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Maria Martinez, Staff ReporterMABIAMAfiTINE@(5UM8.TOU

Samurais had to leave their swordsand egos at the door when crossingthe small doors of the teahouses o1i5th century in Japan. They, as ev-eryone else who entered the dimlylit room, had to bend to purify theirhands, sit humbly and peacefully,breathe and get ready to sip thebitter and bubbly green tea" Sixcenturies forward, students at CalState Monterey Bay ICSUMB] had ataste of the ritualistic tea.

The Japanese(chanoyu) is aof preparing andgreen tea,imported fromfaculty of GlobalCulture putthat representsof harmony

Guests purified theiru/ater from atrance of the t notjusthands Follow-ing tradition, the tea master sweptutensils and bowls withMie*uand precise strokes likeing a dance. Each gestureeffortless. Before thebegan, the teishu (teahost and teacher) and a team ofprentices, made sure(room where the tea isnot only pure, but also

lgpanese feo kremony ondthe Art of Eeing

about Japanese culture.The guests sat in the circle, and

the host was in the middle, prepar-ing the tea. The first guest is calledshokyaku, which is the honor guest,the last guest is called tsume, andthe rest are called kyaku. 0nce thedora orJapanese gong is called fivetimes, the apprentices, donned intheir kimonos, served tea to theguests. Before serving tea, they of-fered tiny sweets to balance out thebitter taste of the tea. Bowls werenot mere containers, but hand-made ceramic pieces decoratedwith subtle designs. CSUMB guestsreceived the bowl, bowed to theirserver, and learned to turn it twice,sip, and turn it back again.

s.r-u-QENJS tN KTMONOS qERFORMED ASAPPRENTIcES ar rrcruuouii'--' -

The set-up of thex$ffiuse aT

CSUMB included tffid of run-ning water fountain, the

tea becausetotally differ-Sophomore,

, "But drinkingfeel peaceful

On the wall, a scroll with two

or to know to live sim-minimalistic way, and the'bne does not stop leam-

ba Master Keiko Hashimotoned the meaning and thetion of the tea ceremony

Wlntemplative a nd meditativepractices rooted in Zen Buddhism.

to graduated fromin 2007 with honors. She

about getting a

tea ceremo-ved a kettle

and utensils from a friend, and herdream became true.

"The tea €eremony calms yourmind, betters yourself, " Ryan Kirk-Iand, GLC student one of the ap-prentices serving tea said. For Kris-tin Szabo, 6LC student, performingas an apprentice was unique be-cause "l love to learn about otherculturel and even more when theyare totally different from yoursl'

Although the atmosphere ofthe ceremony resembled the origi-nal practice, "in .)apan attendeessit on the floor, on their knees formore than an hour, and meditatejAndrew Alviar, WLC student whowent to a teahouse in Japan said."lt is nevertheless a peaceful ritual."

tones ofancient song! in the back-ground, a garden at the corner, ascroll with ancient calligraphy onthe walk, and the tea master per-forming the art of brewing tea bythe boiling kettle in the middle ofthe room. This created an environ-ment that invited body and soul toslow down.

The ceremony is not just fordrinking tea. "lt is a moment toenjoy peace, and trust everyone inthe tearoom,"Yoshiko 5aito-Abbott,Japanese Professor at CSUMB, said.

"Everyone is treated equally andreceive the same lovei'

The event was divided into sixdifferent sections of 45 minutes.making possible for many groupsof students to attend and learn

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IJAFNIUG ro H1LD rHE TEA BawL, RorAnNGtrrwtcE, stppptNc tr AND RorAriNG icAi{.'-

TI]E SET UP INCLUDED A FAUNTAIN TO PURIFY HANDS

THE TEA CEREMONY IS ACHEERFUL EXPERIENCE