The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: November twenty-sixth, following the way of tea.

Most cultures have customs involving hot beverages, but none more intricate than the Japanese, who for 500 years have ritualized the act of serving and drinking tea into a communion intended to promote peace among people.

The drinking of green tea in Japan dates to the 12th century. Returning monks brought it back home after studying in the Zen monasteries of China. For them, the tea was an aide to meditation, a medicine and a tool to propagate Zen. Royalty quickly adopted the new beverage, but the general population came to regard it as an ostentatious libation to accompany lavish banquets.

About the time Columbus sailed to America, a Zen priest, Murata Shuko, developed a set of tea-serving rituals designed to teach four principles: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. Chado translates as "the way of tea". Many chado styles have evolved over the years, each reinforcing these principles in its own way. When serving a bowl of tea in conformity with the etiquette, students of chado learn much more than to how to arrange implements. They come to understand the importance of proper timing, appreciate social grace and learn apply these lessons to daily life. As practiced today, chado is a cultural synthesis of sweeping scope and high ideals, involving aspects of religion, morality, aesthetics, philosophy, discipline and social relations.

Taking part in a Japanese tea ceremony is regarded as a great honor and sign of peaceful friendship. In these troubled times, the world needs such rituals.

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