocks, with no apparent fuel to sustain them. These flames have issued forth from the earth for thousands of years. In ancient times, mariners passing-by along the Mediterranean coast used the bright flames as a landmark on their voyages. Today's visitors may use the flames to brew their tea, or on the evening of our visit with "KOSMOS" chawan, German and Turkish visitors were grilling their meat kebabs over the fires.

With honour and respect for these sacred fires at this ancient place of magic,  we (Angela and Jason) offered "A Bowl of Tea in the name of peace."

              
              Waters of Pamukkle.

Deep in the heart of Turkey is the primordial mountain of Pamukkle, with warm milky waters flowing down her slopes. For tens of thousands of years, the volcanic spring at the top of the mountain has deposited calcium waters into the bathing pools over-looking the town. The Romans built the city of Hieroplis and the temple for Appolo around the sacred warm water spring at the summit. The sacred pool is still there, and some of the marble columns from the temple.

 Like any sacred place, guests must remove shoes before climbing up the mountain. The tepid waters at the base become warmer and warmer with each step closer to the source of the warm milky waters of Mother Earth. Half-way up are shallow bathing pools; and at the summit is the deep pool with hot water and marble columns.

GERMANY-Dachau

(日本語で読む)

About Dachau, there is not really much to say. It has all been said. It is all on internet. Already we know everything. We have already studied about this. It is already in our hearts. Hopefully in our DNA. Truly a place of human sadness;  "a black spot on the pages of human history."  It is unbelievable, but  in the 1960's,  I lived in Blaubeuren, only two hours from Dachau. I did not know about Dachau, so I did not go there. Dachau was the first of many camps, and so it becomes important to us. The designer and first commander of Dachau became the designer and commandant of all such camps in   countries. It was the prototype, the model. And it was completely successful and completely efficient. Designed for "undesirables" from different countries, of different colours,  of different political/religious/social/economic/sexual ideas. For people, probably just like you and me.  Different. Undesirable. How many camps in total? What do you think?  100 camps? 200? 400? 750? 1000? 1500?  12,000? 15,000 camps maybe in 17 countries. In  your country maybe?

My country? Yes. Lemon Creek Japanese Concentration Camp was only 10 minutes up the road from my house. Dachau was the first dot of ink on the map; from that dot many many camps sprung-up.

In August,  "KOSMOS" goes to Dachau.  With great sadness in our hearts, with a spirit of reconciliation, we will just offer  "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."  Please join us: in your hearts, or in your kitchen or garden or practice place. Or join us in front of Dachau Gate, "Arbeit macht Frei" on Sunday, August 28, at 10:00 am.

One short story from those days many many years ago. At a campgrounds in Germany, a man from another country asked me why I am so eager to speak German and to study about modern history. After my answer, probably my quite stupid answer, he said to me:  "You should be careful my young friend. Many many people did cruel things to the prisoners in these camps. It was not just the German Naziis."  Then he described how his comrades received some extra food and better living conditions, by amusing the Nazi overlords. They were given the chance to entertain the camp staff, by designing a new torture and death for the the recently arrived prisoners.  He said that most of his countrymen could not do this, but that a few said  "YES."  Their unique torture was to sprinkle broken glass around a big tree, and force the prisoners to run around the tree.  So they ran and ran and ran. And they dropped. They were forced to keep moving on hands and knees and bellies until they could move no more. Until they bled to death.  "Be careful!" this man said to me.  "I saw all this. I saw my countrymen do this and I saw them receive some beer and sausages and a nice bed. Be careful! Maybe you too can do this to other people."   Thus have I heard. And it is true. Maybe I could. This is the very scary part of his story. Maybe I could.

GERMANY- White Rose

A small group of young medical students at the University of Munich pass out leaflets;  they did this six times as resistance to the Nazi militarism, terror and violence against people in the years of 1942-43. Inspired by Christian traditions of Germany, buddhism, Taoism, Goethe, Schiller, Rudolf Steiner, and especially by the Bishop August von Galen, these  students called on the people of the Third Reich to resist the Nazis. They did nothing public, except for some graffitti like "Down with Hitler" and "Freedom."  Some served in the war as medics, so they saw the atrocities on the battlefields in Russia  and the atrocities against civilians in Poland.

Here within the university,  "The White Rose Society"  distributed leaflets five times and were found out. Quickly arrested by the secret police, interrogated and tortured for four days; they were brought to a speedy trial, found guilty of treason and guillotined. All on the same day!

Other trials and be-headings and imprisonment for other members followed and within eight months, it was all over. Leaflets or the  "Leaves of the White Rose" was stamped-out by state terrorism.

A very big influence on these young people was the Bishop August von Galen. Starting in July 1941, he gave Sunday sermons against the Nazi atrocities. Sophie Scholl asked for his permission to print and distribute his first sermon. This was the first of six leaflets, and the beginning of "Die Weisse Rose." It did not last more than about two years. Bishop von Galen continued to speak out for the next few Sundays: calling on his Catholic parish to know what was happening and to resist. He was maybe the only Catholic priest to speak out, and probably the most visible and outspoken opponent of the Third Reich. Definitely he was the greatest inspiration on Sophie, her brother, and four others at the university. Bishop von Galen was alerting people to Gestapo euthanasia, missing persons, closing of Catholic institutions, terror, and fear. He argued, that the Gestapo was reducing everybody to a base level fear of arrest and prison. Everybody, even the most ordinary and most decent of Germans. Here at the University of Munchen is a monument to these young people of Brave Heart: flooring tiles in the form of leaflets. Please join us at this place on Saturday, August 27, at 10:00 am for an offering of "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."  An offering of respect and appreciation for what these few young people did, for their trust in the basic good-ness of people, and their courage to trust their own good hearts.

