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One cannot know how karma will be manifested. It is oftendifficult to see how the present moment is a part of the inter-dependence and oneness of life. In 1951, Soshitsu Sen madehis first visit to the United States. He would later become thetation of chanoyu at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Mymother, Minnie Kubose, was one of the guests even thoughshe didn’t know much about chanoyu then. I was 5 years oldand dressed in a little red kimono for the occasion. Watchinghow the fukusa, a special square of silk cloth, was folded andused to purify the utensils, I clearly remember wanting to foldit myself. It would be 17 years before I would experiencechanoyu again. In 1966, fifteen years later, Rev. Gyomay and Minniedid special studies in Buddhism at Otani University and mymother, wanting to make good use of her time there, studiedvery stimulating time for personal development and the blos-responsibilities of raising three children and helping Rev. To find a good teacher, she went to Urasenke, wherewith Soyo Kuroda sensei. My mother thoroughly enjoyedchanoyu and would go for keiko/practice 2-3 times a week.She would always have her small notebook with her so shecould study on the bus or anywhere she had a few minutes.Two years later I visited my parents in Kyoto; it was my firstvisit to a foreign country and I was fascinated. I was reallyI sat on the streetcar seat, my feet were flat on the floor, andif I had to stand, I could easily hold the hand strap. I lovedlooking in shops and enjoyed how the Japanese perspectivewas different from what I knew. Yet, when my mother wantedme to study chanoyu, I said no, even though I knew nothingabout it. In her wisdom, she did not push me and asked if ITEA KARMAby Joyce Kubose Prosiseher, I agreed, and figured that would be the end of it. That first experience is something that I can’t describe eventoday. It was so peaceful, and the graceful movements werefascinating. They flowed one into the other. The entire atmo-sphere was mesmerizing. Again, I saw the fukusa being foldedand when Kuroda sensei asked me if I would like to learn howI know now that my mother and I were there because of theGrand Master’s visit to Chicago so many years earlier. After my parents returned to Chicago, my mother began totheir living room into an eight-mat tearoom. Over the next 25ing, and her collection of tea utensils grew. I continued to enjoy chanoyu, studying with my mother.group of students to Kyoto, I was unexpectedly and deeplychanged by the experience. The spiritual essence of chanoyucaptured me this second time. I wanted to start again from thebeginning and study seriously. A few years later, the GrandMaster accepted me into the program for non-Japanese, calledMidorikai. I went for a year’s study and ended up graduatingfrom the three-year program and stayed on for almost anotheryear, studying from Kuroda sensei, the teacher who had intro-duced me to chanoyu 20 years earlier. It is now over 30 years since I first began. My mother isretired due to her health and we both wonder what will happenIt is a spiritual practice based on integrating the principles ofharmony, respect, purity, and tranquillity into one’s everydayIts essence is selflessness, naturalness, oneness. It has beendescribed as meditation in motion. It is doing and living in thepresent moment. These principles are gradually integrated intooneself over a lifetime.The Chanoyu Center of Chicago, a nonprofit organizationdevoted to chanoyu/Japanese Way of Tea, wasrecently established by Joyce Kubose and her students inthe winter of 2001. The center is a place where anyonewho is interested can study chanoyu and wherefuture teachers can instruct in an authentic tearoom withall the necessary utensils.an online business that offers a selection of matcha/greenpowdered tea and utensils for chanoyu. This website makesavailable many items that are difficult to find outside ofJapan. Interested in learning how to make a bowl of matcha?Visit www.MATCHAandMORE.com and click on the“Making Matcha Video”.For more information about the Chanoyu Center of Chicago or MATCHAandMORE, Inc, please contact Joyce Kubose,4901 W. Warwick Ave., Chicago, IL 60641; 773/794-0504; kubose@corecomm.net.

Universal Teachings For Everyday Living Page 3

Grand Master of the Urasenke Tradition of chanoyu, the Japa-

nese Way of Tea. When he visited Chicago, he gave a presen-

Kubose, left for Kyoto, Japan for a three-year stay. Rev. Kubose

chanoyu and ikebana. Particularly, for her it must have been a

soming of her spirit, for until then, she had given herself to the

Gyomay in developing the Temple.

Soshitsu Sen was now the Grand Master. She began studying

intrigued that everything was just the right size for me. When

would just go with her to one of her keiko/practices. To placate

to do it, I was very eager. I had been captured by chanoyu, and

teach chanoyu even though that had not been in her mind when

she studied. My father encouraged her and helped her convert

years, she thoroughly enjoyed teaching, studying, demonstrat-

However, on my second visit to Japan, when my mother took a

to her tearoom and utensils. Chanoyu is a dynamic, living tradi-

tion, and therefore, has been able to continue for over 500 years.

life through the simple act of making and sharing a bowl of tea.

CHANOYU CENTER of CHICAGO

MATCHAandMORE, Inc.

Joyce Kubose recently started www.MATCHAandMORE.com,