Wabi-cha and impermanence
What follows is a quick and dirty of what I've managed to come up with in some of my readings on wabi-cha. This is by no means a complete thought but comment on it if you feel like it.
Wabi-cha, as the name implies, is the wabi-sabi nature of tea, or rather, the aesthetic of impermanence within the tea ceremony. the first encounter that one has with wabi-sabi in tea (leaving aside the representation in the gardens, for that is a separate topic) is with the utensils: the utensils used within tea ceremony were preferably worn, or constructed in a manner as to seem worn. some might argue that the construction of an object to appear as though it were faded or imperfect is the construction of an illusion, but I would refuse to affirm this objection.
Foremost, wabi-cha as an aesthetic is a reflective aesthetic: the aesthetic is produced through man's reflection upon the impermanence and imperfection of nature. That is it so reflected in the wabi-cha tool demonstrates an apprehension of the concept of impermanence, an understanding of that impermanence, and the translation of that understanding into the realm of the "real" with the construction of the tool. the formation of a wabi-cha tool as withered and rustic is as much a reflection upon impermanence as meditation upon the heart sutra and the like.
the tools are, ostensibly, the most solid of the wabi-cha aesthetic representations, however they are not the full extent of the wabi-cha aesthetic: that lies within the whole of the ceremony proper. Macha (green tea) when prepared according to the guide-lines of Sen no Rikyu's tea instruction, is supposed to possess a lingering flavor: it does not dwell upon the tongue for an extended duration of time, nor is it sudden and sharp like wasabi. The flavor is to be light, ephemeral, and altogether impermanent.
The coloration of the tea stains each instrument, further distorting and enhancing it's impermanent nature: after each use, the instruments are slightly different, slightly more worn, a process that occurs naturally (as the japanese characterization of impermanence is drawn more in line with natural changes) as time passes. Essentially the very act of participating in the tea ceremony is a microcosm of mujou, impermanence.
Wabi-cha, as the name implies, is the wabi-sabi nature of tea, or rather, the aesthetic of impermanence within the tea ceremony. the first encounter that one has with wabi-sabi in tea (leaving aside the representation in the gardens, for that is a separate topic) is with the utensils: the utensils used within tea ceremony were preferably worn, or constructed in a manner as to seem worn. some might argue that the construction of an object to appear as though it were faded or imperfect is the construction of an illusion, but I would refuse to affirm this objection.
Foremost, wabi-cha as an aesthetic is a reflective aesthetic: the aesthetic is produced through man's reflection upon the impermanence and imperfection of nature. That is it so reflected in the wabi-cha tool demonstrates an apprehension of the concept of impermanence, an understanding of that impermanence, and the translation of that understanding into the realm of the "real" with the construction of the tool. the formation of a wabi-cha tool as withered and rustic is as much a reflection upon impermanence as meditation upon the heart sutra and the like.
the tools are, ostensibly, the most solid of the wabi-cha aesthetic representations, however they are not the full extent of the wabi-cha aesthetic: that lies within the whole of the ceremony proper. Macha (green tea) when prepared according to the guide-lines of Sen no Rikyu's tea instruction, is supposed to possess a lingering flavor: it does not dwell upon the tongue for an extended duration of time, nor is it sudden and sharp like wasabi. The flavor is to be light, ephemeral, and altogether impermanent.
The coloration of the tea stains each instrument, further distorting and enhancing it's impermanent nature: after each use, the instruments are slightly different, slightly more worn, a process that occurs naturally (as the japanese characterization of impermanence is drawn more in line with natural changes) as time passes. Essentially the very act of participating in the tea ceremony is a microcosm of mujou, impermanence.