現代茶道思想網建立者：蔡榮章.許玉蓮。現代茶道思想網收錄蔡榮章、許玉蓮自1970年代末至今原創文稿及圖。一切版權屬作者所有，侵權必究。本網任何部分內容未經作者授權，不得以任何方式（包括文本、音頻、視頻等電子產品）抄襲、轉載、改造、翻印、錄音、出版。（The Way of Tea : a Contemporary Perspective. All rights reserved.）
Foreword
: On‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the
Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’by
RongTsang Tsai
Hooi Yoke
Lien
‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the
Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’is, literally, a new chapter in
the research of the Way of Tea. It bypasses perplexing questions such as ‘What is the Way of Tea? And what is Tea Art?’, ‘Should a tea brewing personnel
be described as a server or a master of tea?’, or ‘As for tea professionals with a
rich knowledge of the Way of Tea, who put it into practice through various
activities, should they be referred to as tea experts or tea gurus?’ Instead, the author cuts
through these conundrums and presents a complete and comprehensive system —
his very own work of tea gathering — that leads readers right into the inner
substance. This artistic manifestation in the form of tea gathering raises the
status of a tea brewing personnel (in this case, the author himself) to that of
an artist of the Way of Tea.
An artist of the Way of Tea, or tea artist in short, is a
term impregnated with the author’s insight and aspiration. It seeks to clarify what is the essence of
tea, the Way of Tea and the art of it; and in turn, to better equip tea artists
with the qualities and efforts required of them.
We maintain that a work of art manifesting the Way of Tea
should have the following four conditions: a) It is built on an academic basis;
b) Its inner substance is supported by feeling and belief; c) It can be
presented in a certain format; and d) It appeals to the masses, who in turn adopt
the practice. In this case, Sans Self Tea Gathering fits the
bill perfectly.
A) Sans Self Tea Gathering is built on an academic basis:
The best illustration is the content of this book . Chapters 2 through 10
explain to readers a well thought-out system in a scientific manner. It discusses in great length the 5W’s and 1H (i.e. the ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’) before, during and after the tea
gathering. Practical in approach, it is packed with details realised by such meticulous
thinking to an extent that the procedure can be duplicated without the guidance
of an instructor or trainer. There are
plenty of issues addressed and points covered, for example, ‘When should one wipe clean the used teacups?’， ‘Could we ask to find out what
is the tea being served? Is it acceptable to commend someone for a good brew?’, ‘Could we do something as remedy
for poorly brewed infusion?’， ‘What should we do if a small bug crawls out of somewhere?’，or ‘How to address the need of
public toilet and hygiene in an outdoor venue?’, just to name a few. The book, which provides all the
answers the readers need to know about Sans Self Tea Gathering, is clearly
academic in approach.
B) Sans Self Tea Gathering’s inner
substance is supported by feeling and belief:
Chapter 1 illustrates the basic format of the tea gathering. The author explains that this particular
format is an externalisation of what people feel for and believe in. It
embraces seven principles, namely, an absence of hierarchy; not expecting reciprocity;
setting aside personal preference; making an effort to achieve progressive
improvement; following a pre-determined procedure; promoting mutual understanding
and appreciation of the beauty of collective rhythm; and imposing no
restriction as to the schools of thought or regional practices.
C) Sans Self Tea Gathering can be presented in a certain
format: Dismantling the barriers of languages,
colours, tea ware, sound, choice of tea, brewing methods, regional practices
and ethnic origins, Sans Self Tea Gathering is accomplished upon a single belief
— namely ,‘brewing, serving and taking tea’. This means that
whatever people do at the tea gathering would reflect what they actually feel.
Take the principle of‘an absence of hierarchy’ as an example. To realise this, seats are determined by
random drawing of lots; one cannot choose the place to sit, the person to serve tea to, or the kind of
tea to take. Where words do not suffice
to explain the concept, it is more than compensated for by the carefully
devised format of Sans Self Tea Gathering. By participating, everyone can
experience the essence of the Way of Tea with its externalised representation.
Chapter 1 clearly describes the simple yet impactful features of Sans Self Tea
Gathering: a) participants are seated in a circle – everyone brews, serves and
takes tea; b) seats are determined by drawing lots; c) tea is served in one
direction (to one’s left or right); d) participants
bring along their tea ware, tealeaves and water for brewing; e) the number of
cups and brewing, and the way of serving are agreed upon beforehand, and the
event flow is pre-determined; and, f) no talking is required throughout the tea
gathering.
