The Essence of Doing, without Doing
Maria Eckhart's 'Chanouyu Usucha'
Maria Eckhart is an African poet of European descent. Author of Until I Write it ... a moving collection of poems that describe, among other things, her unusual childhood in colonial Africa during and just after WW2 as the daughter of a country doctor of German descent in Tanzania. She led a rich and varied life, settling in England before moving to the USA where she married Peter Matthiessen, the renowned American author, naturalist and Zen teacher. This piece is an extract from a longer poem, Chanouyu Usucha – Summer Style, Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Enclosed, encapsulated, time suspended
A deep breath: I arrange myself in
Buddha triangle
Simplicity, quiet attention
plain venerable utensils and the wind.
Drop the cloak of self and centre on each
precise placing.
Purify the pure utensils,
a damp linen cloth, a slip of silk
three and a half times around the bowl.
Hold up dipper as a mirror –
look into your empty self
arms rounded embracing a tree;
fingers and the bamboo handle grown together.
Whisk the whisk in clear cold water
From the cold ceramic water jar:
water drawn deep from the well at dawn
when only the sometimes moon sees me.
Lift the wrist, the whisk, inspect it over.
Am I pure enough?
