Sen Genshitsu spread peace through sipping

T he little wooden gate stood open. From it a path snaked through the garden, past pines he had carefully positioned, planted and tended over the years. This was the “dewy ground”, like the track of a mountain stream, on which his guests now came walking, casting off the fire of worldly thoughts. Though they were in the city of Kyoto, the purpose of the tea ceremony they were attending was to enter into tranquil communion with Nature and with each other.