D) Sans Self Tea Gathering appeals to the masses, who in turn adopt the
practice: Chapter 11 (‘Promoting Sans Self Tea Gathering and its Meaning’), Chapter 12 (‘A Brief History of Sans Self Tea Gathering’) and {0>第十四章 无我茶会解说稿<}0{>Chapter
13 (‘The Presenter’s Script for Sans Self Tea Gathering’) cover the history of its development since
its inception in 1990 and the 15 international Sans Self Tea Gatherings
organised to date. The
person-in-charge of each country/territory’s event
automatically become part of the pool of organising members. They take turn to organise
Sans Self Tea Gatherings of various natures on a voluntary basis. These
countries/territories include Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, the
United States of America, France, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, the United
Kingdom and Brunei, among others. As far
as administration is concerned, it realises the spirit of ‘nothingness’ — as such, there is no centralised
management body or headquarters; no application or validation required; and no
unnecessary formalities. Everyone involved in organising Sans Self Tea
Gathering is guided by the same belief. This emphasis on resetting to ‘a state of nothingness before
rebuilding something’ has been a major influence on
tea brewing personnel’s interpretation of the Way of
Tea worldwide for almost two decades.
The book was written based on the author’s original guide on Sans Self Tea Gathering. Also included
in this new edition are 17 articles representing the core values of Sans Self
Tea Gathering (The titles of the articles are: ‘Why is
tea served in one direction at the Sans Self Tea Gathering?’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering requires full
participation of all’, ‘Feeling free and easy at the
Tea Gathering’, ‘The true meaning of setting aside
personal preference’, ‘The artistic manifestation of
the Way of Tea as expressed by Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘The question on Sans Self Tea
Gathering with the most wrong answers’, ‘Balancing “Freedom” and “Confinement” at the Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering at a glance’, ‘Does Sans Self Tea Gathering add yet
another barrier to the Way of Tea?’, ‘Is Sans Self Tea Gathering a “freewheeling” or a “disciplined” occasion?’, ‘Does Sans Self Tea Gathering serve a
purpose?’, ‘Changing of its name in English to
Sans Self Tea Gathering (Spring, 2012)’, ‘A dialogue between the teacher and his students’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering is more than a
form of tea gathering’, ‘Some people say that Sans Self
Tea Gathering is beautiful’, ‘The birth of Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘ From tea for one to Sans Self Tea
Gathering’ and ‘Making, brewing and taking tea in a
Land of Nothingness’) . These were penned by the author in
a clear, succinct and unequivocal manner based on 25 years of experience working
on Sans Self Tea Gathering. The concept
has been perfected over time. In his
article‘Why is tea served in one direction at the Sans Self Tea
Gathering?’, the author points out that engrossing in social
interaction would
distract
our attention from tea, and reminds us not to be too mindful of which fellow participants have brewed the tea we are taking. Meanwhile, the author makes it clear in
the article ‘The artistic manifestation of the Way
of Tea as expressed by Sans Self Tea Gathering’that while
the tea gathering is a total experience, one should not place too much emphasis
on the event at the expense
of the tea infusion. As such, the concept of the ‘Quintessential Way of Tea’ has been proposed. This helps bringing our focus back to the tea
infusion, which is at the core
of this artistic
manifestation of the Way of Tea. The tea gathering will not be mistaken
as an art of tea
drinking environment, tea brewing or
even moral enlightenment. You may say, ‘Well, ain’t I making tea just the same?’ True, but the pre-requisite is a realisation
that tea, the infusion, is at the heart of the Way of Tea.
To be a form of artistic expression that survives the test
of time, tea gatherings would have to generate collective understanding,
achieve mutual acceptance, and bring about common feeling among people of different
countries, speaking different languages, from different social backgrounds and
embracing different cultures. These tea gatherings need to be fully incorporated
into the lifestyle of the local communities.
Proprietorship is not recommended in order for Sans Self Tea Gathering
to continue its evolution. Artistically-oriented with a solid academic
basis,‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the
Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’is poised to become a research
tour de force on the Way of Tea.