There is always a scroll hanging in the tea-room, just a few "words of wisdom," handed-down from long long ago. Some words that seem like a good idea for most people, reminders that life is good. We are alive and we have this chance to practice and to rise-up from the mind of desire, seeking power, living in fear, feeling overwhelmed about the world outside. This scroll is maybe like the pamphlets these young people were distributing to the people. Reminders of what is happening, and calling on the power of good-ness that is lying asleep somewhere deep in the human heart. Just pieces of paper. Flower petals wafting on the breeze. This scroll for example is the four kanji Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku or Harmony-Respect-Purity-Tranquility. These four words are sometimes printed on greeting cards for the New Year, at the front of books, in magazines. These four words are often the best way to explain the Way of Tea. These four words seem to sum-up the best qualities of what it means to be truly human. These four words sometimes pierce directly to the human heart.

These words "Harmony-Respect-Purity-Tranquility" on this leaflet hanging in the Langgasstrasse Tea Haus in Bern CH, are the Lion's Roar, the fearless proclamation of wisdom mind. These kanji were brushed by Okuda-roshi, one of the great teachers at Shotoku-an."

Also, look for the film Sophie Scholl:the Last Days. Nominated for Academy Award.
YouTube Franz Mueller Survivor of the White Rose

JAPAN-Bunraku

 One of the world's treasures is dance and movement, and one of these is the Japanese Bunraku puppet theatre. Sometimes Bunraku goes to different places in the world; there are are some Bunraku groups at universities; there is Bunraku on YouTube. But of course, the very best is to enjoy the Bunraku puppets in the homeland of their birth: the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, the Awaji Bunraku Theatre, the Otome Bunraku Group.

The Otome Bunraku Group is very special because it is a women's group (in what is traditionally a man's world.) The teacher is a woman, Mitsuko Yoshida-sensei, now 96 years old. Their performance is wonderful and does not always rely on a traditional puppet stage.

They can perform everywhere, and here at Shotoku-an Yuka-san and Mitsue-san delighted neighbours and children and tea students. It is very difficult to talk about magic; so it is even more difficult to talk about puppets that magically come to life. In the hands of these two women, pieces of silk-covered wood just spontaneously arose as ordinary members of a tea-gathering. She was first guest. He was last guest. They were so lovely and so natural, sitting there with such grace and elegance, watching a young girl offer a bowl of koicha. The host Yui-san, and the two puppets Osome-san and her boy-friend Hisamatsu-san, are actually about the same size. It was truly beautiful.

How to describe the joy of preparing a bowl of tea is already not so very easy, because it has so much to do with the ambience of light and shadow, gesture, hidden meaning, a code shared by host and guest; how to describe the joy of watching a block of wood receive a bowl of tea in her hands, and actually show enjoyment with the nod of the head, the slight raising of an eyebrow, an imperceptible movement of the shoulder, the voice coming from out of nowhere? Now, this is ordinary magic!

Oldest guest was Nakagawa-sensei, 93 years old. Youngest guest was Yura, not yet born.
The scroll in the tokonoma is the single word "NOW," brushed by the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Central to this Bunraku performance of human beauty at Shotoku-an, was the traditional offering of  "A Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."  The occasion was the opening of the winter fire.

   

JAPAN-Ryoan-ji

（日本語で読む）
                            
                                    Fifteen.

Does the number 15 mean something to you?  Something more than just a rock garden not so far from Shotoku-an? A garden famous for sand, 15 rocks, and a small amount of moss; all surrounded by a clay wall? A place to sit and.... .to linger. To look for meaning? or not look for meaning. To analyze? or not analyze. To count the rocks? or not count the rocks. To count your breaths? or not count your breaths.  To look at the arrangement of the rocks? or look at the space between the rocks. To look at the space between the rocks? or to look at the space of your mind.

Look for fifteen rocks, visible at the same time and place, and you will never see it. Try from another place, another angle, and you will never get it. Be like the Dragon at Peace, just sit quietly and contemplate and you might discover something.

"Looking again and again at the mind that cannot be seen. What cannot be seen is seen clearly, just as it is. Cutting doubts about what is or what is not. Free from confusion, may our true nature recognize itself."  (CTR said this.)

Fifteen is the number of days from New Moon to Full Moon. The two new questions are the meaning of new moon? Full moon?  If we can see only fourteen stones in this arrangement, then where do these fourteen stones lead us to?  If fourteen is not complete, then is fifteen complete and perfect? At that point we are exactly where we ought to be!

One outstanding piece is the tsukubai water stone close to the teahouse of this Zen temple. Carved into the top surface are four kanji, an answer to the question: "Why do you study? Why do you practice?" This kind of question comes up in many different forms throughout Zen history. In this case, one Zen-person answered with just these four kanji: 吾唯足知 Ware-tada-taru-shiru.  "I study/practice just to learn contentment."  To be satisfied with things as they are. To cut desire mind, and rest in the simplicity of ordinary mind. To not look for more. To look at a garden with 15 stones, and to be at ease seeing only 14 stones. To look at the stones, but to see the space.  There is a scroll from Suzuki-roshi with the words: "stones in the air." Maybe he too was sitting here one day, looking out at this vast sea-scape with these 15 stones; and he discovered something of supreme importance.


John Cage composed the music  Ryoan-ji, The Peaceful Dragon;