Wabi Sabi

To be at one with the Tao, one must practice wu-wei and refrain from forcing anything to happen that does not happen of its own accord.
To be at one with the Tao is to accept that we must yield to a power much greater than ourselves. Through this acceptance of the natural flow of life, and by discarding all learned doctrines and knowledge, a person is able to achieve real unity with the Tao. This harmony brings with it a mystical power known as To–, which enables those who have harnessed it to peer beyond the horizons of everyday perception into a world where there are no mundane distinctions between all the opposing ideas of the dualistic world.

If the spirit is ready and willing, then a three-line haiku poem set in the tokonoma (the traditional alcove), complemented by a simple yet perfectly balanced flower arrangement, should be sufficient to push the viewer’s awareness to new heights and to help him or her find a serene balance between the joy of life and the inevitability of the waiting void

t is a symbiosis of the two.

Wabi sabi is not solely the work done by nature, nor is it solely the work done by man.

The years of practice now bring the moves, rehearsed so many times, into the realm of art in its purest form, for it is art without art, art without thought, art as a pure connection with the ultimate reality.

Within the tokonoma, or alcove, a perfectly balanced and austerely simple flower arrangement lies beneath a kakejiku, or hanging scroll— the flowers reflecting the sentiments of the kakejiku. The sentiments in the scroll in turn will be a literary allusion to the theme of the meeting and the guests will savor the meaning of the script and the pattern that the bold black ink makes against the pale background.

The master of tea would decide on a date for a tea ceremony and then, with the utmost care, select and invite a small group of participants whose character and positions would be suitably balanced.

he tea ceremony is a multilayered experience in which a participant is able to enjoy the tastes of carefully prepared foods and beverages in a state of awareness heightened by the nurturing environment of the tearoom. The experience of the tea ceremony is then based in part on the aesthetic pleasure aroused by the wabi sabi elements of the tearoom design.

t was the influence of Zen that had promoted the ideas of mute colors, simple utensils, and economy of expression, but it was Rikyu who managed to crystallize these ideas into an aesthetic whole and to blend the garden, the tearoom, the food, the tea, and the conversation into the refined art form it is today.

Ikkyu’s determination to maintain the pure spirit of Zen had a great influence on the many aspects of the art of his time, and it is fitting that a hanging scroll of his calligraphy was placed within the first tearoom designed by his disciple. This then set in motion the Japanese custom of having a hanging scroll in the tearoom, from where it then became an important decorative feature to be included in many residences throughout the land—one that is still found in many houses today.