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What is meant by knowledge?

When I was still a fledgling potter, there was a group exhibition in which I was given the opportunity to participate. Thus, I submitted a number of matcha tea bowls that were subsequently put on display. Anyway, on a particular day at the venue, I encountered the owner of a tea-ceremony supplies shop from my own neighborhood, and I watched as he turned over a number of my exhibits in order to look more closely at their bottoms. What happened next was perhaps a result of both my own inexperience and vanity. Indeed, maybe I was hoping to receive some praise for my work. Instead, however, the shop owner asked me a very blunt question. It was something along the lines of “have you ever bothered to learn anything about the tea ceremony yourself?” When I responded, “not really anything of note as yet,” he proceeded to give me an impromptu lecture. To paraphrase what he said, he felt that it was “quite presumptuous on my part to believe that I could actually create tea bowls without first having acquired any real knowledge of the associated culture.”


Concurrent to allowing the visitor to complete his little spiel, as somebody both born and bred in Kyoto, I felt somewhat offended by his manner of speech. Thus, after placating him to the extent of superficially agreeing with everything he said, later on the same day I consulted with my mom, whom I always felt was quite knowledgeable regarding such matters. Furthermore, in that the creation of such pieces had become part of my job, in order to gain some knowledge of the related culture, I searched out and then applied to join some tea-ceremony classes that were held at a culture school in front of my local railway station, the business in question actually being run by a certain newspaper company. What is more, when applying to attend initially, I thought I could manage the classes in the late afternoon. However, the busier my work schedule became, the greater the number of absences. Thus, I switched from the late afternoon to the morning class.


To offer some more detail about the nature of such classes, the late afternoon ones were both quite lively and enjoyable because many youngsters turned up. However, when I switched over to the morning class, I quickly realized that I was the only man in attendance. What is more, all the other students in the class were older women, with each of them making the effort to wear kimono every week. Additionally, in that the classes were run by a newspaper company, the instructor turned out to be somebody quite senior from one of the leading tea-ceremony schools. What is more, about twice a year, the grandmaster of the school in question would make an appearance. When I learned that fact, it dawned on me that all of the older female students were actually tea-ceremony instructors in their own right, with their own networks of students. Thus, I realized that figuratively speaking, I had plunged my head directly into the lion’s mouth.


To be fair, I should declare for the record that all of my classmates were very kind, in that they took the time and had the patience to teach me everything I needed to know. However, sometime later when I puffed out my chest and proudly reported to my own master that, “I had taken the plunge and started to learn all about the tea ceremony,” he cut me dead by saying, “is knowing about such things something that actually has to be learned?”


On a related topic, I remember when the aforementioned grandmaster turned up at my class in order to participate in the first ceremony of the new year. They turned out to be somebody who was quite perceptive, and upon noticing that I was starting to suffer from pins and needles in my legs because I was both so nervous and rigidly kneeling in the seiza position, they suggested that I take my ease. However, I was very much determined to show what I was made of, thus, I decided to endure the discomfort that I was by then experiencing. Likewise, I declined two further entreaties that I relax. Regarding such behavior on my part, it is said in Kyoto that somebody who is born and raised in the city should at least turn down two or three such requests. Having achieved that benchmark, when the grandmaster asked me a fourth time, and then adjusted their own position in order to sit cross legged, I relented and then adjusted my own posture. Having done so, the only thing I was really conscious of was the sensation of my blood’s circulation returning to my lower extremities. When that situation settled, I was then at ease and able to concentrate on everything that was being said. Upon becoming relaxed, I glanced at the grandmaster and received a slight smile in return as an acknowledgment of my efforts. Upon reflecting on matters later, it dawned on me that, by enduring such a torment, my posture when kneeling had become more attractive.


Then again, what followed everything I have just described was a form of hell, as all of my gentle classmates evolved into wolves. They gave me a rare scolding for my efforts or lack thereof. I was told that I would have to train a lot more so that the circulatory system in my legs could endure up to two or three hours of kneeling. Lucky for me, at around the same time, my job became quite busy, and that proved to be the death of my tea-ceremony classes.


Over the many years that have followed what I described; I have been fortunate enough to have come into contact with numerous people involved in the tea ceremony. Additionally, on occasion I have also thought about enrolling in some further classes so as to deepen my own understanding. However, in that I also have some bad recollections of the classes I attended all those years ago, I have hesitated to take the plunge.


Of the famous families involved in the sale of tea-ceremony supplies in my neighborhood who also do some pottery, there are certain individuals who are both very frank and open. Likewise, there are others who seem to always look down their noses at mere mortals like me. Additionally, I sometimes think about the significance of the grandmaster entreating me to take my ease on so many occasions. To wit, what did my own master mean by his throwaway comment as to whether or not “tea was something to be learned?” What is more, in that the tea ceremony is sometimes called the “way of tea,” I have also pondered as to the extent of such a “way.” Whatever the case, I believe that as a vehicle, the culture has also certain spiritual implications. By contrast, if there is a “way of pottery” that is of a similar nature, then perhaps I am well on the way to some form of enlightenment.


Finally, when putting what I have just described into perspective, I like to think that the smile of the grandmaster all those years ago was a real one. Additionally, even now there are people who like to terrorize my younger colleagues by telling them that they cannot make tea bowls without an appreciation of the related culture. Considering that makes me ask about what “knowledge” actually means.

What is meant by knowledge?

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