The Japanese tea ceremony strongly reflects the teachings of Zen, from the cleanliness of the tea room, to the spirit of a lifetime, to each and every gesture of handling the tea bowl.

In particular, the cleanliness of the tea room expresses the state of purity of mind emphasized in Zen Buddhism.

By removing the unnecessary and leaving only the essential, it creates a place to dispel the distractions of the mind and face one’s true self.

Studying the tea ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to gain an experiential understanding of the Zen philosophy and to experience the depth of Japanese culture.

The reason why the tea ceremony incorporates Zen concepts is because there are deep similarities in the state of mind that they both aspire to.

Zen aims to discover the true self through enlightenment and to understand the essence of life.

The tea ceremony is also a path of self-examination and the search for the meaning of life through a series of actions in the preparation of tea.

Zen’s emphasis on simplicity and purity has also greatly influenced the tea ceremony.

The aesthetics of “wabi” and “sabi” are deeply connected to the teachings of Zen, as they eliminate the unnecessary in the design of the tea room and in the selection of utensils, creating the maximum effect with the minimum necessary.

In this way, the tea ceremony is a practical embodiment of Zen philosophy. Through the everyday act of making and drinking tea, one can learn the profound teachings of Zen through experience. Therefore, the tea ceremony has an important place in Japanese culture as a way of spiritual cultivation, not just a cultural custom.