into the floating world of tea

“Tea for us is a space with no time, no convenience and no price. Only proper and improper.” Tea master Wu De was introducing and asserting the importance of wabi in tea values and aesthetic. He went further, “This is one of the most important lessons in tea. You have to separate monetary value from wabi. Wabi is inherent. The price of things is variable through the ages but the original aesthetic is wabi and nothing else. True wabi is priceless.”

Wabi-sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete”. Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy and the suggestion of natural processes.

For those who are ready to listen, lucky enough to be introduced and truly seeking the leaf; there is a tea master in a small mountainous county of Taiwan who can pass on great wisdom of all things tea; especially how to skillfully transmit and transmute it’s magic. I had been pursuing more knowledge and understanding of tea in America for about 7 years and finally reached a point in life when I was ready to move to Taiwan, heaven for tea lovers. I hadn’t necessarily given up the hope that I would ever find a master willing to teach, rather I had lost sight of my desire to learn such things. Thanks to my dear friend Paul, I was introduced to Wu De and have been studying with him once a week for about 3 months now. I am joined by two friends, Adam and Eli, in our tuesday morning session. This blog is the stage where I can relate some of the lessons learned and experiences felt during classes.