Tea and Shinto
December 14, 2004
Sadou or the Japanese Way of Tea is more strongly associated with Zen. But Zen has a strong affinity to Shinto. It seems to me that the form of Zen Buddhism that is found in Japam, the wordless, and some would say ultimate path to the Buddha, became so wordless (even though the man, Siddhartha Gautama, himself was quite a talker) as a result of the meeting of Buddhism with Shinto. It is true that Zen Buddhism started in China. And some would argue that Zen is Buddhism plus Taoism, and fair enough, but I think that it flourished in Japan because Japan, as Shinto-land, is the land of the way that can not be spoken of.
I collected some links between Shinto and the Way of Tea, that can be found on the net.
Noh and Shinto
January 10, 2004
The spiritual roots of Noh lie in a much earlier tradition than Zen. They are evident in the Shinto-style stage and the back wall with its painted pine tree. This is thought to be a reference to the Yogo Pine at Nara's Kasuga Shrine, to which Kannami had been attached. One day an old man was seen dancing beneath the tree, who turned out to be the spirit of the shrine in human form. The legend tells of the essence of Noh and the bond between men and gods. Before the sacred pine, the ritual drama realises a magical moment of transformation when the spirit world stands revealed.
