Friday, February 17, 2012

The essentials: 6. Have umbrellas ready even if it is not raining


The ancient tea master, Rikyu once said “Have umbrellas ready even if it is not raining”.  This is one of the seven essentials of The Way of Tea, which I introduced on the previous entry.

“Have umbrellas ready even if it is not raining” seems like a vain effort.  In modern times, everybody thinks being rational is good.  Isn’t this lesson rational? 



Way back in Rikyu’s days, it must have been difficult to predict the weather.  The goal of every ceremony is to make your guests happy.  So, it’s a good idea to prepare umbrellas for your guests in case of sudden rain.   To lead thing to success, foreseeing emergency situations are necessary.  Not considering about such kinds of situation is irrational.

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