Friday, July 06, 2007

Paper or Plastic


The more I look, the more I see. Lodged in gutters, wrapped around parking meters and stop signs, tangled high in trees and power lines, stuck in hedges, and flying in the wind as cars drive over them. I have seen them wrapped around birds and fish, and like old cars they inhabit every ravine and rural homestead.

Ubiquitous is an apt description. What am I talking about, plastic bags of course. I think of them as the canary in the mineshaft; a harbinger of what awaits our culture if we do not take more care. That such weirdly ephemeral yet persistent wisps of plastic are so pervasive is downright creepy. These bags make me wonder what else is lurking in our environment.

Maybe I am disturbed about their presence because my sensibility was shaped by the hippie culture of the seventies, the Gaia Principle, Al Gore more recently and Chado, the Way of Tea, in particular. I take comfort in the fact that large cities such as San Francisco have banned them and so, I am obviously not the only person fretting about this.

I am as much to blame as anyone for this predicament. When confronted with the question, “paper or plastic” my response is usually plastic. As I say this, my mind begins to race with the implications of the decision. I picture the demise of the Arctic Wildlife Preserve and envision oil-covered birds washed up on every coast that oil tankers have disgorged their contents on.

Why must I confront global warming and the destruction of our environment just to carry my organic broccoli home? It seems our daily decisions, as mundane as they may seem at the time, have global consequences.

The study of Tea has some thing to say about this. Since starting my practice, Tea has surrounded me with natural, recyclable materials: bamboo vases, ladles and spoons; thatched tea huts; straw tatami mats; earthen and cast iron vessels of all types. Most of these can be crushed under foot or burned to ash without much effort and with no detrimental impact on the environment.

Despite its physicality Chado is a culture of ideas. In four hundred years it has not left much of physical presence, and though rooted in the past, Chado is based on the ephemera of the here and now.

Sen Rikyu, the 15th century founder of Chado, when asked to explain the essence of Tea stated the following seven rules: Arrange flowers as they are in the fields; Lay charcoal so the water boils; Keep cool in the summer; Stay warm in the winter; Be early; Be prepared for rain even if it is not raining; Be mindful of the guest.

So when I see the clutter it starts me thinking that we need images to guide our modern world other than those provided by Reality TV. So why not look to Chado for some guidance. Chado is based on four tenets: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. No mention of tea in all the above, only personal responsibility and hospitality, intriguing isn't it.

Of course, to fully appreciate Tea it needs to be practiced. But why a "lay" public cannot study and enjoy Tea the way that I, who cannot play a musical instrument, enjoy the symphony, a jazz quartet or even Dean Martin's crooning. Well why not. We should at least try.

So the next time you are confronted with the choice, "paper or plastic", do not habitually respond. Search for a deeper meaning in your choice. Think of the four principles of Tea and apply them: harmony with and respect for our environment; purity in the sense of picking up after oneself and not leaving trash for others to clean up; and tranquility, which is what we are seeking after all, isn't it?